African American Disadvantages

Studies on relationship between race and delinquency primarily focus on two groups, African Americans and Whites. Applicable arrest data reports that African Americans are disproportionately involved in delinquency, with larger differences for serious crimes. Recent analysis has indicated that these race differences have declined in recent years. Criticism of these studies note that crimes committed by African Americans may be more likely to come to attention of the police and that African Americans offenders are more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts. Early self-report data found little or no relationship between race and delinquency. Later self-report studies found that African Americans and whites commit similar levels of minor delinquency, while African Americans are more likely to engage in serious delinquency, but not to extent reported in arrest data. The studies attributed the discrepancy to a larger percentage of high-rate African Americans offenders than high-rate white offenders. Victimization data suggests that African Americans are more likely than whites to be both offenders and victims of violence. Race and social class explain some but not all of the factors contributing to serious delinquency (Wright and Younts, 2009).

A trend has developed in our society in recent decades. This concerning trend shows that African American youth are finding their way into the criminal justice system at a much higher rate than their peers. This trend starts in schools where students as young as fifth graders are being suspended from school for minor issues. Police officers are being used more and more to handle situations in the schools rather than teachers. Does this kind of discipline really help students of color or does it have the opposite effect? When taken out of school for disciplinary reasons, African American student’s behaviors do not improve but criminal activity is more likely. School

For example, in Orange Country Florida, where black students only make up 27% of the public school’s population, black students represent over 50% of the students getting suspended (Lynch, 2016). This can be the effect of discrimination in the school system as young black males are already viewed as “trouble makers.” This alone can also create violence in black males because they recognize the unfair treatment which leads to resentment and anger. This soon manifests into even bigger problems within the self. "Exposure to aggressive experiences, in school and outside school, can profoundly affect mental health, including adjustment at school,” (Basch, 2011). Also found in this article, a recent study showed more than 42,000 11-17-year old’s that were affected by school violence were associated with having experienced internalizing behaviors such as depression, anxiety, sadness and more. Depression, anxiety, sadness are all ways for a child to cause aggression behavior because that's the only way they know to express themselves. This all stems back to the environment in which these young African American males are subjected to (Farrell et al, 2010) as well as their place in society and how they are viewed. If all they see and experience is negativity in their communities, homes and schools, it is what

The trend of African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 has seen a dramatic increase of incarceration. Attention has been focusing on areas of housing, education, and healthcare but the most prominent problem for African American males is the increase in the incarceration rate. African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 incarceration rate has been thought, by many, to be caused by economic factors such as under employment or unemployment, poor housing, lack of education, and lack of healthcare. Yet, others believe it is due to the imbalance of minorities within the criminal justice system, such as judges, lawyers, and lawmakers.

I agree with the concept that schools should provide and nurturing and structured environment for students. However, the zero-tolerance policies implemented in the school system tend to channel African-American students into the school-to-prison-pipeline. The girls that are viewed as “ghetto” and “ignorant” are disgraced with each office referral and suspension. To find solutions to this problem the educational system has to recognize there is a problem. The suspension rate of African-American girls is ignored because we have assumed they don’t face the same challenges as boys. When we look at out at risk youth, it should be from the standpoint of finding resources to correct the problem regardless of their gender. The stakeholders that

“Delinquency is defined as the total prevalence of delinquent acts during the past12 months. The delinquency scale was adopted from the delinquency scale currently utilized in the Monitoring the Future Study of United States students that has been ongoing since1975” (Benschop, Harrison, Korf, & Erickson, 2006, p. 67). Race and ethnicity play a significant role in juvenile delinquency. As we grow up we are and become a product of our environment. Race and ethnical background play huge roles in who we are, how we are raised and what kind of life we

Racial and ethnic disparities persist in the juvenile justice system leading to disparate impact. In 2011 youth of color represented about 45 percent of total youth in the U.S., but accounted for more than 70 percent of youth detained in the juvenile justice system (JJIE, 2015). In 2014 a partnership between San Diego City Heights residents, Peace Promotion Momentum, and stakeholders within the juvenile justice system in San Diego selected the National Conflict Resolution Center and San Diego Youth Services to pilot the Restorative Community Conference (RCC) as an alternative to the juvenile justice system for youth offenders. RCC has three goals: hold youth offender accountable in a non-punitive way, facilitating victim-centered

This research was to get a glance of racial inequality taken place in the country's education system. The research analyst has found that black students and others minorities such as; Native Americans and Latinos students have fewer opportunities to be in advanced science and math courses. The nations Education Department have noticed the excessive numbers of expectation and suspension African Americans have. The education department has come to an analysis students in kindergarten classes around the age of four years face racial inequality in school from administrators( Hsieh, S.2014) .During the 2011- 2015 school year, the department have noticed black students were expelled at a rate of three times more than white students, black girls have a higher suspension rate than all other girls and most boys, about one in four African American boys, with learning disabilities received home suspensions to contract to that one in five girls of African American decent with a disability receives home suspensions and as schools with a high demand population of black students did not offer algebra or chemistry( Hsieh, S.2014). About 40% black students who are accounted of enrolling into schools with gifted programs offered, but in statics only 26 percent of them are represented in the program( Hsieh,

Having an open internet help people to communicate and express their stories to others. Being African American is sometimes a struggle, especially when mainstream media stereotype us as one and fail to let African Americans to speak for themselves. So, having Net Neutrality let us have a voice when it comes to racial and social justice. In addition to, small business rely on Net Neutrality to help them launch and market their business ideas. This help the small business lower the roadblock and give them a opportunity and a fair chance to go up against other big companies that are highly known. Thirdly, there is no censorship on what and much you or anyone else upload or download.

In the Moynihan Report, Moynihan talks about racism and discrimination and how that comes into play with African American youth. He identified that there are five factors in a home environment that made a difference in whether boys would become delinquents: discipline of boy by father, supervision of boy by mother, affection of father for boy, affection of mother for boy, and cohesiveness of family (U.S. Department of Labor, 1965). Nowadays, more African Americans men have been leaving their homes or have been incarcerated leaving the women alone with the child(ren) and with a lesser chance of getting married. Incarcerated men are away from their home for years at a time and this disturbs the family’s routine that have been set in place. As Moynihan mentions in his report, the youth, especially males, could be affected by this sudden change (U.S. Department of Labor, 1965). The child no longer has those five factors in a home environment to make a difference in his live. In the United States, 5 percent of all African American men are incarcerated, compared to less than 1 percent (0.5 percent) of their white counterparts. African American men are ten times more likely to be incarcerated than white men (Hattery and Smith, 2012: 120). With incarceration increasing within the black community, leaving the family with one or no income, this is a factor as to the incline of single mothers and could also be another factor as to the increase in poverty among the black

One study reported that African-American males that were released into areas reporting these factors had a 10% higher-recidivism rate in the span of two years (Reisig, Bales, Hay, Wang, 2007). It can be reasonably stated that minorities trying to assimilate into society with these issues may have a larger setback to conquer, and thus fail to integrate as sufficiently as those without these challenges, such as Caucasians. Additionally, the article from Abate has shown that self-worth and stereotypes often combine to impact the actions of minorities, especially in regards to criminal action among youth (as cited in Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master,

Youth Violence in African American communities is still considered to be at epidemic proportions. The traditional risk factors for youth violence (i.e. delinquent friends, poverty, drug use, carrying a weapon etc.) do not account for the disproportionate overrepresentation of African American males. This study sought to better understand the propensity for violence among African American males ages 14-19 years (N=224) from four different programmatic sites: A Philadelphia high school, an African-centered charter high school, a youth detention facility, and a program that serves youth who are on probation or parole. The findings indicate that internalized racism enhances the variance explained above the variables typically explored in the delinquency

Studies show that there is a link between parent child bonds and if there is a strong bond between parents and their child that child is less inclined to engage in delinquent behaviour (Young, Fitzgibbon and Silverstone 2014). To support this argument, a study done by Young, Fitzgibbon and Silverstone (2014) examined levels and trends of delinquency in different types of families such as extended families, single parent families and the size of the family. Results showed that those who came from extended families are more likely to join a youth gang versus those who came from smaller families (Young, Fitzgibbon and Silverstone 2014). Moreover, delinquency rates of those who came from non-traditional homes is 10-15% higher than those from traditional homes (Young, Fitzgibbon and Silverstone 2014). This shows that in larger families and in families where there is a single parent, the child is less supervised and therefore, there is a lack of attachment and bonds between family members.

In the United States, juvenile delinquency is becoming a major problem in the communities across the country. Because of the actions that these juveniles engage in on a regular basis, taxpayers across the country are having to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars to rehabilitate these children in order to help them make better choices. This leads citizens to wonder what factors actually cause juveniles to live a life of crime rather than success. In short, there are three main factors that often cause children to live a life of crime. These three factors are social influences, psychological characteristics, and academic potential.

Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.