Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they must meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome” (BrainyQuote.com). There is a sense around the world today that racism is gone and that we are in a new era. However, this is not true; racism can be seen just as prevalent today as in the past. There are people being put on trial unfairly because of racist mindsets in the judicial system. In these situations, there are some people that are too quick to assume that it must be this one individual with the only backing for their opinion is that the color of their skin is different. The way a person is judged should not be based upon the color of his skin is but whether he did the crime. Gains and Wright portray to us in their novels how the American judicial system is unable to see through the mask of racism. They use the art of literature to give reasons for believing that the courts today cannot get over the mountainous racism issue.
Racist people in the court systems are what give people unfair trials. The judges, juries, attorneys, and public opinions are full of biased statements when they see that a person of the opposite race committed the crime. In Wright’s Native Son, we see an African American boy on trial for murder. This boy grew up extremely poor and is working for a rich white family. He is also in a gang and is looked down upon. He knows he needs to get his life together and provide for his family, but he
Similarly, there is need to examine whether race plays a role in determining if one is convicted or released. This is because an all-white bench convicted Hunt, who is of African American descent, of a crime he did not commit. Whether racial prejudice plays any role in our criminal and justice system needs critical examine since the law should be fair and equal before all. A non-discriminative judicial system will enhance public trust and eliminate cases of wrongful conviction.
Racism is a topic that has existed for many years. But where does it come from? Who do we blame? Should we blame television, music, politics or even our own families? All of the above play a role in racism. We aren't born hating each other. As we grow up we are taught to hate each other. Things such as how our family members talk, treat and deal with other races affect us tremendously. This is where the problem begins. Then our hatred grows as we are influenced by the things we see on TV and the things being said about others in the music that we listen to. As we read the papers we read about politicians bad mouthing other races. How about where we live, go to school or even work? Yes, another set of
After the civil war ended many blacks and whites especially in the south, continued living as if nothing had changed with regards to the oppressions and poor treatment of African Americans. Narrator Grant Wiggins, of the novel A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, finds himself in a similar situation towards racism. Through his experience Grant is forced to transform Jefferson who was wrongly accused of a murder from a “HOG” into a man. Although Grant was forced to make jefferson a man, he himself became more of one as a result. Grant transformed from an ignorant pessimistic person into a sensitive and compassionate human being.
The author of this article is Cornelia Grumman won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 and found the organization the First Five Years Fund where she advocated for stronger federal policies. The audience she could be targeting would be the government to create stricter guidelines when imposing capital punishment. The purpose of this article is to give awareness of how race can create bias factors in the justice system. It has been commonly seen
America has been built on inequality and evolving forms of racism for generations. Our criminal justice system is a reflection of the structural racism that has and is permeating our country. The criminal justice system of the United States is not explicitly racist, however there are many internal and unspoken policies that enact a structural racism through policing and the courts, however, our criminal justice system shows more racial disparities than racism. The lenses of two individuals who have in some way experienced the criminal justice system show the internal issues revolving around race, In Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleeve’s work Crook County and Wilbert Rideau’s In the Place of Justice, we see how the structural racism and more so the racial disparities play huge roles in shaping the life outcomes for people of color.
Few in this country would argue with the fact that the United States criminal justice system possesses discrepancies which adversely affect Blacks in this country. Numerous studies and articles have been composed on the many facets in which discrimination, or at least disparity, is obvious. Even whites are forced to admit that statistics indicate that the Black community is disproportionately affected by the American legal system. Controversy arises when the issue of possible causes of, and also solutions to, these variations are discussed. It’s not just black versus white, it is white versus white, and white versus oriental, whatever the case may be, and it is not justice. If we see patterns then the judges should have the authority to say something. Jury nullifications cannot be overturned regardless of the cause. Exclusionary rule, according to CULS (2010) – Prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of U.S. Constitution; like unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment).
Racism is a big flaw in our criminal judicial system, just the fact that at least one out three African American males is expected to go to prison shows that racism plays a big part in mass incarceration. African Americans make up a majority of the prison’s population than any other race. Poor and segregated locations are more closely spectated and followed by police officers than wealthy locations because, they expect poor segregated area to be more dangerous because of the people who live there and how the environment around them looks like. Police officers should not discriminate people because, of their status and/or skin color. For example, in the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus Finch proves the innocence of Tom Robinson a
keep your mouth shut or the white folks Ôll get you too." As a teenager Wright
Almost every member of the black community in Maycomb County is admirable in their personalities and innocent in their nature, and this generalisation makes the crimes against the black community all the worse. Tom Robinson, a man discriminated and accused of a crime that he didn’t commit has come forth to the justice system. The color of his skin determines everything from his background too if he’s guilty or not. A black man’s life is unable to prove innocence because of his race. Poverty has affected many people back in the 1960’s but, if a black man or women were to experience this they would be put on the white
Every young man struggles with his inner character. Choosing how he carries himself around others and even himself is a snapshot of how he will be as not only a husband but as a father. In “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he is conflicted with the problems of racism during the 1950’s, striving not to become the man his father was, and trying to figure out who he is as an individual. These things are what empowers him to write this essay. Baldwin’s conundrum is fueled the turmoil of self and living in a racist society throughout this story.
Have you ever experienced a form of oppression? Have you felt dehumanized ever in your life? even for a brief moment? Experiencing these conditions has the tendency to bring out feelings of shame and or rage. Imagine someone like Bigger Thomas, the main character from Richard Wright’s novel Native Son, a twenty year old who has lived his whole life within the tight grasp of oppression and racial dehumanization. Those feelings of shame and anger have built up inside of him over years without any signs of fading. It would make sense for Bigger to become increasingly fearful and outwardly violent as he grows in this environment. The problem for many characters in Native Son (and people in reality) is that they don’t understand this about him. Bigger’s racist and oppressive environment has raised him to be fearful and aggressive which in turn, has caused him to act violent.
The topic of whether or not there is racism in the legal system is becoming increasingly debatable among certain groups. The obvious evidence that has been glaring in the faces of the public for decades says it all: the criminal justice system is, and always has been, swayed by racism. Despite this, the opposing side of the argument - which mostly consists of privileged whites – diligently argues that racism was outlawed decades ago. There are also African Americans who are unaware of how their race is constantly being oppressed. However, the younger generation is quickly becoming culturally and politically woke and passing on the knowledge. Although racism is not explicitly stated in the law, racists are still hiding behind the supremacy of the country. White policemen have went as far as mindlessly killing young black people and claiming it was done out of self-defense. White judges will find loopholes in the legal process when dealing with an offense committed by an African American. They are targeting African Americans and punishing them more harshly than the white people who commit crimes.
Native Son, by Richard Wright, is a fictional novel that explores the issues of racism and inequality for african americans in 1930s Chicago. The book analyzes the divided culture of the time by narrating the story of a young black man, Bigger Thomas. In the opening section of Native Son, Bigger is introduced as a poor, uneducated twenty-year-old who is defined by his anger, frustration, and fear of the life he has no control over, due to racial injustice. Bigger eventually takes a job with a white family, the Daltons, working as their family chauffeur. While at his first day working with the Daltons, Bigger drives Mr. Dalton’s daughter, Mary, to meet her boyfriend Jan. Jan and Mary try to prove to Bigger during this interaction that they are progressive, racially tolerant white people during this interaction, however, this only angers and scares Bigger because of the social norms that Mary breaks. The three of them end up getting drinks together at a restaurant, leading Jan, Mary, and Bigger to become drunk. Bigger eventually brings Mary home and helps her up to her bedroom because she is too drunk, when Mrs. Dalton, who is blind, unexpectedly enters Mary’s bedroom. Bigger becomes frightened at what may come if Mrs. Dalton becomes aware of his presence in Mary’s bedroom, so Bigger covers Mary’s face with a pillow to keep her from exposing his presence. During this frightening encounter, Bigger accidentally smothers Mary to death. Wright goes on to tell the rest of Bigger’s
Racism has a huge impact on society to this day. The greatest wrong doing in the U.S criminal justice system is that it is a race based organization where African Americans are specifically focused on and rebuffed in a considerably more forceful route than white individuals. Saying the Us criminal justice system is racist might be politically disputable in different ways. In any case, the actualities are debatable. Underneath I explain many cases of these issues. Information on race is available for each step of the criminal justice system – from the use of drugs, police stops, arrests, getting off on bail, legal representation, jury selection, trial, sentencing, prison, parole, and freedom.
In the novel Native Son, by Richard Wright, one of the major themes that is developed throughout the novel is society blind to racism and inequality. Wright makes an allusion to the Greek mythology of Opedius to illustrate the physical and emotional blindness that occur in the novel. When the tragic hero Oedipus fails to escape the prophecy, he blinds himself in a fit of fury just like Bigger; however Bigger blinds himself figuratively speaking. Bigger has a destined fate, when he hears about from his mother and others he becomes enraged and he does everything to avoid it but fails miserably.