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Racial discrimination in the justice system
Racial discrimination in the justice system
Effects of racial discrimination on society
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Causes and Effects of Racial Discrimination Talking of the causes and effects of racial discrimination can go many ways but for now I will list my top three causes and the effects it has had. First off let me just clarify that racism is taught. You don’t pop fresh out of the womb spewing racist slurs at your doctor. It is taught by stereotypes being spread by your family or acquaintances around you. I remember plenty of times throughout high school when close friends of mine would be angry with a person of a different race for no real reason and they would use slurs incredibly offensive towards that person, even if they did say behind their back it proved that racism is at large, larger than it should be. Sometimes it wasn’t even subconscious, …show more content…
Racial discrimination has caused war. Racial discrimination happens even in the workplace, from hiring to firing. Then you have the problem with racial discrimination when it comes to sentencing a person to prison. A study was done at the University of Pennsylvania with help from economist and law professors from the likes of Harvard and the University of Chicago where they explained that they “find evidence of significant inter-judge disparity in the racial gap in incarceration rates…The magnitude of this effect is substantial. The gap in incarceration rates between White and African-American defendants increases by 18 percentage points (compared to a mean incarceration rate of 51% for African-Americans and 38% for Whites) when moving from the 10th to 90th percentile judge in the racial gap distribution.” (Abrams, “New study by Prof. David Abrams and co-authors confirms racial bias in criminal sentencing”) showing that there are judges who (whether consciously or subconsciously) are placing some of their sentences on their race resulting of many being jailed much longer than they should. An African-American is more likely to go to and spend more time in prison for the same crime committed by a white man. Of course Judges may also judge you based (aside from race) and your background, meaning whichever neighborhood you grew up in, if you cause trouble in public places and if you grew up in
Let’s begin with racism, which dates back to as far as humans can remember. “It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” One of the most known acts of racism was the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This racism was a result of the racist belief that black Africans were less human than white Europeans.
We have a long history of racism in America that has been structured to favor White people. Structural racism can be defined as, “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies the dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with “whiteness” and disadvantages associated with “color” to endure and adapt over time”(Structural Racism, 2004,p. 11). Overt racism became illegal during The Civil Rights Movement that took place between 1954-1968 (Tuck, 2015). Although society seemed to be heading toward a more socially acceptable society, the movement enabled white people to blame the struggles black face as a character flaw. White people will believe that black people have a lot of problems because their culture is bad or they have bad values. The message they are reinforcing is that being black is inferior, and this is an example of structural racism operates. Structural racism is a system of forces that keeps people of color in a permanent second-class status, and it is the foundation of racism in our society. Society is structured in a way where the hierarchy of white people oppresses Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, etc and has
As a result, racism still exists today , african americans vs. whites as well as vice versa. People are constantly discriminated or passed over for jobs because of race, gender or ethnicity. The society we live in today face challenges that we have never faced before. Many people have the opportunity of attending schools, when back in the face the possibilities were very slim. Ironically, people are so well educated yet, lack integrity, character, accountability and virtues.
In American, there is a big problem that is racial discrimination. Because the long-standing institutionalized discrimination results in this problem. So what is institutionalized discrimination? How has discrimination become institutionalized for various ethnic subpopulations in the United States?
Racial discrimination is a pertinent issue in the United States. Although race relations may seem to have improved over the decades in actuality, it has evolved into a subtler form and now lurks in institutions. Sixty years ago racial discrimination was more overt, but now it has adapted to be more covert. Some argue that these events are isolated and that racism is a thing of the past (Mullainathan). Racial discrimination is negatively affecting the United States by creating a permanent underclass of citizens through institutional racism in business and politics, and creating a cancerous society by rewriting the racist history of America. Funding research into racial discrimination will help society clearly see the negative effects that racism
We cannot deny that race and ethnicity impacts the operations of our justice system, not justice in our system, but in other systems around the world. In particular, race and ethnicity still impacts our system of prosecution, sentencing, and confinement. African Americans, for example, were sentenced to harsh imprisonment or death for crimes they may or may not even committed, as opposed to non-African Americans who either got off free or were sentenced to only a few months. For example, in the past African American male who committed rape against a white female would be sentenced harshly, however, a white person who committed rape against an African American female would serve little to no jail time, and this is still occurring today, maybe not as overtly as the past. Disparities of different ethnic groups occurred then as much as it does now.
“…Everybody jumped on him, and beat him senseless… Everybody was hitting him or kicking him. One guy was kicking at his spine. Another guy was hitting him on the side of his face… he was unconscious. He was bleeding. Everybody had blood on their forearms. We ran back up the hill laughing… He should have died… He lost so much blood he turned white. He got what he deserved…” (Ridgeway 167). The skinheads who were beating this man up had no reason to do so except for the fact that he was Mexican. Racism in this day and age is still as big of a problem as it was in the past, and as long as hate groups are still around to promote violence, society is never going to grow to love one another.
One social problem that has caught my attention is racial inequality. Racial inequality refers to the racial advantages and disadvantages among different races. These might be shown in the appropriation of riches, influence, and life openings stood with individuals in view of their race or ethnicity, both noteworthy and cutting edge. These can be viewed therefore of noteworthy abuse, imbalance of legacy, or general partiality, particularly against minority bunches. Race inequality is not a new issue, just an issue that has been swept under the rug. It was more of a problem during and after segregation, but is reportedly no longer exist.
While browsing through articles on the internet, I came across many related to the topic of racism. I am beginning to feel as if I am surrounded by stories of racism. From the KKK’s aggressive campaign against immigrants, to the police violence against black people in cites throughout our nation, racism and discrimination continue to be problems. One story stood out to me and continues to make me uncomfortable. Malachi Wilson, a five year-old boy, could not attend his first day of kindergarten in Seminole, Texas. What could he have done to warrant the principal’s rejection? His hair was simply too long.
Firstly, a person’s race comes into play too often. People of color are more likely to entangle themselves in the justice system. Consider that the arrest rate and disparity of African American and Hispanic people are much higher. Police “stops and searches” are proof of racial profiling. A study conducted in Connecticut proved the racial disparity by showing that more people of specific races are pulled over during the day, but not at night because they cannot be seen. Also, a glimpse at the people serving time provides a vivid example of the racial inequalities seen throughout legal situations. When the Brown vs Board of Education case was won, there was around 100,000 African Americans in jail and currently there are at least 800,00 in prison. Black men are six times more likely to get incarcerated as white men and Hispanics are 2.3 times more likely (“18 Examples of”). Additionally, before the sentencing even begins these individuals are at a disadvantage. These communities have worse odds of making bail, in contrast to white defendants. This implies that they include the greater parts of those who are imprisoned before their trial even begins, placing even the innocent in jail for longer than needed. Overall, a person’s race or skin color should not produce a lower quality of
Racism can be defined as "any set of beliefs, which classifies humanity into distinct collectives, defined in terms of natural and/or cultural attributes, and ranks these attributes in a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority" (Blum 5). It can be directly linked to the past and still, centuries later, serves as a painful reminder that race continues to be one of the "sharpest and deepest divisions in American life" (Loewen 138). What were the causes of racism? How did it develop historically? In order to answer those complex questions, I plan to examine the conditions of America's history from colonialism to present day society. It was these conditions of America's past that promoted the development of racist practices and ideas that continue to be embraced by many to this day.
The earliest form of racial discrimination against Asian Americans was encountered during the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush attracted Chinese immigrants who came to California to fill the high demand for laborers. However, as more and more Chinese immigrated to California and the lower-paying labor jobs were filled, the Chinese began filling higher-paying positions typically held by Whites. As a result, an anti-Chinese Movement was formed followed by the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which prevented any additional Chinese immigration into the United States. Essentially, Chinese were discriminated against by the Whites due to fear of the Chinese taking over their jobs. After World War II, the federal government ended the 1882 ban on Chinese immigration and gave citizenship to Chinese Americans born abroad (Charles and Guryan 507).
Racism is the prejudice or discrimination of difference races and the idea that one race or color skin is superior than another. In the past, countless millions have suffered due to the bias, bigotry, and prejudice by people who could not accept differences among one another. Even today, people are judged just based on their skin color, and most of Americans tends to discriminate against another in some way. What is the causing racism and why do we act in a such manner?
Racial discrimination has caused war. Racial discrimination happens even in the workplace, from hiring to firing. Then you have the problem with racial discrimination when it comes to sentencing a person to prison. A study was done at the University of Pennsylvania with help from economists and law professors from the likes of Harvard and the University of Chicago, where they explained that they “find evidence of significant inter-judge disparity in the racial gap in incarceration rates…the magnitude of this effect is substantial. The gap in incarceration rates between White and African-American defendants increases by 18 percentage points (compared to a mean incarceration rate of 51% for African-Americans and 38% for Whites) when moving from the 10th to 90th percentile judge in the racial gap distribution.” (Abrams, “New study by Prof. David Abrams”) showing that there are judges who (whether consciously or subconsciously) are placing some of their sentences on their race resulting of many being jailed much longer than they should. An African-American is more likely to go to and spend more time in prison for the same crime committed by a white man. Of course Judges may also judge you based (aside from race) on your background, like whichever neighborhood you grew up in, or if you are known cause trouble in public places or if you grew up in
The economy is the main reason for racism. Just by getting on social media or looking at the news, you see those degrading African Americans. Obama was a pretty good president but everything he did or his family did, the economy made it seem like he was the worst president ever or that he was not doing his job. In the economy it is harder for African Americans to find jobs than it is for whites. Blacks look for jobs longer and a sometimes more aggressively than whites do and they are 44% less likely to get hired for the job even when they are just as qualified. Today they have a law that jobs cannot discriminate on who to hire just because of their race or ethnicity, and even though that’s a law some jobs still discriminate, they just use a different reason to why they could not hire you. Other races have heard so many stereotypes and stories about African Americans and they also grew up being taught certain beliefs which become part of the