Racism in America: From Jim Crow to Trayvon Martin

“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.

The following piece of work will discuss racism within the criminal justice system by viewing the Black Lives Matter movement, the roles of law enforcement and how that effects citizens, and potential solutions to the problems in the system. Within our criminal justice system, it is evident that there is a problem by the ratio of blacks in prison, and the number of police brutality cases in the country.

In the new proactive book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander dives into the not so complicated racial issues that plague this country that we tend to ignore. In all of history, African Americans have had to constantly fight for their freedoms and the right to be considered a human being in this society. It’s very troubling looking back and seeing where we have failed people in this country. At the turn of the century, when people began to think that we had left our old ways behind, this book reminds us that we are wrong. Racism is still alive today in every way, just in different forms.

The criminal justice system in America is a system designed to work in three distinct steps. The first being to fairly identify those breaking the law, second, create a process through which to both punish and rehabilitate criminals, and lastly integrate them back into society. The current system typically goes unquestioned, as those in the system seem to be deserving of what ever happens while they are in it, even once they have served their prison sentence. It is only upon deeper inspection that we begin to realize the discrimination and unfair tactics used to introduce certain groups of society into the criminal justice system and proceed to trap them there. This is the issue addressed in Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, and it is through arrests, sentencing and further upon release from jail that this oppressive system is created and maintained.

The criminal justice system in the United States is evident of several deep flaws relating to the treatment of black men and women accused of committing criminal offenses. It is logical to believe that due to the U.S.’s rather dark past surrounding the treatment of black Americans, systematic racism is included under the guise of the criminal justice system. The U.S. is historically infamous for it’s open racial discrimination against black Americans, up until systematic racism became one of the more dominant forms of discrimination in the most recent years. Systematic racism has been shrouded under societal ignorance and regulated particularly by social and political groups in order to keep the human rights of black Americans frigid and

Henry Giroux’s “Hoodie Politics: Trayvon Martin and Racist Violence in Post-Racial America” is an opinion piece written by a renowned cultural critic. This writing is meant to draw attention to the way American society treats its poor minority youth. Giroux’s audience in this circumstance is the readers of the left-wing magazine, The Smirking Chimp. With most of his readers being liberal, he does not have to try hard to convince them that his argument regarding the mistreatment of poor minorities is correct.That being said, Giroux is attempting to get his audience to consider the wider societal issues that cause the unequal treatment of black and brown youth. Giroux employs the case of Trayvon Martin to showcase society’s bigger issues surrounding the institutionalized racism directed towards the “disposable” colored youth.

The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of

Racism goes a long way down the American history. It came as a result of slavery which began in 1619 when African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, which was an American colony in the North, to help in producing crops such as tobacco. Slavery was then a common practice in all American colonies through the 17th and 18th centuries, where African slaves helped in building the economic foundations of the now American nation. Slavery was then spread to the South in 1793, with the new invention of the cotton gin. About halfway through the 19th century, there was immense westward expansion in America, together with the spreading abolition movement in the North,

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.

No matter who we are, we are respected or oppressed. Yes, we do have a problem with systemic oppression, rape culture, role models, respectability politics, and mythic individualism. Just like Trayvon Martin was killed for simply wearing a hoodie, this is definitely an example of systemic oppression. Our society is shaped in controversial beliefs. Cosby believes that being a wealthy successful man, now makes him the best and doesn’t care about anyone else, but himself; therefore becoming a mythic individual and “thinking” he overcame respectability politics. Not only does this shape our whole society, but also lives by it, therefore, demanding for an immediate change in our social point of

Modern America is known for freedoms so liberating and redeeming that the country has coined the name (epithet), “the land of opportunity.” Despite the wonderful characteristics previously mentioned, many believe America is in the midst of a racism epidemic. Although racism has been far more grave in the Country’s history, social media is dispersing racism like never before. As a white man in society I have never experienced the racial profiling and verbal harassments that many of my friends experience on a daily basis. This, while a privilege, should be an overarching “red flag” to society that there is a race issue in our country. The men and women of America should not be denied the rights and privileges of being an American due to the pigment in their skin. I have realized that the only true way to experience what more than twenty percent of the American population

Imagine. It’s a dark February night in Miami. You step out to your local convenience store to grab a couple of snacks. On your way home, you realize someone is following you. After you confront the person, a scuffle breaks out, and it results in your parents having to bury you at a cemetery. This was the unfortunate story of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Martin was killed walking home from the local convenience store only armed with a bag of skittles and an iced tea. After being followed George Zimmerman, a local neighbourhood watch volunteer, Martin decided to confront Zimmerman. The end result leaving Trayvon Martin dead and George Zimmerman a free man. The story of Trayvon Martin proves the point that racism will is still alive and

There has been a vast increase in racial crimes and movements within the past decade; with community marches and rallies being held after the deaths of unarmed African-Americans occurring within their place of refuge. This exhibition of African-American versus European American is nothing new to be seen, since it holds such a presence in American history, and it continues out of greed, injustice, and ignorance. Racism, as a belief system, and the acts committed as a result are merely distractions that guide our own selfishness and immorality.

Zimmerman targeted Martin because he was black and racism is a factor in a lot of the problems the United States has not, mainly with the police brutality. Most will say the African-American community do not get a break constantly judged time and time again and not given an equal opportunity.

The history of America has been shaped powerfully over the years by racial inequality and race. Most Americans believe that the freedom fighters in establishing of their country were motivated by their thirst for religious liberty, freedom, economic and political independence. However, it was established in terms of oppression, inequality, and domination, leading to the slaves’ denial of freedom. Therefore, this makes it to be the greatest inconsistency in the country’s history. It’s impossible for the country to put into action the idea of freedom and equality into action since we still experience these inconsistencies even today. This brings out the concept of racism in America today. Racism is the people’s perception of people from a particular race or class. Racial prejudice tends to illuminate the people’s attitude towards this particular race of people while racial discrimination is putting these ideas into action that are developed as a result of prejudice (Blee and Burke 2-8).