Dichotomy Of Racism

Crime and justice provides a substantial portion of the media’s raw material; crime stories are good ‘products’ for the media; public perception’s are influenced by the media; and crime policies are created, endorsed, or abandoned based in part on media coverage and public reaction (Guastaferro,2008). With the recent killings of unarmed black men and boys broadcasted throughout today’s media, in addition to the backlash that they receive by society as being involved in any type of Criminal activity or being depicted as a threat to public safety to justify the injuries,

With so many news stories and incidents surrounding the topic of race and the police these days, it is not surprising for people to come to the conclusion that racism may exist within the criminal justice system. We will be taking a deeper look into the problem to find out what other possible determinants may play a role in deciding how an officer makes an arrest or stop and continue to analyze what is happening in those contexts. The issues surrounding the topic of race is like the two faces of the same coin as there are usually two sides that we have to consider: reality and media portrayals. The reality side of situations is always there at the time, but it is so subtly hidden from society that nobody understands it unless they witness it firsthand and with the media spreading filtered information, it becomes even harder for us to identify the key issue; this is especially the case when dealing with the police and racial profiling. If you turn on the news and flip to a channel where it is reporting on the police and their arrests, you will most likely see more arrests pertaining to minorities than other ethnicities. In the news, we can often see a misrepresentation of ethnic minorities, usually African-Americans, being arrested when compared to others and this has caused problems around societies countless times. For this essay topic, I will be discussing the different issues surrounding race within the parameters of criminal justice and inequality; furthermore I will be

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

Despite the important racial progresss our society has made since Emmett Till’s death, from the civil rights era, to present increase of police brutality has still left the Black/African American community in shadows of segregation. The second most recent shooting of teenager Michael Brown has left citizens in ongoing battles with law enforcement officers of Ferguson, Missouri. New Statement (2014) reports, Missouri police similarly attempted to retain control of the narrative, claiming Brown had stolen cigars, and then paying for them, and then claiming he was a bad child and attacked the officer who shot him” (New Statement, 21). Brown autopsy reveals he was gun less and shot six times. Police brutality is not solely about Ferguson, Emmett Till, or the civil rights movement, but it is simply about the history of capitalism and police brutality in America and having many forms of it.

The shooting of sparked a nation-wide movement not only demanding justice for Mike Brown, but also protesting the racial discrimination deeply embedded in the criminal justice system as well as various institutions in the larger American society. Furthermore, jfdkjfjdakljk something about international recognition. Similar protests and riots have been springing up in other cities since 1960s, and police killings of unarmed black men happen once every 28 hours (Kahle, 2014). However, Michael Brown’s killing has led to the most sustained uprising against police violence in at least two decades, centered among the African American residents of Ferguson, and has rallied significant nationwide support as well as international attention (Kahle, 2014; Taylor, 2014). The killing of Michael Brown is by no means an isolated event, and presence of racial tensions, especially in the St. Louis area, was already present long before. The large-scale pushback that the killing of Michael Brown has set in motion, then, seems to have been the last straw, prompting the eruption of decades of pent up frustration at a racist and oppressive system. That being said, what are the previous straws that have slowly pushed the black community in Ferguson to the breaking point? What are the factors that have caused these tensions to boil over and erupt into such a large-scale upheaval? This paper will explore some of the

One of the most recent national conflicts deals with the shooting and killing of Michael Brown (a black man) by a white police officer ("Holder Announces Ferguson Probe, Review of St. Louis County Police Practices."). Sense Perception and Emotion should be considered when evaluating this situation at Ferguson. The sense perception of the witnesses as well as that of the two involved in the physical conflict needs to be taken into consideration. The police officer could have believed he was defended himself, and Brown could have thought the same. The witnesses and the surrounding population’s opinions should also be considered. St. Louis County is notorious for their crime rate and their protest/ riot like movements. These riots can probably be credited for getting this situation national attention because of the actions and the

For example, 76% of crime report in local news stations in Chicago depicted a black perpetrator for their leading stories (Entman, 1990). This coverage works to provide stereotypes on the assumption of black people as dangerous, sub-human, and inherently criminal. Moreover, in comparison to white criminals who were not shown in holding or mug shots, black criminals are frequently shown handcuffed in police holding (Entman, 1990) The association of black people with symbols of menace increases the apprehensive and negative beliefs required for systemic racism (Entman, 1990). As a result of extensive circulation of negative stereotypes, it becomes imbedded in the social psyche that violence and discrimination are reasonable merits to be employed against these people as they are seen as a threat to social stability. In effect, there is little accountability for violence against blacks by members of law enforcement and many officers are not indicted for the murder of blacks, or else face menial sentences (Chancey& Robertson, 2015). The underlying attitude of disregard towards black lives enables institutionalized racism, which is transferred to the general public, and is justified by the negative stereotypes fabricated by the ruling white class (Chancey& Robertson, 2015). For example, from “January 1

In the article, Everything you think you know about the death of Michael Brown is wrong, and the man who killed him admits it, written by Michael Harriot from The Root, the author uses evidence directly from the Michael Brown case and demonstrates that he sides with Brown by constantly attacking the police officer’s claims of being guilt free. While McCoy’s article castigates the unreasonable decision to fire upon Brown by placing a huge emphasis on Wilson’s discrimination against African Americans through the usage of unclear evidence and straw man, Pearce’s article presents the event in a neutral tone by utilizing testimonies from witnesses; In Harriot’s article, the author conveys bias perspective towards Wilson’s story as shown through authority. Consequently, this emphasises the necessity for the audience to observe both sides of the situation and judge with a calm rational mind in order to differentiate the falsities from the media to

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

In August of 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, an 18-year-old African American boy by the name of Michael Brown, was shot and killed by an on-duty police officer during the investigation of an alleged, strong-arm robbery (Clarke & Lefte, 2014). The incident ignited protests and violent riots that continued for several weeks throughout the United States. Similar high profile deaths of Eric Garner in New York City, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and Freddy Gray in Baltimore, have resulted in mass protests against law enforcement. For many, a deep divide was forged in the relations between law enforcement and the public; trust was lost on both sides. “Normally, official accounts of police fatally shooting black teenagers rest largely on the words of

On August 14, 2014, the infamous case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, took place. A police officer shot an unarmed black teenager after an incident which was clouded in unclear details. At first, no one really knew whether the officer had been in the right to shoot Brown, or what the circumstances were for either side of the incident. However, eventually, the details started to not matter. The events around Michael Brown’s case became the spark that ignited a nationwide movement to fight against police brutality towards minorities, specifically African Americans. Protesters of police violence toward minorities created a phrase that was used all over the country after Brown’s death: “hands up, don’t shoot”. Many have used the events behind Brown’s death as a springboard to consider what makes a criminal. One side of the issue claims that race directly affects criminality, while others believe class to be the cause of criminality.

The police involved shooting of Michael Brown has changed the way society views law enforcement, and the method of how law enforcement officers have to interact with this same society. With the deaths of individuals like Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and with the assistance of social media and bias news reporting, as well as high level officials within our social structure, who’s speech and words can carry a large impact on our behaviors, there has been a picture painted that police are murdering people of different ethnicities without regard for justifiable force. Politicians, celebrities and the media alike, have been a major contributor to the anti-police sentiment and the violent interactions that police

How would you feel if the outcome of your interaction with authority depended on whether you were black, Latino, or white? Unfortunately, police brutality is the sad reality that many black and Latino boys experience in their childhood. The disadvantages of their upbringing results to the reinforcement of societal restrictions on their success. On a positive note, education becomes salvation to marginalized group because it provides them means to escape the system that prevents them from becoming successful. However, Charles M. Blows and Victor M. Rios reveal that black and Latino boys are at a disadvantage in the school to prison pattern. Therefore, the recent death of Michael Brown only heightens public awareness of police brutality on colored males. According to Charles M. Blow, bias educational system is a major factor in criminalization of black and Latino boys. But we cannot disregard that a significant perpetrator of racism is ignorance and false media representation. Therefore an increase of awareness of the existence of discrimination and improvement on media depiction of black and Latino characters would render racism defenseless.

August 9th marks the two-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of black 18-year-old Micheal Brown. Brown was unarmed when shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting caused many protests that disturbed the area for weeks. The story sparked controversy during the time the police, public, and media attempted to assign blame. Not much has changed since then. Despite “who was at fault” or if the victim was “no angel” (Mapping Police Violence) the issue of police using excessive force is still at an inclined rate. This rate may be inclined but from year to year, the numbers are somewhat consistent. These numbers only become staggering once compared to the low numbers in police brutality around