Is the disproportionate use of force on black men by law enforcement a legitimate concern in the African immigrant population?
From the moment I landed in the United States from Nigeria, my identity was formed by the African-American experience. This is an identity that follows me where ever I go, and it gives a false pretense about who I truly am. Due to all that has been happening with the racist views on black people in the United States, I have gone through some difficult experiences with law enforcement, which makes me question the safety of being a minority race in America. But, I’m African, and I have been my entire life. I find the need to clarify the difference between an African American immigrant and an American born black person.
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In the eyes of many native-born blacks and African immigrants, it isn’t.”
I came to the States with different traditions and culture that I’ve been familiar with my whole life, growing up in Nigeria in the Yoruba tribe. Those traits will stick with me as long as I live in the United States. For instance, when I call my family back home, I speak in our native dialect, because most of my family does not speak English. Also, I will always have my accent when speaking American English, and that is an obvious sign that my native country is not the U.S.A.
As you can see, something as simple as hearing the difference between and American accent versus a non-American accent, is all it takes to notice a difference between the two groups. Oddly enough, that simple difference is not noticed within our law enforcement officers in the United
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I understand that to simply forget about the past for African- Americans is sort of throwing their ancestors under the bus.
Even though the examples I’ve shared in this research are not physically violent acts from U.S. law enforcement, they are discriminatory in nature. From the law enforcement’s racial profiling I experienced to the abuse of justice towards the DSU grad student, it all builds towards a case of injustice and discrimination. One of America’s biggest virtues is freedom, but sometimes I question the belief of freedom. It seems that is doesn’t exist at all for some people, or maybe that the freedom they talk about doesn’t include every human, especially those with skin that isn’t white and born in the United
Police Brutality Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a startling fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida, five men died while in the custody of the
For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.
Police brutality has been a significant issue for many years.. The people affected by this most of all, are people of color. They are subject to racial inequality by the police and the justice system every day. They are being killed everyday simply for existing. The excessive force used by the police specifically towards African Americans is continuous; with the justice system doing close to nothing to change that. This is one of the reasons they continue to kill and harass African Americans. According to Propublica, young black males are about twenty times more likely to be shot and killed by the police than their white peers are. Murderers are walking free, and innocent lives are being taken. Over the past couple of years, thousands of people have been killed on the hands of the police, both black and white.
What makes an American an American? Is it the accent, the clothing, the fact that you
In America, police brutality affects and victimizes people of color mentally and socially. Social injustice has become a major issue, which involves the principle of white supremacy vs minorities. The current police brutality that has been occurring is culturally disconnecting ethnicities from one another. According to Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, “.the cultural disconnect is very real; you have the weight of generations of abuse on African Americans,” (Flatow, 2016). For example, over the past four years, there have been countless acts of police brutality.
Whether you have experienced a lot of traveling to other countries and continents or perhaps you have never left the East coast, it can be assumed; whether through school or a work environment, you have had at least one experience dealing with different nationalities and cultures. The realization is that we may come from different places and have different backgrounds but most people, cultures included, have more in common then we could imagine.
To illustrate, majority of blacks are stop by police more than any other racial groups. Police brutality is base on ethnicity. Officers seem to target black communities for many reasons. Racist cops might view blacks as less innocent compared to whites. Growing up as an African American you witness hearing your parents telling your male siblings to respect officers and to interact with them differently than they would do their families and friends. After the fatal shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The public wanted justice because the incident was not handled properly. The people wanted to express their concerns. After this incident I remember more allegation from black communities begin surfacing that the police use excessive force against them,
This essay will bring to light the problem of racial profiling in the police force and propose the eradication of any discrimination. The Fourth Amendment states “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Despite this right, multiple minorities across the country suffer at the hands of police officers through racial profiling; the singling out of a person or persons as the main suspect of a crime based on their race. Many people have also suffered the loss of a loved one because police believed the suspect to be a threat based on their races therefore the officers use their authority to take out the “threat”. Although racial profiling may make sense to police officers in the line of duty, through the eyes of the public and those affected by police actions, it is a form a racism that is not being confronted and is allowing unjust convictions and deaths.
Weich, R., & Angulo, C. (2002). Racial disparities in the American criminal justice system. Rights at risk: Equality in an age of terrorism, 185-218.
Both my mom and my dad were born in Ciudad Juarez; they both grew up there and as a result, they embraced the Mexican culture. I was born in Roswell, New Mexico. We lived there for about two years, but my parent decided to return to Juarez. If we think about it, this probably was the beginning of my ethnic identity. While I grew up, I attended school in Juarez, and as any person that had the chance to attend school might understand, education is a powerful tool that shape people through the years. Though I was legally American, my parents taught me to talk in Spanish, have respect for the Mexican flag, the anthem and the different ceremonies, in addition of the Mexican holidays.
How would it feel if you woke up each day fearing for your life, just because of the pigment of your skin or the irrelevant opinion of someone who believes they are superior. since ancient times, Discrimination has been a great issue in our society, it’s always been, and probably will continue to be in the near future. Now that the discrimination among officers have been in the spotlight, the fact that they’re not getting proper punishments are allowing a great amount of people to realize that This is a serious issue; and innocent individuals are losing their lives from the careless opinions of others.However, this is consistently changing depending upon the area in which it occurs in.
Holmes, M. D. (2000). MINORITY THREAT AND POLICE BRUTALITY: DETERMINANTS OF CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS IN U.S. MUNICIPALITIES. Criminology, 38(2), 343-367.
Police brutality and racism are an ongoing problem in our country. It goes back hundreds of years with no sign of it stopping. Police officers have been abusing their power since they have been around. Abuse against African American males by white police officers is getting out of hand. Most officers face no punishment at, and all there is a special code that they follow. Officers follow The “Blue Code of Silence”, which is a code that means they look out for one another. Even with video recording devices, the news, and social media, these events still go on. African Americans take most of the abuse and it looks like there is no end to this. This is a reflection on our society, and it makes us look ignorant to what is going on around us.
As we may all have once experienced, acculturation is one of the most common part of our lives, either by music, language or habits. In many occasions is more noticeable, but they are still a part of our entire lives. Through my own experiences and some of my classmates we were able to identified this topic in our own lives. I being born in USA but raised in Mexico until I was 16 years old, made my acculturation really clear when I came to this country without any previous knowledge of this language or society. Everything was completely different, but I was able to adapt to a new culture in a small period of time, learning a new language and successfully ending High School. Now that I came to college, I feel that I am going to a new acculturation process, not as harsh or obvious. But leaving and having many Asian friends have been acculturated me to their Asian culture little by little. Everything starts when you put in practice small customs as taking your shoes at the door, eating rice with anything and eating specially with chopsticks. I have been presented to this, and in my opinion have become acculturated to this culture. However, not everyone stories are the same. Lizandro Laverman experienced acculturation more indirectly by his parents experiences. His parents, basically, came to the United States to have a better lifestyle. He himself personally considers himself as an American. Although he is actually 75% Guatemalan and 25% German he considers himself to be 100% American. He also speak fluent in both languages, so the English and the Spanish, but speaks English more than anything. He also feels embraced when as Guatemalan dishes. In general, his parents are only used to a lifestyle that comes from Guatemala as train...
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.