What Are Kant's Arguments Of WWB: Walking While Black

Currently, African Americans make up nearly one million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population. Nearly one in three African American males born today can expect to serve time in prison during their lifetime (NAACP, 2015). A central issue in today’s society is the rate of criminalization of African American males. There are many speculations on this topic; however, the central one is when a crime is committed then there is “time” to be served. However, the time served by African American males is disproportionate than that of Caucasian counterparts for the exact same crime. The lack of concern that is presented over the clear overrepresentation of African American males in the prison system is appalling.

To dig deeper into this overrepresentation of black criminality, we have to look at the loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment, which allowed slavery as a form of punishment in the prison system. The policymakers recognized the opportunities to acquire forced labor through mass incarceration and made use of the perpetuating cycle of racial formation, where representations and the actions of the institution often reinforce each other. The structural institution, or the policymakers in this case, used overrepresentation of black criminality to racialize crime. The overrepresentation of racialized crime then validates the need of criminal laws and their unequal application across racial groups. In the end, the institution created the false representation that justifies its actions which further feed the representation. The vicious cycle introduced racial discrimination into the justice system and guided the process of mass incarceration.

After getting the public support for his campaign, America saw an unprecedented rise in its incarceration rate, particularly among African Americans. The “ War on Drugs ” has had a disparate impact on the black community even though blacks and whites use drugs at approximately the same levels. This is achieved through a myriad of formal and informal practices. African-Americans are targeted and prosecuted at a much higher rate even though they are not statistically any likelier to abuse or sell drugs than the white population.

President Nixon first declared the “war on drugs” on June of 1971. This came after heavy drug use during the 1960s. New York in particular, had a rise in heroin use. After Nixon’s declaration, states began decriminalizing the possession and distribution of marijuana and other drugs. Many small drug offences led to a mandatory fifteen years to life. This Drug War has led to an increase of incarceration rates since. One of the earliest laws that followed Nixon’s announcement were the Rockefeller Drug Laws that to not only failed to deter crime but also lead to other problems in the criminal justice system. With the Rockefeller Drug Laws came heavy racial disparity of those incarcerated for drug related crimes. Although the Obama Administration has begun reforms, the new President Elect Trump’s views may bring all the efforts back down.

When my audience hears “War on Drugs” they may assume it is a worthy endeavor because drug abuse is such a pervasive problem that affects many families. I must dispel the assumption that the “War on Drugs” dealt with the drug abuse problem or reduced drug sales. I can do this by demonstrating that there is plenty of evidence showing that the “War on Drugs” did not do what it set out to do and is therefore not an effective approach to the problem of drug trade and abuse. Additionally the imprisoning of citizens, even if it is done unjustly, does not reduce crime at comparable rates. Research from Harvard found that during the “War on Drugs” in state prisons there was a 66% increase in prison population but crime was only reduced by 2-5% and it cost the taxpayers 53 billion dollars (Coates, 2015). The fact the violent crime went up all through Nixon’s administration while he rallied for “Law & Order” and policing became more severe furthers this argument (Alexander, 2012). Four out five drug arrests are low-level possession charges as well, demonstrating that police policies aren’t dismantling the drug system just punishing addicts (Alexander, 2012). What’s more, drug abuse in America have remained stagnate and even increased in some instances even when billions of dollars have been pumped into the program (National

American people identified the War on Drugs was launched to combat the crack crisis. However, Alexander claims that the crack crisis emerged some years after the War on Drugs was launched. She argues that negative racial stereotypes surrounding the crack crisis were widely dispersed on media. Reagan administration intensified a campaign to gain public and legislative support to the drug war in 1985. Suddenly media was saturated with images of black “crack whores” “crack dealers” and “crack babies” (p.5). There was a widespread discourse that crack crisis was a problem of the poor black neighborhoods. Thus, it was created and constantly reinforced the idea that African American people are drug addicts and dangerous. It is not surprising to know white people that is scared of black people. Moreover, in case you argue to someone that is scared of black people that s/he is being racist, they will claim that statistics prove that many African American are in prison due to drug issues.

Nixon’s drug war, however, was a mere skirmish in comparison to the colossal efforts launched by the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s. Formally announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, the War on Drugs was marked by deep public concern, bordering on hysteria,, towards the nation’s drug problem. Under the leadership of President Reagan, the nation focused unprecedented energy and resources towards eliminating illicit drug use and trafficking.” (pp.

On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the “Public Enemy Number One” among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later.

The War on Drugs, a term that was first popularized by former president Richard Nixon in 1971, was the start of a governmental war on drug abuse, whether it be against those selling narcotics or the ones using them. Over the years, many claims have come to light, arguing that this so called “war” was one waged to oppress minorities, especially impoverished African-Americans in America’s inner city. This program was one that exploited African-Americans who were struggling after the government failed them, leaving them to fend for themselves and making decisions based on their socioeconomic status. Throughout this paper, the sociological theories pertaining to the attack on African-Americans by the government through the means of a proxy war

Recently, these numbers receded but the stigma remains. Research indicates the crimes Blacks commit surpass the expected rates, based on the racial composition of America. These statistics are further exacerbated because Black males commit more frightening and violent crimes. The war on drugs was a dominant contributor to the “Black” typification of crime. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration waged the war on drugs. In accordance with this agenda, strict penalties were enacted to “crack down” on crack cocaine. Crack cocaine is a less expensive drug predominately used by the lower class, specifically minorities. The Black population suffered under these new laws but Whites were largely unaffected. While drug use is prevalent at similar rates across races, whites are more likely to use powder cocaine which law enforcement agencies tend not to acknowledge. Crack cocaine became the target of harsh penalties because it is affordable, accessible, and used primarily by Blacks. The war on drugs is occasionally referred to as the war on Blacks due to the high incarceration rate of the Black population during this time. Illegal drugs are often associated with robbery and assault which further perpetuates the stereotype of the “Black criminal”.

This high incarceration rate has led researches to say that being in prison has become a normal part of a black man’s adulthood, mainly for the ones that lived in poverty in urban neighborhoods. At this time of high incarceration a whole social group was define as criminals because of their race, age and class. Incarceration is usually associated with low incomes, unemployment, and family, restrictions on voting, social rights and recidivism. “High incarceration rates among black and low education men have been traced to similar sources. The slim economic opportunities and turbulent living conditions of young disadvantaged and black men may lead them to crime”(Pettit and Western, 2004, p. 152). If you add this with poor minority groups the social stigma just increases which then can lead to higher scrutiny by police

In the 80’s, President Ronald Regan, declared a “War on Drugs,” which began to utilize criminal justice systems to shuffle black and brown men into a world of injustice. The mass incarceration of these men are for minor, non-violent drug offenses; which carry brutal sentences and entrap these black and brown men into an unforgiven reality of societal and financial discrimination. Alexander unveiled the budget increase for several major governmental agencies such as the FBI—funding increased from $8 million to $95 million with in a four-year span.

American has a legacy of the mistreatment and disenfranchisement of African Americans. The same bad treatment that many think only took place in the past is in fact still intact, it’s just presented in a new way. The mass incarceration of blacks in the Unites States can be attributed to the “racial hierarchy” that has always existed. The U.S contributes to about 5% of the worlds overall population, and about 25% of the worlds prison population (Holland 1), “if those rates reflected jail, probation and parole populations, the numbers would rise exponentially”(Griffith 9). Statics show that there is a chance that about 1 in 3 black males are expected end up in prison (Jacobson). Although, in terms of the entire United States population African Americans only make up about 13% (Prison Activist Resource Center. Racism Fact Sheets: “ Latinos and the Criminal Injustice System.” 2003). There is a huge number of African Americans involved in the criminal justice system in some way. The average person does not know about mass incarceration nor about the racism that is in just about every part of the criminal justice system. When most people think about racism their thoughts often drift to slavery or Jim Crow laws, but for most, they do not consider how the amount of African Americans in prison today could be due to bias or racism. A significant cause of mass incarceration is the same racism that produced the Jim Crow era.

In our society, there are many stereotypes for every race and ethnicity, but one of the most prevalent throughout most cultures, even among African Americans, is that most black men are criminals. This is something that, although I understand is not true, has become so ingrained in our society that it made me act differently unintentionally. Even if only in insignificant situation, such as keeping a watchful eye on my belongings when a black person was around or by simply being fearful when a black man was walking behind me, I knew my actions were prejudiced. It’s difficult to break a stereotype when statistics seem to prove it correct. The documentary The 13th and Michelle Alexander describe how mass incarceration, partly resulting from the

“The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison” (Alexander, 2012). The numbers tell the story better than words can: black people are more likely to go to prison than any other race in the United States, shown by the fact that more than 60% of the prison population is composed of people of color (The Sentencing Project, 2016). These statistics can be traced back to several different cause, including the Era of Jim Crow and the War on Drugs, both of which led to higher policing in minority areas.