Inwalter Mosley'S White Butterfly, Mosley Uses The Detective

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.

Oliver also writes in “African American Men”, “Research and public opinion polls of people’s attitudes and beliefs about crime reveal… greater fear of crime when in the presence of African Americans.” Modern day social medias also support the concept of unlawful persecutions, spanning from videos of beating or even obituaries, of African American men that can be a result of the perception society has of the potential threats African Americans may have in comparison to citizens of another

A common stereotype for Black Americans is the over criminalization of black men. Although criminals come in every shape, size and race black men are targeted as criminals more than any other race. The media recently came out with the movie “Straight Outta Compton” which focused on the real life events of young rappers now. White policemen harass and attempt to

Without a doubt, black men in the United States continue to be excessively “incarcerated, policed, and sentenced to death at significantly higher rates than their white counterparts (Kerby 2).” Portrayals in the media have depicted black men as thugs and common criminals; these negative stereotypes demoralize men of color and allow society to believe and internalize this destructive thinking. The racial disparities that exist in the criminal justice system are an indirect consequence of the portrayals of African American men that circulate in society. Because of racial disparities that occur in the United States it consequently threatens communities of color by “disenfranchising thousands by limiting voting rights and denying equal access to employment, housing, public benefits, and education to millions more (Kerby 2).”

Racial bias becomes unavoidable when civilization’s image of a criminal is a BAA (Black African

African American males are overrepresented in the criminal justice and many times are subject to harsher sentences than their Caucasian counterparts. African American males also experience racial profiling and have more negative interactions than any other population in the United States. Ibie, Obie, and Obiyan states, “African Americans have continued to be the repository for American crime and to be treated as amalgamation of presumed group trait rather than as individuals”. This topic is important because African American adolescents are less likely to be referred to rehabilitation or diversion programs and more likely to be sent to juvenile and/or prison. History has not been kind to African Americans and the injustices experienced by African Americans in the criminal justice system is extremely high. According to Weatherspoon, “The Supreme Court condoned and perpetuated many of the present day stereotypical biases concerning African Americans in the landmark decision of Dred Scott v. Sanford”. Over that past few years, with the advent of social media, the world is becoming more aware of the injustices and brutality suffered by African American males in the justice system. Many view this as a new phenomenon, but others know this abuse has always occurred, it is just now there are cameras taping the violence. Many people are waking up to what is occurring, but there are many others who are denial and who refuse to acknowledge the oppression and racism

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.

Another common negative stereotype, establishes the African American male as intellectually inferior. Studies directed by psychologist Claude Stale, indicate that African American teenagers are aware that they are stigmatized as being intellectually inferior and the go to school bearing what psychologist Claude has called a “burden of suspicion” Such burden can affect their attitudes and achievements. These shadows hang over stigmatized people no matter their status or accomplishments. These stigmas have the potential to roll them of their individually and debilitate their attempts to break out of the stereotypical roles. Blacks are the repository for the American fear of crime. Ask anyone, of any race, to picture a criminal and the image will have a black face. The linked between blackness and criminality it’s routinized by terms such a “black-on-black crimes” or “black crimes”.

In the study, “The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children,” researchers investigated whether or not Black boys are given the same protections of childhood as their peers. They tested three hypotheses: that Black boys are seen as less “innocent” as White peers, that characteristics associated with childhood are less likely to be thought of when thinking about White boys relatives to Black boys, and that these trends are exacerbated when Black males are associated with apes. The researchers cite numerous previous studies to support the foundation of their hypotheses, that black males are not treated fairly because of subliminal racial prejudice. In a previous study, “white participants who were subliminally exposed to images of apes before watching a video of police beating a Black man were more likely to endorse that beating, despite the extremity of the violence. Participants did not, however, endorse the same beating when the suspect was white or when they had not been primed with the ape image” (527). The same concept that the association of apes and black people, however subliminal, leads to unfair treatment and violence is something the researchers focused on with one of their three studies. Further, “in recent research by Rattan et al. (2012)… participants perceived Black adolescent offenders as more deserving of adult treatment than an identical White adolescent offender, providing evidence for

In the present scenario, the main challenge of our society is the stereotype that exists. One of the common stereotypes is that we deem black men as dangerous. Most people grow up with such a perception and feel it be true. In ‘Just Walk on by: Black Men and Public Space’ Brent Staples describes the way black men are perceived as dangerous individuals to society by his own experiences. He rightly acknowledges the occasional hatred that black men are subjected to in everyday social situations. Staples begins his writing with an anecdote using an ironic tone, describing the concerns successfully with emotional and logical appeals in chronological order. He aims to see the problems from the white American perspective and he makes efforts so as to clear their concerns with ease through the use of diction, ironic tone, ethos & pathos.

Walter Mosley’s novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, explores the racial prejudices in Los Angeles during the 1940’s. The novel takes place in 1948, when the United States was still legally segregated into black and white communities and when people divided themselves into lower and upper classes. Easy Rawlins, the main character in the book, is an ordinary lower class African American worker, who faces limited opportunities and little money to live on. Throughout the novel, Easy Rawlins experiences firsthand the blatant racism prevailing in 1948. Walter Mosley’s novel reveals how life was in Los Angeles after WWII, before the civil rights movement. By viewing an American city from the perspective of a black lead character, Devil in A Blue Dress helps one become more conscious of how racial barriers have appeared in the eyes of African-Americans.

Pop culture has enlightened and exposed the world to the good, the bad, and the ugly under every circumstance, and people tend to be more provoked, influenced, and intrigued by the bad and the ugly rather than the good. One topic of pop culture that never fails to gain attention is violence in its many forms. While at a state of constant social change and adaptation, the population finds more and more disagreements on the ever-changing and conflicting views and beliefs of each individual, which can lead to violence in some, if not most cases. Hate crimes are crimes or actions motivated by certain disagreements among groups that typically involve some form of violence. This essay will discuss the violence in racial hate crimes against African Americans, because the violence in these hate crimes, both past and present, will help educate individuals about different racial perspectives on the claimed “unfair” or “unequal” treatment of the African American race compared to the treatment of whites in all aspects of society and life. In the United States, African Americans as a race haven been one of the main targets for violent racial and hate crimes. Racial violence and hate crimes against African Americans have been a part of the United States since the very beginning, with a spike in conflict around the 1960s era of the African American Civil Rights Movement, and are even portrayed now in current pop culture sources. Violence against African Americans in films like The Help (a

Racial Bias are a direct correlation to police violence against African Americans, stereotypes perpetuated by social constructions and media representation along with individual prejudice help by police officers view African Americans as a threat especially African American men. Police trust this ideology of “threat” to assist in their use of excessive force against African Americans to comply. (Tyler, 2011; Tyler et al., 2015, Skinner, Haas,2016).

In both “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” and “Do the Right Thing” the relationship between blackness and violence fluctuates between a mode of aggression and a tool of survival. Both films consistently attempt to represent violence by blacks as a symptom of white dominance and brutality. In “Sweet Sweetback” black violence is perceived by the dominant white institutions (i.e. the police and the officers) as an act of intentional aggression. White perception deems that blacks will be violent – both physically and sexually – because they are naturally violent. It is the responsibility of the whites to protect society from the hypersexual, hyper-violent black male (Class Discussions, 2014). Such is the case when police officers storm the hotel room in search of Sweetback only to find a black male naked with a white woman in the bed, presumably after having sex. The officers were quick to physically attack both individuals, though the black man received a longer and harsher punishment. Their response highlights the taboo nature of black and white relations in “Sweetback” as well as the dominant fear of black males as sexual aggressors who take advantage of white women whenever possible (Class Discussions, 2014).

In this paper I argue that in Walter Mosley's White Butterfly, Mosley uses the detective genre to counter stereotypes and myths regarding black masculinity. Mosley uses the protagonist Easy Rawlins to restore the image of the black man in America and to give readers a better understanding of black men in America. Easy Rawlins in many aspects can be seen as a role model. The book was published in 1992 and the setting is 1956, in Watts, Los Angeles California. A few years into the Civil Rights movement where blacks are struggling for equality.