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Police brutality among african americans essay
Effects of police brutality
Effects of police brutality
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The movie Fruitvale Station is one example of police brutality towards African-Americans. The main character Oscar Grant was shot and killed by a police officer simply for the color of his skin. His death was recorded on many cell phones from people watching on the train. Homeland security’s main goal is to protect American citizens from foreign and domestic threats. However, the only threat was by the people who are supposed to protect us, our police force. Police brutality is a serious homeland security issue to the Black Community. In the movie, Oscar Grant and his girlfriend ate dinner with his mom for her birthday. He told his mom he was going out for New Years Eve with his friends to celebrate. His mom told him he should take the …show more content…
This film brings a better understanding to people about police brutality towards the Black community in America. A lot of people try to ignore it or say that African-Americans are using the “race card.” However, that is not true, and it is a serious matter that still goes on in our society now. It is the sad truth that more African-Americans are fearful of police officers, instead of feeling safe and …show more content…
Police officers that racially profile, and kill innocent people based off of stereotyping and hate, should be held accountable for their actions. The police officer that shot and killed Oscar Grant did a total of 11 months in jail. He did less than a year. Oscar Grant’s family and loved ones grieved longer than the time that police officer did. It is not fair that people in a high position are treated differently. That police officer did not go to jail for a long time for the fact that he was a white police officer. The police officer said that he meant to pull out a Taser gun instead of the actual gun. That was when he was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Regardless if it was an accident or not, which it wasn’t, 11 months is not enough time for taking an innocent life. I believe people in higher and important positions should be held accountable even more than a regular citizen. This is because they are trained, and they have our lives in their hands. So when they abuse their power that should not be taken
This film, directed by former gang- member Cle Sloan, shows how racism between whites and blacks during the civil rights movement played a significant role in the formation of many Los Angeles gangs that we would see today. T...
Do the Right Thing should be acknowledged as one of the top one hundred films in the AFI because Spike Lee was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Do the Right Thing and Danny Aiello was nominated for Best Actor for Do the Right Thing. The readers of this essay should not have only learned about Do the Right Thing, but they should have also learned that you have to confront injustices. There are a lot of racial injustices in the world today. For example, the shootings of LaQuan McDonald and Michael Brown. And how racial injustices are in court cases where black men are guilty for murders they did not commit. This essay is not only about the movie, but also readers should confront injustices and say that its wrong. While there is no controversy for this essay, let’s “[after last night's riot] Hope the block is still standing” (Do the Right
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...
This movie was very sad but depicted the many social problems of struggling black communities in the early 1990’s. We learned in Adler, Mueller, & Laufer how criminal behavior as a result of frustrations suffered by lower-class individuals deprived of legitimate means to reach their goals are
...von Martin. It's what provoked four white police officers to fire 41 bullets at Amado Diallo, another unarmed black man, in 1999”(Fruitvale Station). Oscar Cruz was racially profiled, shot and killed due to the color of his skin. This movie truly shows how racism is still real, even in modern day America. It also helps open the eyes of Americans to see for themselves, literally, the struggles African American males face in comparison to other races and ethnicities.
Throughout, the documentary one can come to the conclusion that most of these African- Americans who live in this area are being judged as violent and bad people. However this is not the case, many of them are just normal people who are try...
Some could argue that his claims seem to be over the top of maybe even misinterpretations, thus he addresses this counter argument by explaining that he isn't the only black male who has been misjudged. “Such episodes are not uncommon. Black men trade tales like this all the time”(Staples 143). The fact that he adds the stories of other black men, such as the story of the young reporter being dragged violently out of his car at gunpoint; mistaken as a criminal(Staples 143), demonstrates that his arguments are not solely based on himself. The fear and uneasiness that an African American can experience who has not done anything around a police officer, a person who is suppose to help them in emergencies and who should provide a sense of tranquility, is alarming. There have been too many unarmed black men and women who have been misinterpreted, striped from thier rights and even their lives. The fact that people cannot trust law enforcement shows the negative effects that racial profiling has on society and it shows how nothing has changed since 1986, for a country like America, who is suppose to be the dream land this is disappointing. Staples is identifying the problem with societal views, he has not written a sob story with exaggerated experiences, he is shedding light onto a problem that is usually swept under the
In conclusion, after view this film, it is clear that one can see how black youth are being viewed as killers and savages. This is not true. There have been many admirable scholars and scientists who come from the African American culture. This movie, though it depicts what goes on in South America, takes the violence committed by black youth too far. One cannot view a film and take it that this is what a race is like. The filmmakers depicted black youth in a harsher light.
In the early 1990’s in Los Angeles, California, police brutally was considered a norm in African Americans neighborhoods. News coverage ignores the facts of how African ...
We see on T.V police brutality happening all the time. We see cops breaking people bones, throwing them on the ground, and even killing them. This documentary opened my eyes to see how bad it is. Seeing the random stops because of race, and the pushing and shoving of people who do not deserve it. Another thing I learned is how stressful being a police officer is, especially in a city like Newark. These officers face life threating situations daily. With this, I can understand the use of force when there is no immediate threat, because the situation could escalate and it is better to be safe than sorry. The documentary also showed me ways of improvement. Police officers should be required to have at least and Associates degree in Criminal Justice and receive extensive training. Seeing this documentary opened my eyes to what is happening in the Criminal Justice System
Many people claim that racism no longer exists; however, the minorities’ struggle with injustice is ubiquitous. Since there is a mass incarceration of African Americans, it is believed that African Americans are the cause of the severe increase of crimes. This belief has been sent out implicitly by the ruling class through the media. The media send out coded messages that are framed in abstract neutral language that play on white resentment that targets minorities. Disproportionate arrest is the result of racial disparities in the criminal justice system rather than disproportion in offenders. The disparities in the sentencing procedure are ascribed to racial discrimination. Because police officers are also biased, people of color are more likely to be investigated than whites. Police officers practice racial profiling to arrest African Americans under situations when they would not arrest white suspects, and they are more likely to stop African Americans and see them as suspicious (Alexander 150-176). In the “Anything Can Happen With Police Around”: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places,” Michelle Fine and her comrades were inspired to conduct a survey over one of the major social issues - how authority figures use a person’s racial identity as a key factor in determining how to enforce laws and how the surveillance is problematic in public space. Fine believes it is critical to draw attention to the reality in why African Americans are being arrested at a much higher rate. This article reflects the ongoing racial issue by focusing on the injustice in treatment by police officers and the youth of color who are victims. This article is successful in being persuasive about the ongoing racial iss...
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
In the Ferguson article (2015), there was an example given about an African American man claimed that he was standing outside of of Wal-Mart, an officer called him a “stupid motherf****r” and a “bastard.” According to the man, a lieutenant was on the scene and did nothing to reproach the officer, instead threatening to arrest the man (p. 80). This demonstrates that the police in Ferguson had no respect for the civilian and even though the lieutenant was present, they did nothing. The officer was not suspended nor held responsible for this incident. By failing to hold officers accountable, it sends a message that officers can behave as they like, “regardless of law or policy, and even if caught, that punishment will be light.” (Ferguson, 86). This message serves to excuse officer wrongdoing and heighten community distrust. This is also to say that police can possibly get away with murder because they are higher officials and work for the
Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may find it necessary to use excessive force to take control of a certain situation. Sometimes this makes an officer fight with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all cops in communities are great cops. At least once a year, the news covers a story about a person being beat by an officer. The article “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities” by Malcolm D. Holmes from the University of Wyoming, uses the conflict theory to explain why officers go after minorities sometimes causing police brutality. It explains the police’s tension with African American and Latino males. Those minorities are the ones that retaliate more against police officers which causes the officer to use violent force to defend themselves.
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve.