In 1972 the NAACP chartered its first prison branch at the Federal Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Twenty years later there were 42 branches chartered in 16 states with a membership of more than 3,000. The Prison Program was established to fight discrimination in the nation’s prisons, which disproportionately house high numbers of blacks and other minorities, and reduce the rate of inmate recidivism. NAACP prison branches sponsor educational instruction, job training, incentive awards, fund raising activities, and entertainment.