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Racial disparities in our justice system
Racial disparities in our justice system
History of racism in America
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Power is something that you can use physically and mentally not only on yourself but on other people. There was a rape trial between Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell and Tom was convicted; to bad he was completely innocent. Mayella does not have power when it comes to her class and gender, but when it comes to race; because she is white she is white she has more power than Tom. For example, Mayella is a female and males had more power during that time period because they were stronger and more dominate, she is also in the lowest class because she is poor, therefore leaving her power only in race because she is white. During this 1930’s you needed to have class meaning how rich you were and Mayella was poor. In one document it says “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean…(Doc.A)” this shows us that even though …show more content…
First it shows power when the document says “The old Mr.Gilmer doin’ him thataway, talking so hateful to him...The way that man called him boy all the time an’ sneered at him…’well Dill, after all he’s just a Negro…(Doc.C)” this shows that Mr.Gilmer was being really rude to Tom by calling him “boy” so much. Another example is when Jem was talking to Reverend Skyed “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr.Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…(Doc.D)” this shows that the jury is made up of all white men that will vote against Tom just because he is black. My last piece of evidence was when Tom made a big mistake when he said “Yes, sun. I felt right sorry for her…(Doc.E)” Tom should have never said this because she is white and he was black saying he felt sorry for a white person and the courtroom didn’t like that. I don’t think race should have been involved with this at all because there is no reason someone should be disrespectful or rude to somebody just because the color of their skin because nobody gets to chose their color, they only live
To some it is very unclear whether Mayella is powerful or powerless. In the book to To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a family tries to defend a ‘Mockingbird’ who is being charged with crimes of rape. The book ironically takes place in the mid 1930s after similar events have just recently happened relating to blacks vs. whites. While Mayella Ewell can be considered as powerful based on her race, her class and gender indicates that Mayella is powerless based on the circumstances during the mid 1930s.
In the courtroom that night it is revealed that the alleged crimes of Tom Robinson, a decent Negro man, most likely did not happen. As Atticus says in his closing argument, "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is” (Lee 271). Showing the clear innocence of Tom Robinson due to lack of evidence, Scout thinks that the white jury will do the right thing only to find out that they still, unfairly, accuse him of being guilty. Scout and her brother, Jem, get very upset when they hear the verdict, however, it allows them both to learn the lesson that the county is unfair towards anyone who is not white. The county demonstrates this evil racism due to the social divisions in Maycomb between the whites and the blacks and because the whites see the blacks as unworthy of rights and freedoms. It was not just the trial itself that displayed evil in the world, but the comments and arguments surrounding the case did
All people have power, some people are just more powerful than others. Having power is the ability to create change. Examples of power being used wrongly is during the French revolution, and the residential school crisis. During the French revolution, two examples were shown of people abusing their power. King Louie XVI raised taxes so that he could buy things that he and his wife Marie Antoinette wanted, and took away rights from the third estate. In the residential schools crisis, the teachers, priests and nuns had power over the students and abused the students in different ways. Superior people take away the rights from those who are below them, but they end up corrupt.
The Oxford Dictionary defines power as “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” When a group of people collectively holds power over the other, the power gains legitimacy and gets reified into legitimate practices and traditions that could be replicated by other members of the group. During the eighteenth century in Europe and Africa, the race of a person often dictated fate of the person. In Sacred Hunger, Barry Unsworth illustrates the power disparity between the white slave traders and the African slaves by depicting the reality of slave trade in the 18th century slave trade.
The power differences and inequality present at personal, cultural and structural levels will now be discussed. Discrimination, oppression and power are closely related because the least powerful and privileged groups of people such as Black, Asian and some ethnic minorities are treated differently. Weber (1963) defines power as ‘the chance of a man, or a number of men to realize their own will in communal action, even against the resistance of others’ (cited in Haralambos and Holborn, 1995, p 501). In other words, power is an opportunity for a person to do what they like despite of others wishes. One the other hand, Lukes (1974) suggests that power can also be defined as the ability of a person to exercise his/hers power over another person (cited in Cox et al., 1985 p 32).
Therefore the colour of Tom Robinson’s skin was the defining factor in the jury’s decision. Since the jury declared Tom Robinson guilty, that reveals his fate of going to jail and eventually being killed which is obviously an injustice based on the discrimination against him.
Does being responsible for an innocent man’s life make someone powerful? Power is the capability to impact the comportment of others or the path of events. The accusation of rape, made by Mayella Ewell, uttermost, lead to the death of Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell is powerful due to her race, class, and gender.
...ir if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life” (295). From the very beginning of the trial, the jury was going to find Tom Robinson guilty since it was a black man's word against a white man’s word. The all-white jury never wanted to see a black person win against a white person. After he is found guilty, Tom is sent to a prison where he tries to escape but is shot to death by the prison guards. Mr. Underwood writes an editorial in which he compares Tom being shot to death to hunters shooting mockingbirds. Like a mockingbird, Tom never caused any harm to anyone. Tom is “shot” by the jury when they assume that he is guilty because he is a black man and his alleged victim is white. In the end, an innocent man was found guilty because of the color of his skin.
Tom Robinson is at the stand being questioned by Mr. Gilmer. Dill starts to feel sick because of how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom. The narrator explains, “Well, Dill,after all he is just a negro” (Lee 266).This piece of evidence shows that prejudice is used as an antagonist in the novel by giving an unfair trial to Tom Robinson. The quote states “he is just a negro,” which shows that the trial is unfair just because of the towns racial views on people of color. The jury is all white and the case is black versus white. The jury is very biased towards the case. The prosecuting lawyers and defending lawyer are giving their closing statements. Atticus ends with a powerful speech that prove Tom is innocent and his views on race. The jury thinks over all the evidence for a long time and come to a verdict. The author of To Kill A Mockingbird quotes, “Guilty...Guilty...Guilty...Guilty…” (Lee 282). This quote shows the jury is very prejudice. There is more than enough evidence to prove Tom did not rape Mayella and that Bob Ewell beat her. Even though there is enough evidence to proves Tom’s innocence the jury’s verdict is guilty just because of their hate and their prejudice towards African Americans. Ultimately, prejudice is being used as an antagonist is very thoroughly shown throughout the entirety of the
During the trial Mayella said, “Long’s he keep telling me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his case his sass, I ain't called upon to take it”(Doc C). During the trial, Mayella was treated a lot better during the case. But on the other hand, for Tom Robinson he was treated unfairly by Mr.Gilmer since he was called “boy” and many other rude names since he was a black man. During the trial, Reverend Sykes said, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr.Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favour of a colored man over a white man”(Doc D). Given these points, Mayella had a better advantage because of her race since most of the county and people were racist. Also it would be very rare for Tom to win since most of the jurors judged off from race instead of actual facts and reasoning.
By law a jury is supposed to be unbiased towards one group of people, but poor Tom had an all white jury that most likely didn’t pay attention to any of the evidence. Even before any evidence was presented at all the tried to lynch Tom for no reason other than he was a negro. I can remember the other day when scout asked me “You aren’t a really a nigger-lover, are you?” and I answered “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody.” I wish more people could be more like me. Maybe one of these days there will be a world where people don’t judge each other by the color of their skin.
In the court, the director leaves out the systemic racism that Harper Lee claims is the reason Tom Robinson is convicted of rape (Dave). The racist community, and mob of white men, make up the deciding factor of the court. However, for someone watching the movie it would not be understood that the hatred expressed expressed towards Atticus is for supporting a black man ("Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird"). The only reason Tom loses the case is because he is black and the movie underplays this as the reason. More than half of the movie is seen at the trial which left little time for the audience to build the idea that the novel builds up. This is the injustice do to racial matters, that is skimmed over and left to the viewers to determine their own opinions (Smykowski). The movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird ignores that racism is the reason Tom Robinson is
The term power has a variety of definitions. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the first definition of power refers to “the ability or capacity to act or do something effectively”, also include “a capacity, faculty, or aptitude,” (“power. (n.d.)
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
I define power as the ability to create desired outcomes. This is generally thought of as done through the control of other people to create outcomes that benefit you, but that is not always the case in my paradigm. Power also exists in less adversarial ways like in the relationship between a teacher and student or in social advocacy. The amount of power that exists for a person is largely dependent on the situation and the goals of those involved. When talking about accomplishing social justice I believe it is important to understand the dynamics of