Fundamental Error

Ever since the 1970’s, the number of mass incarcerations in the United States has increased by 700 percent. In many of these cases, African-Americans and other racial minority groups are seemingly more likely to become arrested and convicted compared to whites. Statistically speaking, one in eight African-American men in their twenties are currently in prison. As derived from the articles What Is Implicit Bias? and Mass Incarceration and People of Color, implicit biases have affected the reasoning for individuals in the criminal justice system. Police officers, judges, and jurors are prime examples of this. In addition, policies that blatantly target African-Americans and other racial minority groups are a result of implicit biases. Not only are public sector employees affected by implicit biases, everyone is affected by implicit biases. My results from taking the Implicit Association Test have supported this claim.

There are large racial disparities in incarceration and related detainments for African Americans. They are more likely to be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections than any other racial or ethnic group (H.West, Sabol, & Greenman, 2010). Institutional racism is believed to be the reason why African Americans, especially males, are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. On balance, the public believes that discrimination against black people is based on the prejudice of the individual person, correlates to the discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions (Pew’s Research Center, 2017). This belief is actually supported through several experimental studies that provide evidence that African Americans are to be seen as more criminal and threatening than others thus more likely to be arrested or even shot (Greenwald, Oakes, & Hoffman, 2003). Racism within the criminal justice system very much exists and is still relevant.

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 our society, there are many stereotypes for every race and ethnicity, but one of the most prevalent throughout most cultures, even among African Americans, is that most black men are criminals. This is something that, although I understand is not true, has become so ingrained in our society that it made me act differently unintentionally. Even if only in insignificant situation, such as keeping a watchful eye on my belongings when a black person was around or by simply being fearful when a black man was walking behind me, I knew my actions were prejudiced. It’s difficult to break a stereotype when statistics seem to prove it correct. The documentary The 13th and Michelle Alexander describe how mass incarceration, partly resulting from the

”In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race explicitly as a justification for discrimination, exclusion and social contempt, so we don't," Alexander said. "Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color criminals and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind” (Famed 1). Now after a majority of the black race is behind bars people begin to give the black race a negative stereotype. If you were walking with a child down the street and you saw a black person, what are you automatically going to think? Oh, he seems like a nice man and let your child go up to him? Or are you going to think well he is black so you have to pull your child closer to you because you are afraid that he might try to take your child? So why do people set these stereotypes for only black felons? Why don’t white felons have the same reputation? Thus, creating a negative stereotype for the black race. From the War on Drugs essentially putting people behind bars, to how the Jim Crow laws are resurfacing again, and to how mass incarceration effects the families, mass incarceration has become a major problem for the black communities all around the world.

Welch (2007) instituted her article with details of speculations and theories that coincided to the development of Black criminal labels. Now, the Black criminal labels are basically the stereotypes that black people are commonly involve or associate with regarding with crime. She thought it was a plausible concept to understand the images of crime shown by a society. She explicates on racial stereotypes through crime rates, black involvement in crimes, media, and racial hoaxes. For instance, young black males in America are commonly perceived as violent, gang affiliated, and sustain by other labels everywhere. She mentions “talking about crime is talking about race” which has adapted to the publics’ minds throughout a wide range in history (Welch, 2007; Barlow, 1998, p.151). Welch gives an example of a common white stereotype of African Americans as being less controlled, and more prone to crime than whites which adds to the public’s conception of criminality (2007; Higginbotham, 2002, p.147). Through the various factors, like black involvement in crime have contributed to the criminal stereotyping of blacks. Concerning this, Randall Kennedy interpreted how the reputation of Blacks has been “besieged” by beliefs from white people about inclinations beforehand towards criminal activity that could be traced back to when Africans were held in captivity (1997; Welch, 2007). His statement conveyed that African Americans have had this reputation for decades. The real

According to Marian Wright Edelman, “Education is a precondition to survival in America Today. Unfortunately, a good quality education that will ensure a successful and economically stable future for our children today is not available to all children, especially young Black males. According to Jenkins (2006) in the needs assessment for African American Men of Arizona State University (AAMASU) program, the university noted that Black males experience a high level of underachievement in the higher education arena, over involvement in the criminal system, and high rates of unemployment, poverty, and dying via homicide (Arizona State University, 2004). All too often African American males have been caught in a web of stereotyped notions of race and gender that place them at considerable disadvantages in schools and ultimately society (Howard, 2008). According to Hooks (2004) more than any other group of men in our society black males are perceived as lacking intellectual skills. The 1900 census reports that 57% of black males were illiterate. Now as we move onward in the twenty-first century, black males make up a huge percentage of those who are illiterate (Hooks, 2004). Society will looks at our young black men and label them as lazy, uneducated, underachievers, and highly involved in the criminal justice system, however at the same time, it overlooks how they got there. According to Jenkins (2006) this has not always been the case. Prior to the segregation of schools, young

One of the reasons our culture’s idea of justice needs to be reformed is because, race plays too much of a factor in how you are treated today in society. In her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander states that “three out of four young black men can expect to serve time in prison.”(Alexander, Pg. 6) This shows of how a majority of the African American population is expected to be in jail at least once in their life. This is one of the reasons why black people tend to be afraid of the police. This is also important because, it clearly shows of how the black population is geared to be incarcerated. When I read

People also acquire attitudes by socializing with other groups, like teachers, television, parents and even religious groups. “Social learning approaches to stereotyping and prejudice suggest that attitudes and behavior toward members of minority groups are learned through the observation of parents and other individuals” (Myers, 1996). Investigators have found that differences in self-monitoring influence the link between attitudes and behavior. Individuals who are low in self-monitoring strive to make certain that their actions match their principals, values, and attitudes (Snyder, 1982).If a child that was raised in a white family that has negative attitudes towards blacks, will have principals, values and attitudes against black people.

Any Americans pretend that the days of racism are far behind; however it is clear that institutional racism still exists in this country. One way of viewing this institutional racism is looking at our nation’s prison system and how the incarceration rates are skewed towards African American men. The reasons for the incarceration rate disparity are argued and different between races, but history points out and starts to show the reason of why the disparity began. Families and children of the incarcerated are adversely affected due to the discrimination as well as the discrimination against African American students and their likelihood of going to prison compared to the white student. African American women are also affected by the discrimination in the incarceration rate. Many white Americans don’t see how racism affects incarceration rates, and that African Americans are more likely to face discrimination from the police as well as being falsely arrested. Many would argue that the reason why the incarceration rate for African Americans is sustainably higher compared to white American is because of economic situations, and because of past arrest patterns. While it is true that the economic opportunity someone has will affect their decisions, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of why the rates are higher. To fully understand the reason why one must look back on America’s

Rather than getting to know a person and judging them based on their personality, many people are quick to judge a person based on their visible differences. People are profiled for the color of their skin or simply for the clothes they wear, yet these traits can define how a person is treated daily. Many people are treated differently for these visible pieces of their identity than they would be if identity was solely based on the person inside. Because of these visible differences, people often assume that these people adhere to certain stereotypes. Negative stereotypes based on gender, race, or religion rarely hold true, yet are so common. Even if a person does act in adherence with a certain stereotype, it is harmful to assume something about an entire group of people. Almost all stereotypes come from a place of higher privilege, and American society turns a blind eye to the prejudice associated. In his article “Letter to My Son” Ta-Nehisi Coates explains that in American history, it is “traditional to destroy the black body” and proves the point that without serious change, a culture founded on oppression continues to oppress. Coates addresses police violence toward young black men in America openly and with brutal honesty and implies that instead of expecting change and acceptance, his son will have to

The author, Travis L. Dixon, sought to address the association of criminal behavior and race based on news programs portrayals of crime, specifically to blacks and whites. Thus, blacks are classified as the perpetrators, whereas whites are classified as the victims, creating an ideology of whites are most likely to be victimized by people of color. Published on October 1st, 2008, Dixon assets the validity of this by addressing main points such as taking a psychological approach on social cognition, priming process and interracial victimization. As a result, a study was conducted to “test whether the race of perpetrators, race of victims, and level of stereotype endorsement have an impact on participants perception of the featured perpetrator

While progress has been made to close the gap of racial inequality in society, racial bias continues to be a prevailing issue. In a 2016 research study published in the Journal of Psychological Science, Todd, Thiem, and Neel (2016) tested whether exposure to the faces of black male children causes a heightened sense of threat in white observers. Prior research already supported that both old age and “babyfaced” qualities can reduce the threat related stigma towards black men. However, contrasting research has shown that black children are more subject to an adult standard and are more likely to be tried as adults than white children in similar cases. The study aimed to test competing hypotheses disputing whether or not young age was potent enough factor to reduce bias and association between black males and threatening words and objects (Todd et al, 2016).

It is in the conception of race as socially constructed, shifting over time, built on difference and positionality, that can cause one to wonder how so much power or lack thereof could be based on one’s appearance or phenotype. Who is white and who is not has become the foundation that racism is built on, supported by prejudice and implicit bias that is taught from birth in both knowing and unknowing ways, and cemented together with multiple nails of discriminatory actions, often sanctioned by law.

This week’s reading of the College Orientation Experience discusses six “common errors in judgment that interfere with effective critical thinking”. (Bethel University, 2013, p. 4) Three of the six discussed were stereotypes, snap judgments, and halo effect. (Bethel University, 2013) Stereotyping is something we are all subjected to. My experience as a young police officer taught me how to define good people versus bad people. Routinely I find myself labeling people unwarranted based on my defined stereotypes. I judge people based on how they dress, how they talk, how they walk, what kind of car they drive, and who they hang out with. Working a certain part of town and dealing with criminals in that area on a daily basis, I lean towards believing that everyone in that area is bad. Cynicism can develop based off my stereotypes if I am not careful. There are good people in bad neighborhoods. Consciously I make an effort to remind myself of that each day.