We all know that the U.S. is a multiethnic country, and we are living in this complicated environment. Thus, some problems occur due to conflicts between different racial people. Recently, in Ferguson, Missouri, there was a case which was a black teenager, Michael Brown, got shot to death by a white police officer named Darren Wilson caused a lot of arguments in the society. To express opinions about this matter, in his essay “Ferguson won’t change anything. What will?,” Glenn Loury states that the Michael Brown’s case should not be a great example of America’s ideas on race and social classes order, as well as the role of law enforcement since the case is questionable and controversial. Besides that, I think that Loury is surely right …show more content…
If we fail in our responsibility to protect the social peace, people will be hurt and live in fear. The community decides what kind of punishment should be applied for violent crimes based on their seriousness and intimidation to communities. Also, people who committed criminal acts have to receive appropriate punishment. In the Brown’ case, if Brown is a good person, how could he get shot by Wilson? This situation happened since “we learned that Brown, just prior to being killed, was caught on tape apparently committing a minor robbery at a convenience store. It was also disclosed that he had marijuana in his system when he died (Loury).” Thus, I totally agree with Loury’s conclusion that “Nor do I intend to blame the victim, to suggest that Brown deserved his fate.” Of course, we all try to prevent either one of these, but we must be prepared to deal with these problems when they arise. To deal with these criminals, we must exercise the need for people who protect our communities. They are police officers under the authorities, and they have the mission that is keeping communities safe. They have the right to arrest anyone who violates the criminal laws of their jurisdictions regardless of their immigration status, genders or race. Second, human’s rights are the belief that everybody should be treated fairly and with dignity under the law no matter what their circumstances. I think that racism is an error in consciousness and is a
August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, a 18- year old black man was shot and killed, brutally at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson. Brown was leaving the gas station when he caught the attention of Wilson, who was supposed to be responding to another call. He thought Brown looked suspicious because he was a big, black “intimidating” man. Wilson “claimed” Brown was reaching for a gun so he fired twelve unnecessary shots at Brown while his hands were up. It turns out that Brown was not in possession of a weapon. Darren Wilson made up this allegation to make it seem like self defense, and to make Brown seem at fault for the shooting taking place. When Wilson went to trial the court found him not guilty. White police officers are not beingg held accountable so these police shootings are becoming more brutal and frequent. The Mike Brown
All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.
A report on the Baltimore Police Department has found evidence of “racial bias in policing” (“Black Lives Matter”). Black lives matter is a “national movement against police violence” toward African Americans because people think that there are still race issues today (“Black Lives Matter”). However, we got “school integration in 1970” after segregation was destroyed (Berman). There is no segregation today and we all go to the same schools. Also, we all have rights because the 15th Amendment didn’t keep “Americans from voting because of race.” (Foner). Today there aren’t racial issues because we all are integrated and have the same
Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the
Race riots are one of the major news items we hear about via the media when a social crisis occurs. The riots in Baltimore, however, were not so much about race, but more about economic and social class separations. The riots began as a peaceful protest amongst the citizens of Baltimore over the death of one of their own, Freddie Gray. Gray was a young, African-American, from a financially lower class area of Baltimore. Unfortunately, he died while in custody of the Baltimore Police. While this is a tragic loss, he was unlawfully detained by the police (Sarlin, 2015) during this ordeal. On the surface, the riots may appear as a cut-and-dry race provoked, once they are looked into further, that is not necessarily the case.
Despite the important racial progresss our society has made since Emmett Till’s death, from the civil rights era, to present increase of police brutality has still left the Black/African American community in shadows of segregation. The second most recent shooting of teenager Michael Brown has left citizens in ongoing battles with law enforcement officers of Ferguson, Missouri. New Statement (2014) reports, Missouri police similarly attempted to retain control of the narrative, claiming Brown had stolen cigars, and then paying for them, and then claiming he was a bad child and attacked the officer who shot him” (New Statement, 21). Brown autopsy reveals he was gun less and shot six times. Police brutality is not solely about Ferguson, Emmett Till, or the civil rights movement, but it is simply about the history of capitalism and police brutality in America and having many forms of it.
The shooting of sparked a nation-wide movement not only demanding justice for Mike Brown, but also protesting the racial discrimination deeply embedded in the criminal justice system as well as various institutions in the larger American society. Furthermore, jfdkjfjdakljk something about international recognition. Similar protests and riots have been springing up in other cities since 1960s, and police killings of unarmed black men happen once every 28 hours (Kahle, 2014). However, Michael Brown’s killing has led to the most sustained uprising against police violence in at least two decades, centered among the African American residents of Ferguson, and has rallied significant nationwide support as well as international attention (Kahle, 2014; Taylor, 2014). The killing of Michael Brown is by no means an isolated event, and presence of racial tensions, especially in the St. Louis area, was already present long before. The large-scale pushback that the killing of Michael Brown has set in motion, then, seems to have been the last straw, prompting the eruption of decades of pent up frustration at a racist and oppressive system. That being said, what are the previous straws that have slowly pushed the black community in Ferguson to the breaking point? What are the factors that have caused these tensions to boil over and erupt into such a large-scale upheaval? This paper will explore some of the
The heated issue of police brutality and police officers violating civil rights has extensively covered media headlines for several years. Hundreds of people are killed every year by police officers, and many of these cases bring up issues of police brutality. More often than not, it is usually a white police officer and an african american offender encounter that sparks media attention. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri is just one of these cases that has caused a major divide in the United States. Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Wilson after an unfriendly encounter in the streets. Those who believe that Officer Wilson made the right decision in shooting Michael Brown, point to the fact that the grand jury chose not to indict him. Although Darren WIlson was not charged after the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, some people believe that his actions were unlawful and he should have received some sort of punishment for his wrongdoing. Acknowledging all of the facts of the investigation, Officer Wilson did not act properly in the circumstances of the time.
Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed on August 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American was fatally shot and killed in the street shortly after robbing a convenience store. The disputed circumstances of the shooting of the unarmed young man sparked existing tensions in the majority-black community and law enforcements in Ferguson, Mo. The event received considerable attention in the U.S. and elsewhere, attracted protesters from outside the region, and generated a powerful debate about the relationship between law enforcement and African Americans and the police use of excessive force. The shooting prompted protests that shaken the area for weeks. The announcement of the grand jury that they decided not to indict Mr. Wilson set off another wave of protests. Many police officers have defended Wilson, pointing out that officers patrolling violent neighborhoods risk their lives, while demonstrators saw the case in terms of racism and police brutality. However, Brown’s killing and the following events in Ferguson became a national controversy touching on much larger national issues of race, justice, and police brutality. While the specifics of the Brown shooting involved is not clear, the situation would have been dramatically different had Wilson worn body camera which would have recorded the actual event. With new body camera technology
One community that stands out the most for the conflict between law enforcement and their community is Ferguson, Missouri. On August 9, 2014 Darren Wilson, 28, a white Ferguson police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American male (McLaughlin). This case started one of the biggest uproar the nation has ever seen between community and law enforcement. When the incident first occurred there were many pieces of information missing to paint a scenario of how and what occurred between Brown and officer Wilson. Apparently Michael Brown was walking home late at night when officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown got into a confrontation that lead to Wilson shooting Brown, the case goes
The incident involving George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was one that caught the interest of many Americans. Trayvon Martin, a young 17-year-old African American boy, was shot and killed during a dispute between him and George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic man. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the community and he called the police after Martin was acting very suspicious by looking into people’s windows. Zimmerman claimed he acted out of self defense and he also had head injuries. This case is such a big deal because many people believe that Zimmerman only shot him because he was an African American. One aspect in society that is a prominent issue is racism or racial profiling. This case shows the controversy over racial profiling in America. This also ties into the theoretical perspective of critical race theory. Critical race theory involves inequality related to racism. The George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case accurately represents the issue of racial profiling in society today.
On August 14, 2014, the infamous case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, took place. A police officer shot an unarmed black teenager after an incident which was clouded in unclear details. At first, no one really knew whether the officer had been in the right to shoot Brown, or what the circumstances were for either side of the incident. However, eventually, the details started to not matter. The events around Michael Brown’s case became the spark that ignited a nationwide movement to fight against police brutality towards minorities, specifically African Americans. Protesters of police violence toward minorities created a phrase that was used all over the country after Brown’s death: “hands up, don’t shoot”. Many have used the events behind Brown’s death as a springboard to consider what makes a criminal. One side of the issue claims that race directly affects criminality, while others believe class to be the cause of criminality.
This shooting not only shows police brutality, but also discrimination against African-Americans. Brown's name is now the latest additions to a long list of black males killed by officers and vigilantes in a narrative that is becoming all too familiar to many people of
On August 4th, 2014, an eighteen year old boy by the name of Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson. Mr. Wilson was an officer of the Ferguson Police Department. He was a twenty-eight year old white male and was accused of killing Michael out of racial hatred. This case was examined but not enough evidence was accumulated to charge Mr. Wilson with the murder of Michael (Moylan). This act of violence touched many people’s hearts but made many people angry. It was thought that the FPD was being racist when Michael was killed because of statistic after the investigation. The arrest rate in seven felonies in the FDP decreased by over fifty percent and the police commissioner stated that overall crime decreased. (Newsday) After these statistics were reviewed, some thought it was time for repercussions. This in turn was the reason behind
Other than this, systematic racism has been emerging in American society in every field. All the democrats as well as republicans have different views regarding tragic incident, happened on 9th August, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri a native of suburb of St. Louis. The prevailing issues are rich in demonstrating the sociological issues including inequality in terms of wealth and profiling on the basis of race and “criminalization of Black male youth”.