With criminal records, blacks have a five percent chance of getting accepted into a job, but whites have a seventeen percent chance of getting accepted into the same job. Blacks and other races are being discriminated in school by their own peers and by teachers and principals. Even in their work environment blacks are being treated unfairly. Law enforcement is also treating blacks like every single one of them is a thug.
Blacks are being discriminated throughout the country by their peers in school and by their teachers and principals. A black fifth grader came home one day and told his parents he was being called a “nigger.” He was the only black child in his class and it started when the class started reading a book which contained the word “nigger.” A fifth grade class reading a book that contains such words can cause them to become racist in the future. Reading a book that has racist material at their age can make them develop a racist attitude towards blacks and other races. This bad attitude towards black children can destroy their self-esteem and prides, making them feel that their life has no value and that they’re less than everybody else. Children learning slang terms like “nigger” and bad representations of black people can change their view towards blacks for the rest of their lives and it can even make them feel hostile towards blacks, an incident of this occurred at the University of Mississippi. Three college students at the University of Mississippi hung a
The institutional and cultural influences that generate these ideas of privilege and oppression are derived from the cycle of socialization. Before children are even able to comprehend what race is, the cycle of socialization is already shaping their views on society and social identities. Bobbie Harro illustrates the cycle of socialization by stating, “the socialization process is pervasive, consistent, circular, self-perpetuating and often invisible” (41). This makes the cycle extremely influential for the creation of our social identities in our society. In my personal experience, I vividly remember my parents taking extra precautious in poor black communities when I was younger to ensure my safety. Although their only intention was to promote my wellbeing, indirectly they established the notion that poor black people are dangerous. Obviously it’s erroneous to claim all black people are dangerous, but this is evidence of the beginning stages of the cycle of socialization taking action.
Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.
Black students account nationally for 34% of all suspensions (Mazama). Black students in America are faced with a struggle as they begin to go into school systems. Some students will go into an urban school system and will be surrounded by many minorities and others will attend rural school areas in the south. African American students who live in the south experience a great amount of racism from their peers, their peers parents, teachers, and other school officials. The issue occurs when students of a majority race don't know how to communicate or peacefully get along with students of a minority race. This can be an act of calling a student out of their name or acting violently towards them. Students should not have to worry about whether they are safe at school all because of something they can’t help. Racism needs to be taken out of schools all across the the world. They way we do this is to educate students about black history and how their actions may trigger a student of color.
Racial Disparity is denoting or diminishing a human species based on race and physical characteristics. Let’s start off by just stating the obvious, “Roughly 12% of the United States population is black. Yet in 2011, black Americans constituted 30% of persons arrested for a property offense and 38% of persons arrested for a violent offense. Black youths account for 16% of all children in America yet make up 28% of juvenile arrests.” (http://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/shadow-report-to-the-united-nations-human-rights-committee-regarding-racial-disparities-in-the-united-states-criminal-justice-system) I believe the biggest disparity in the United States is incarceration rates. In 2010 according to the prison policy initiative in the United States Whites make up for 64% of the population, Hispanics 16% and blacks 13% of the United States population. When it comes to the percent of United States incarnated population Whites make up for 39%, Hispanics 19% and Blacks 40%. This study shows that Blacks are incarnated more and at a more punishable rate. Not only are black people sentenced more but they are also sentenced harsher. In an article written by Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph. D and research analyst says that blacks are sentenced 14 percent longer than whites. There is bias everywhere in the criminal justice system in my opinion not only with prosecutors but with officers of the law in any way, judges, etc. Another racial disparity in the
Systematic racism within education Institutions, such as the lack of adequate funding as well as subtle discrimination, continues to be the root of the problem that plagues this nation. Even though segregation was abolished in 1964, the lingering effects that remain are significant and cannot be passively mended. Although it is tempting to think that this prejudice is caused by a select few and not the many, it is clear that this problem holds more depth. Recent studies conducted by the National Education Studies (NEA) have proven that even in school’s African American students are often times targeted and punished at a significantly higher rate when compared to their white peers. The study states “Black students make up almost 40 percent of all school expulsions [in the] nation, and more than two thirds of students referred to police from schools are either black or Hispanic” (Blacks: Education Issues). This study conducted by the Department of Education, cabinet-level department of the United States
While the Civil Rights Movement is considered a success, there is still racism in the United States today, in which blacks are still viewed as overly aggressive and overtly dangerous compared to whites. The racism we are familiar with today is called “institutional racism” and is not only shown in workplaces, but in schools and courtrooms. Institutional racism is defined as a pattern of social institutions who give negative treatment to a group of people based on race. To elaborate on institutional racism, starting with pre-school, black children make up only 18 percent of the pre-school population, but make up almost half of out of school suspensions. In K-12 black children are three times as likely to be suspended than white children. Now moving to the court system, black children make up nearly 60 percent of children in prison and are more likely to be sentenced as adults than white children. These statistics show that black’s, even black children, are more likely to be viewed as dangerous and subject to worse sentences.
In the book, Warriors Don’t Cry, there are nine African-American students who chose to get involved in integration within an all-white high school. Many of the white students and parents did not approve of integration and demonstrated their hatred in a variety of ways. All nine of them dealt with an immense amount of torture every day at school. Warriors Don’t Cry shows many specific examples of when white students took their anger to a whole other level and did many brutal things like when they threw acid in Melba Patillo Beals’ face or when they threw small balls of flaming paper into the bathroom stall she was in. Though it’s been 60 years, schools are still very unsafe. School safety is a topic of importance, especially in the present day. As bullying and harassment become more prevalent in schools, students constantly feel insecure. The
Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are
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
Being a black person within society has never been an easy thing to do. Society has constantly been stereotypical of black people, although blacks have molded history and are very vital to society for the things that have happen throughout history have been big contributions toward modern-day life. African Americans in the 1890’s encountered stereotypes most of which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and earned many rights but still live with the destitutions that they had in the 1890’s. Many black people have internalized the negative stereotypes of their race. therefore, internalizing the hatred of their blackness to the fact they began to self-oppress. Due to this internalized racism, many Black result
Our past is full of cases that represent the inequality of the criminal justice system. In the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Plessy V Ferguson, in 1896 the court upheld racial segregation and made the separate but equal the standard doctrine of the United States until 1954, when the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Brown v Board of Education which made the racial segregation illegal and highlighted the protections offered in the fourteenth amendment as it relates to equal protection. Despite the 14th Amendment 's promise of life and liberty under the law, this group of Americans found themselves subject to another law, known as the "Jim Crow Laws." These were a group of laws passed primarily in the southern states during reconstruction and lasting until around 1965, were established to make sure that the whites were treated differently than the blacks, in everyday life, including the criminal justice system. Even though the Jim Crow era has passed by, we unfortunately have come to the conclusion that we have just entered a new era of Jim Crow. “We are arguably no longer under Jim Crow or de jure discrimination; however, unfortunately and regrettably, we are presently realizing manifest de facto discrimination, or the new Jim Crow” (Durrant, 2015). Statistics show that over 40 percent of students who are expelled from school today are African American and over 70 percent of students who are referred to law enforcement for criminal activity are
There is a very evident problem with racism in the United States Criminal Justice System. Society chooses to ignore this problem because many do not think they are a part of it. What they do not understand is they are a part of society, therefore a part of the problem. Even if a particular person is not doing anything to cause this problem directly, they are not helping the situation either. Society has to become aware of this issue and stop pretending as though it is something that will go away on its own. Others need to become aware of this issue so they can not only make others aware, but so they can find out the exact source of the problem and how to fix it before it is too late. The United States is supposed to be a free country where people feel safe, yet there are issues still happening today that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and others fought and risked their lives to change. Society likes to look back on history and say that things are different and the country has come so far and that everyone is equal. However, today’s news and statistics show that is not the case at all. If we do not take action now, we will be right back where we started. Many races are not treated fairly by citizens of this county and even the United States Criminal Justice System, especially African Americans. Nationwide, African Americans are stopped, searched, arrested, and incarcerated at rates much higher than people of other races.
Incarceration rates are a definite proof that racial discrimination occurs. “Incarceration rates in the United States have risen sharply since 1980”, stated Filip Spagnoli, “the racial distribution of inmates in the U.S. is highly negative for black Americans. Whereas they only make up 12% of the total U.S. population, they represent more than 40% of inmates”
In the United States alone, African Americans make-up 12 percent of the population. Did you know that 60 percent of African Americans are doing time in prison for crime compared to whites? Another interesting fact is that blacks are serving as much time for drug-related crime as whites are for committing violent crimes. One would say that racism is in fact alive and more of an issue than ever. Here are one of many issues that African American face, in the twenty-first century.
With problems such as the war on drugs and police freedom/power, people of color are being treated just as unfairly as during the old Jim Crow. Alexander gave a few statistics which are perfect examples of how colorblindness does not seem to be very apparent. She writes that 55 percent of black adult males in Chicago have a criminal record. That is astonishing. That means if you see a black man in Chicago, there's a better chance that he has a criminal record than doesn't. The other eye opening statistic that she shared was that in seven different states, 80-90 percent of the drug related prisoners are black or Latino. Whites use drugs just as much as any other race, yet are so much less often incarcerated for it. This comes from a few different reasons. The first is that cops make money to put people in prison. The second is that prisons make money and give jobs to people as long as people