A question has arisen concerning a certain event that occurred in American history which helped contribute to the Reconstruction Period that took place during the 1990s. Dr. Cassandra Chaney of Louisiana State University and Dr. Ray V. Robertson of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette co-wrote a moving article based on Rodney Glen King, a man who quickly became the face of police brutality after a tragic event occurred that no one would ever forget. On March 3, 1991 Rodney King was a victim of a merciless beating by four Los Angeles Police Department officers. With the helpful use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Chaney and Robertson take twenty of King’s most well-known quotes to reveal his true feelings …show more content…
The professors use hard hitting facts that demonstrates the truth behind African Americans and the way the law enforcement perceives them, giving the reader some distinctive insight. The history of the law enforcement along with the criminal justice system has portrayed that they are disproportionality race-based. Blacks are more likely than whites to be racially profiled (Staples 2011), to be stopped by law enforcement, and receive harsher sentences. Unfortunately, it has been shown time and time again that judges, jurors, and the law enforcement finds it challenging for them to sympathize with African Americans. All in all this body of academic work has highlighted external factors that have shaped the lives of Blacks in America without giving due attention to the words of Rodney King, the man who became the face of racial injustice (Chaney and Robertson 2014). Four themes were unveiled in the analysis King’s quotes: appreciation for the struggles of former Civil Rights Activists, appreciation for the legal system, personal feelings related to police brutality, and the desire for non-violence as a catalyst for positive …show more content…
He showed a unblemished appreciation for former Civil Rights Activists. Because he was born in the 1960s, he was able to see and experience the racial struggle first hand by hearing from the people in his life and learning about it in school, he was able to speak comfortably on the issue at hand. This allowed him to show a true thankfulness for his current position in the social order as a Black man to publicly speak on the injustices of police brutality and acknowledge the sacrifices made not just by African Americans, but by people of many races. King believed the best way to honor his multi-ethnic ancestors and forerunners was to actively diffuse negativity rather than exasperate it (Chaney and Robertson 2014). His appreciation for the legal system was expressed publicly that he had faith in and valued the legal system. Despite how he was treated by the Los Angeles Police Department officers, which was similar to the abuse his ancestors experienced, the president undoubtedly reestablished King’s appreciation by prosecuting the four officers that beat him ruthlessly. The city of Los Angeles was sued and rewarded King of $3.8 million in addition to the $1.7 for attorney’s fees. The majority of quotes from King were openly regarding his feelings of police
In looking at Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) history with using excessive force, there needs to be a way that hold these police officers accountable to prevent citizen-police tension and create transparency for the public. During the 1990s, 61% of police officers from the LAPD were white and considered aggressive with African American communities which suggest racial tension among the two groups (Suburbanstats, 2017). Eula Love and Rodney King are two victims of
The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)
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.
I commence with this anecdote for several reasons one of which is to humbly acknowledge my unique, and privileged position as a Black female scholar in the midst of a war waged against Black bodies. Another reason is to recognize police brutality as a national endemic that plagues Black communities, unveiling remnants of anti-Black racism that legitimately suppresses the lives of Blacks in America . The non-indictments in each case concerning the sanctioned murder of Black youths evoke a
The memory of incidents such as O. J. Simpson’s high profile criminal trial, the assault of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1992, and the 2009 arrest and charging of Harvard Professor Henry Gates for racial profiling still freshly linger in the minds of many Americans. The people’s perceptions of justice in these situations continue to represent how the criminal justice system is viewed in present times, and continue defining racial disparity in America (Mauer, 2011).
The first article I am going to focus on, Foreword: Addressing the Real World of Racial Injustice in the Criminal Justice System, was written by Donna Coker . Primarily, the article talks about the statistical evidence of in justice regarding racial profiling in policing and imprisonment. Official incarceration data speaks for itself when it shows that although African Americans make up twelve percent of the U.S. population, they make up of almost half of the population incarcerated for crimes (Coker, 2003). Researchers with the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimate that twenty-eight percent of African Americans will be imprisoned at one point in their life (Coker, 2003). A study conducted by the Sentencing Project reports that nearly one in three African American men between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine are under the supervision of the criminal justice system on any given day (Coker
In reviewing the article, Canadian Critical Race Theory, I found that the author, Carol Aylvard, raises some very interesting as well as disturbing questions on the nature of racism within the realm of police enforcement. In looking through the lens of the Rodney King case, we are provided with a very specific example of how the issue of race was dealt with, or not dealt with within the LAPD and judicial system. To gain a clearer understanding of how race was a major issue in this case but at the same time not confronted on the front lines, Alyvard highlights several aspects of the case. In the 1991 state trial of the four police officers accused of beating Rodney King, the prosecution did
Michelle Alexander expresses in The New Jim Crow that blacks are being profiled and thus are being incarcerated or harassed more frequently than any other racial group in the United States. Although this statement is partially true, Alexander misses the fact that in recent years, other racial groups have been affected by the same unjust profiling done by authorities. Recently, overall police brutality and racial profiling has seen an increase in the United States population. Furthermore, unprovoked or inappropriate use of force by authorities has sparked conversation in America racial profiling and incarceration rates in the country. Due to this, claiming that Jim Crow laws or ideals continue to be present towards only one race is not appropriate according current circumstances. Despite vast evidence, Michelle Alexander’s contends racial profiling is specifically targeting young African Americans while data supports a massive increase in police brutality and jail populations in other racial groups as well. It is important to look at current incarceration rates throughout the entire country compared to overall ethnic makeup in order to effectively analyze the new Jim Crow in the United States.
Three years after BLM launched a nationwide uprising against police violence, what's next for the movement? In this special section, a leading African American historian explores how the group is forging a powerful new form of civil rights activism. Plus: How police in 1970s Detroit unleashed an undercover execution squad, and the modern-day rise of "warrior policing."
Martin Luther King’s dream has not been fulfilled due to police shootings of armed people and excessive force that target African-Americans. While Dr. King was fighting for racial equality amongst all races, there is one race that clearly sticks out from the statistics in regarding police brutality. Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Alton Sterling: these four names should sound familiar. They all constitute a greater trend in the United States where unarmed black men are disproportionately being murdered by police officers. In fact, notwithstanding the fact that black men make up roughly six percent of the United States population, they made up roughly a quarter of the deaths resulting from fatal police
The discrimination shown in this film has unfortunately been especially typical for countless years in America’s society. Even in modern-day society we see the disastrous police brutality against young black males and other minorities. However, our contemporary society has progressively been increasing awareness and standing up against tolerating discrimination as the norm. While watching the film, it was alarming to learn about the “250” method enforced by police officers as a system to prevent crime. This supreme court technique is controversial because of the statistics it generates; of these thousands of daily “250” routine stops, only six percent lead to an arrest. It was similarly upsetting to learn that eighty-four percent of individuals stopped in New York City alone are young black men, even though they are considered a minority in society as a whole.
Many citizens living within the borders of the United States are considered to be unprejudiced and unbiased toward racial matters; however, when there is a murder on the 6 o’clock news, our minds quickly shift to a thought of an African American male as the suspect of the crime. One could observe an African American male and automatically and suddenly thoughts with negative connotations come into play. People immediately start to stereotype and judge without even understanding or knowing a person; especially black individuals. Two stories which incorporate the police brutality issues are explored which will see contrasts and comparisons being made. This was the renowned Michael Brown case and a story by Leslie Marmon Silko entitled ‘Tony’s Story’. What’s the Michael Brown Legacy and why does Police Brutality and Minority Prosecution deal with his legacy? August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown was an 18-year-old unarmed African-American who was jaywalking with a friend. Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. When the officer approached Michael, he claims Michael resisted arrest, he punched him and tried to reach in the police car to get his sidearm pistol.
It has been well documented in our society that African-Americans tend to be targeted by those in law enforcement, and that they face unfairness during judiciary proceedings. This type of treatment should, and has lead African-Americans feel
Many of citizens living within the borders of the United States are considered to be unprejudiced and unbiased toward racial matters; however, when there is a murder on the 6 o’clock news, our minds quickly shift to a thought of an African American male as the suspect of the crime. One could observe an African American male and automatically and suddenly thoughts with negative connotations come into play. People immediately start to stereotype and judge without even understanding or knowing a person; especially black individuals. Two stories which incorporates the police brutality issue are explored which will see contrasts and comparisons being made. This was the renowned Michael Brown case and a story by Leslie Marmon Silko entitled ‘Tony’s Story’. What’s the Mike Brown Legacy and why does Police Brutality and Minority Prosecution deal with the legacy? August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown was an 18-year-old unarmed African-American who was jaywalking with a friend. Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. When the officer approached Michael, he claims Michael resisted arrest, he punched him and tried to reach in the police car to get his sidearm pistol.
In “Civil Rights in America in the 20th Century,” during 1941 when the United States entered the Second World War, African Americans that lived in the Southern States were facing segregation and unequal treatment because of their race and skin tone. Blacks had high hopes that World War II would mean an end to segregation and if they also helped fight for their country, they would be awarded with equal citizenship. However, the outcome was not what they hoped, racial segregation continued and the worst part was that Roosevelt didn’t do enough to help the disenfranchisement of African American voters in the South. In “1992 Los Angeles Riots,” the Los Angeles Riots occurred after four white police offers beat up black motorist, Rodney King. The video that showed King’s awful beating caused anger and commotion in the city. The LAPD did not even consider black people human and often called them “gorillas” or “monkeys,” making the police officers more willing to abuse black people for their own amusement. After a while both the South Central changed making the city more filled with Hispanics rather than African Americans and this event changed LAPD’s ways of handing situations. In the “LA Riots: 25 Years Later,” after what happened to Rodney King, it started debates on police brutality and racial injustice and many riots began in South Central hours following the occurrence. The list of events listed displayed actions people took because of how angry they were with what happened