Between Racism, Political Differences, Economic Status,

After watching the documentary on Policing the Police provided by Frontline, I have come to realize that community policing rather and the use of a task force is a better approach when trying to get guns and drugs off the street. Subsequently, I do not believe that officers can realistically get guns and drugs off the streets without violating citizens’ rights. Based on related articles from The New Yorker and PBS, and first hand experiences from the narrator in the documentary I will be able to provide insight into my own opinions and thoughts about the issues at hand. This essay will also provide insight into the pros and cons of using community policing rather than using a task force. Also, this essay will touch on the

Fruitvale Station depicts the real-life case of Oscar Grant III, a young unarmed black man shot in the back by a white police officer on January 1, 2009 in Oakland. The movie begins with cell phone footage of Oscar Grant’s death recorded by bystanders. Grant’s life was tragically cut short due to a white man’s racism and stereotypical perception of a young black man. The BART police officer Johannes Mehserle abused his authority and shot Grant for no other reason but hatred and racism. At the time of the shooting, Grant was unarmed and pinned on the ground in handcuffs. The movie then walks you through the last twenty-four hours of Grant’s life. As you watch the movie and research the aftermath of Grant’s death you a forced to ask yourself a few questions; why does the media have the right to take away Oscar Grant’s humanity? Where do we draw the line between racism and holding others responsible and will the public’s perception of black men and women ever change? Lastly, we must focus on how this case and others impacts African American society and culture. We also must focus on the necessary changes African Americans must make in order to survive in a world that does not value black lives.

The police have had a major role in how the effects of the drug war have been mostly concentrated in the black community. A major reason for this is because of the very nature of drug law enforcement. Normal crime involves an injured party or witness that reports it and asks for police action. In drug crime, both the buyer and seller have no interest in reporting the criminal activity and it is the responsibility of the police to actively search for violators. This allows police the discretionary power to decide in which communities they will search for drug activity and who they will apprehend. Even though the rates of drug abuse are similar in both the black and white communities, police have targeted black communities almost exclusively in their drug control efforts.

The Blue Lives Matter arose more when the trust between the community and law enforcement was broken in a lot of places. In the article on Journalist’s Resource, “Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police? Research on Law Enforcement and Racial Conflict,” reads, “Surveys in recent years with minority groups… suggest that confidence in law enforcement is relatively low.” The broken trust between the community and law enforcement threatens the lives of police officers and creates tensions within the community. The people who are most affected by the broken trust are the blue lives and black lives. Police officers can more effectively work when there is trust between them and the community they work to keep safe in.

"There were two cops. One said 'You niggers have to learn to respect police officers.' The other one said, 'If you yell or make any noise, I will kill you.' Then one held me and the other shoved the plunger up my behind. He pulled it out, shoved it in my mouth, broke my teeth and said, 'That's your *censored*, nigger.'"(Abner Louima) The police officers that allegedly performed this act of racial violence on August 9, 1997 had no reason to brutally beat and sodomize Abner Louima. They beat him for the fact that he was an African-American. I will show how I researched a poem by Maya Angelou and how racism occurred in "The Bluest Eye". First, we need to understand what racism is.

In the video Law and Disorder in Philadelphia the policemen said they are able to tell right away who is a criminal and who isn’t. This is blatant discrimination. The video also shows that the police are concentrated in poorest parts of Philadelphia that have the most crime. These projects are filled with minorities. If the police are concentrated in the poor areas with minorities and not in the predominantly white suburbs there will obviously be more minorities being arrested than whites. The culture of the inner city greatly helps to perpetuate crime. Thomas Winston in the documentary Life and Death of a Dealer talked about how growing up he felt that there was no option besides crime. He started selling drugs at the age of 13. He also said that a dealer can make $15,000 a week but working minimum wage only yields about $110. (1) In the book Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson he describes how the culture in the streets is accepting of drug trafficking. On page 110, subchapter THE CULTURAL ECONOMIC CONNECTION, Anderson says that the lack of jobs has made the underground economy an easy and lucrative industry to enter. He talks about how a family whose main concern is paying bills wont let the criminality deter them. If you can’t find a job you are going to find some way to make money. This acceptance of criminality creates many problems. In Law and Disorder in Philadelphia the cop says that he couldn’t point out one house in the

The term “The Negro Problem" was used throughout the 1950 's and 60 's as a slang description of the racial tension between black and white Americans. The two essays in "The Fire Next Time" talk about the problem that the African American community faced, but from different perspectives. The author is writing to his nephew and is trying to make him understand that the situation is intolerable and not likely to change. He suggests that instead of reacting from a place of anger and hate, that the nephew should fight and strive to change the situation rather than confronting it violently. That his nephew and even the community as a whole should try to almost outsmart the whites by being the opposite of what they think of them. To prove them wrong and hopefully change the way they are looked at. He suggests a change of attitudes on both sides, to spread love and understanding instead of hate and animosity.

In the story in “War of Drugs” by Joseph McNamara, speaks about the war on drugs that had become a race war in which police officers are predominantly white. The war on drug was a hysteria unfortunately resulted numerous police officers to perceive non-white ethnicity as the antagonist. Notwithstanding, statistics disclose that most consumption of illegal drugs is mainly by whites. In our nation today, racism circulate a huge role in our everyday lives and this racism that we possess as human beings can occasionally cause as to ill-treat our fellow citizens. In my opinion, I utterly agree that police officers should not dehumanize people who use illegal drugs.

I think this was to help show just how people can change and how everyone’s lives are intertwined no matter who we are or what we do. It was very appealing to me to see how in the beginning we see two white police officers pull over a black couple in which they then proceed to bring them outside of the car and frisk the women to the point of sexual assault. This then proceeds to reinforce the common stereotype that all police officers violate the law themselves in order to gain power over a situation or make it easier for them to place the normal generalization upon other citizens. After seeing what one of the officers does to the female we immediately pass judgment on this officer. Do I agree that he was wrong in doing

“Raceteenth or Various Observations about American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-¬American Black” serves as a (getaway) for Ifemulu’s thoughts and experiences in America. The blogs sheds light on the racial divides of what is believed to be a sophisticated society but lacks the essence of racial unity. The blogs resonates deeper than the satirical commentary about everyday Americans but it critically comments on the broader themes of pseudo-scientific practices in America such as race. The blogs also delves deeper into the pursuit of one self and identity.

While the concept of a singular and limited British identity excludes various racial/ethnic, class, and gendered groups, this essay will focus on the racial/ethnic divide, which began the political discourse that led to Margaret Thatcher’s “new racism” in the 1980’s (Goldberg 1714). The Conservative party’s “essentialist” view of the British identity, looks back towards the age of Empire and concentrates on the importance of the peoples shared history and virtues (Marwick 28). Their party platform in 1945 emphasized this, claiming a history of British greatness that, for generations, has resided “in the character, the ability, and the independence of our people” (“Mr. Churchill’s Declaration”). However in forming an identity so strongly connected

This is really important because this tells us that police officer who is white abuse their power by saying he was armed or resisted arrest when all they really did was listen and did what they asked. This also shows that colour to people matter but really they do the same things everybody does they are still people so we should treat them like

There was a black women and male pulled over by a white cop. The officer didn’t have a valid reason to pull them over. He felt the need to harass the couple after speaking with a black woman over the phone that he didn’t her decision. There was a stolen vehicle on alert and this car didn’t match the description. The white cop gently rubbed his hands up and down her legs. The cops sexually assaulted the wife. He was totally wrong for even touching and rubbing on her. The wife have a reason to be upset and the cop should have lost his job. The husband was afraid to protect his wife because he knew he would be prosecuted. As a man he should do anything necessary to be sure he protect her. The scene is the part of the movie that disturbed me.

In a day and age of technology and progression the world keeps turning and pushing forward, but we somehow seem to be grounded in the past. Why? Well, as this is advancing, scientist's invented new creations yet, we are still trapped in the world where drugs are “acceptable” and our generation has grown up to live with the misconception that consuming drugs in any way is “normal”. Drug induced deaths have exponentially increased throughout the past years , an extensive amount of those death are overdoses cause by prescribed medication. This is something that has and will continue to affect our society and its crime rate. A Drug Enforcement Administration Agent is someone who has the authority to make a change and help not only people but

What is race and ethnicity? Can racial conflicts be eliminated by education? Can there be a time where one’s colour or background did not matter? Every modern day society faces racial conflicts. Humans are equal, whether they are white or black, etc. Hatred among different racial groups is common in out modern day society. Ignorance of the equality of every human causes racism. Humans need laws to follow and the lack of these laws cause conflict between humans. Erin Gruwell was optimistic about teaching a class of so many different backgrounds but it was much more challenging to get through to such angry teenagers. Racial conflicts in America include gang violence, and even murder. The Freedom Writers movie gives a clear description of the