A Systematic Failure: A Short Story

These issues of social control all work singularly and in tandem with each other to create a system where the young boys in Oakland mostly become self-fulfilled prophecies of criminals, drop outs, or gang members. Even I, despite my white

He wants his readers to imagine the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endure on a daily basis. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their communities; this is why these peaceful demonstrators of whom the clergymen attack “find it difficult to wait” (King, 20). However, King believes that soon, injustice will be exposed, like “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up” (King, 30). This vivid description helps arouse an emotional response, driving shame into the hearts of his white readers.

The institutional and cultural influences that generate these ideas of privilege and oppression are derived from the cycle of socialization. Before children are even able to comprehend what race is, the cycle of socialization is already shaping their views on society and social identities. Bobbie Harro illustrates the cycle of socialization by stating, “the socialization process is pervasive, consistent, circular, self-perpetuating and often invisible” (41). This makes the cycle extremely influential for the creation of our social identities in our society. In my personal experience, I vividly remember my parents taking extra precautious in poor black communities when I was younger to ensure my safety. Although their only intention was to promote my wellbeing, indirectly they established the notion that poor black people are dangerous. Obviously it’s erroneous to claim all black people are dangerous, but this is evidence of the beginning stages of the cycle of socialization taking action.

Even at their youngest stages of life, African American males are being told that they’re just following a path to jail from birth. Even figures that as a child you’d look up to are telling young black males that they can’t succeed in this world. The vice-principal of the Rosa Parks School when talking about a young African American male said “That one has a jail-cell with his name on it”. Education institutions are the ones who hold the power to decide and construct who has access to opportunities and resources needed to advance in our capitalist society. The system is setting up African Americans for failure from the start. “The racial bias in the punishing systems of the school reflects the practices of the criminal justice system. Black youth are caught up in the net of juvenile justice system at a rate of two to four times that of white youth”. The profiling starts at a young age as well, planning their future for them. In conclusion, Education Institutions are the ones who hold power in this world. They are the building blocks of the future, as they shape young lives. With institutional racism putting some races ahead of others, however, a majority of students are stunted in their path to adulthood, leading to racial issues and divides that would otherwise not

Over the years, our generations’ stereotypical views over the issue on young black males being viewed as dangerous has grown significantly. There are different reasons why these stereotypes occur in our society. People feel on edge when running into them in dark passageways, whenever it’s late at night. Also, while they’re sitting at red lights and notice someone walking towards their cars, they instantly initiate down the door locks. People think stereotyping black men this way keeps them safer because they assume the worst. However; other people disagree with instantly judging who they see around them, it hurts more people as well as themselves by viewing black men this way. Brent Staples, the author of “Black Men and Public Spaces,” claims that he’s considered a stereotypical black criminal. In his essay, Staples succeeds because he successfully appeals to people’s emotions, is an expert on human behavior, creates common ground and offers a logical solution.

Henry Giroux’s “Hoodie Politics: Trayvon Martin and Racist Violence in Post-Racial America” is an opinion piece written by a renowned cultural critic. This writing is meant to draw attention to the way American society treats its poor minority youth. Giroux’s audience in this circumstance is the readers of the left-wing magazine, The Smirking Chimp. With most of his readers being liberal, he does not have to try hard to convince them that his argument regarding the mistreatment of poor minorities is correct.That being said, Giroux is attempting to get his audience to consider the wider societal issues that cause the unequal treatment of black and brown youth. Giroux employs the case of Trayvon Martin to showcase society’s bigger issues surrounding the institutionalized racism directed towards the “disposable” colored youth.

In the 1960s, Black masculinity was reshaped by the newly acquired political power of the Civil Rights era. Notions of the ‘good negro’ (or obedient/deferential negro) were purposefully destroyed and replaced with a more defiant/revolutionary representation. The 1960s-70s played a pivotal role in the creation of this aggressive male identity. Specifically, the combination of the media’s portrayal of the antagonistic Black Power Movement, and record crime rates in African American neighborhoods, created feared images of African American men (Milton).”

The discriminating social stratification in 1950’s developed a set of servile behavior on the blacks. They were thought to be inferior to whites, and were treated accordingly. Moreover, different parts of the country had various ranges of sensitivities while dealing with the blacks. For example, in Mississippi things were particularly tense after the Parker lynch case. No black man would dare look into any white man’s eyes in fear of the repercussions. On the bus, a man warned Griffin to watch himself closely until he caught onto Mississippi’s ways. In an extreme case like this, it was vital to learn about their roles and behave accordingly.

On the local news shows, young black men are disproportionately presented as criminals and white young men as victims despite the egalitarian norms we purport to hold Dixton (2008). They are many historical and contemporary examples of media portraying young black men in the way

It is clear that our country 's criminal justice system is the new Jim Crow; with a huge majority of felons being African American, it is obvious that people of color have it harder when it comes to crime sentences. We must acknowledge that mass incarceration and the Jim Crow era are greatly similar. Minstrel shows, which showed black men to be lazy, dumb, and clownish, once justified the oppression of african americans. Many now believe that gangsta rap does just the same and is the modern day minstrel show, by portraying blacks to be drug dealers, angry, and violent men. Though many people believe that gangsta rap reinforces these stereotypes, it’s important for one to realize that this form of expression is not a modern day version of blackface performances.

King presents a realistic example when he talks about hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and kill your black brother and sister, and your speech stammering as you explain to your six year daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park.(732) King writes this to present a realistic example of segregation and the pain that people of color were going through. Also, Nafisi writes, “ Female students were being penalized for running up the stairs when they were late for classes, for laughing in the hallways, for talking to members of opposite sex.”(495). These examples present the reader with evidence and unconsciously get the reader to think about how he or she would feel if that should happen to them. Also these examples evoke sympathy for the oppressed because of the picture created in the reader’s mind as he or she

African American boys are doubly displaced among society. Ann Arnett Ferguson says, “they are not seen as childlike but adultified; as black males they are denied the masculine dispensation constituting white males as being “naturally naughty” and are discerned as willfully bad”(page 80). These African American boys are thought of being two things, either a criminal or an endangered species. They are not allowed to be naughty by nature according to society, but rather there naughtiness is a sign of vicious, inherent, insubordinate behavior. African americans are seen as endangered victims, which makes them criminals. Ferguson states, “It is their own maladaptive and inappropriate behavior that causes African americans to self-destruct”(page 82). There are two versions of childhood that are contradictory to each other. A real child would be seen as a “little plants” ready to grow up accordingly which is what white men were like to educators. On the other hand the African American boys were seen as children who are powerful, self centered, and have an agenda of their own. These black boys are seen as adults from such a young age, they don’t have time to be young and grow up because others make it seem like they are already fully grown. This drives them in the path to do bad things and make bad decisions.

The critical race theory is also directly related to the racialization of African Americans. This theory looks at racism, at a broader perspective. It observes the economics, history of the race, the environment of where individuals live, and the context of where certain racism situations occur. In this case, racism is considered a standard part of American society, it is not limited to obvious acts of discrimination or cruelty against minorities, but has become unrecognizable in everyday lives. Viewing and treating people as only a stereotype such as, African Americans as criminals, is a form of racism. The critical race theory can help to understand why people may view African Americans as criminals, dangerous or violent. Whites may not fully

Many people in the United States have either experienced or witnessed some form of discrimination in their lifetimes, and one person, in particular, was Brent Staples, an African-American man who lived in New York during the mid-1970’s, which was not too long after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Racial tensions in the United States were still considerably high back then, and this led to racism and discrimination towards others based on their social statuses such as race, class, and gender, and Staples himself has dealt with this issue numerous times in the past, which inspired him to write and to share his own thoughts and experiences about this controversial topic. He believed that even though black men were statistically more likely to get convicted of crimes than any other racial or minority group, it didn’t mean that all black men were violent criminals. He chose to format his writing into a personal essay for his story to have a more personal tone to it that anyone who reads it can easily relate to. The purpose of this text was to raise public awareness of the unfair discrimination in a society that Staples, along with many others, had encountered time and time again. It was written for both the general public and anyone who has also experienced discrimination to use as motivation to try to better themselves and make people realize that not all of them fit the stereotypes that society has set towards certain minority groups. In his text, Just Walk on By, Brent

“That one has a jail-cell with his name on it”, (Ferguson 1). A quote this powerful lays a foundation of the stories shared within the book Bad Boys.  This book allows us to see how the public school system is shaping black masculinity, and the affect it brings on these young boys.Yet, in the book The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, it tells us about  Robert’s struggle from poverty, the streets of Newark, and his education at Yale. These two books give us a powerful message. One that allows us to see the underlying triumphs Black men face. With poverty, biases, prejudices, and many more obstacles thrown in their path, they will always be set to prove themselves. The odds are constantly against them, as they are seen and viewed as