Everyone desires to live a good life and people are always searching for ways to do so. In my case, by moving to the United States, I now have the opportunity to live a good life, but my definition differs from everyone else’s. I believe that living a good life means getting a good education, working hard, family support, willing to adapt new environment, having a leader, and becoming a self-made individual. My family and I moved from Pakistan eleven years ago in search of a better life. Their
The unequal distribution of equality throughout the United States affects many aspects of society. This injustice is seen in many different forms such as the wage gap between genders, racial discrimination, homelessness and even incarceration based on color. One of the main causes to the extremely high incarceration rate in the United States is the mandatory minimums set in place in the federal legislation. “Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require binding prison terms of a particular length for
Introduction Michelle Alexanders’ book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, explores the emergence of a new racial caste system in the United States, mass incarceration. She explores mass incarceration as a form of racial control that functions in contemporary society, even as it operates under the principle of colorblindness, which is a central theme within the book. Another central theme that Alexander discusses throughout the course of her book is the societal misconception
The American criminal justice system has long been plagued by issues of racial injustice and mass incarceration, deeply entrenched within its historical roots. Through literature and film, authors and filmmakers have sought to illuminate these systemic injustices, shedding light on the myriad factors contributing to the pervasive presence of mass incarceration, particularly among marginalized communities. Jesmyn Ward's novel "Sing, Unburied, Sing" and Ava DuVernay's documentary "The 13th" are potent
When asked whether African Americans are still under a system of racial and social control, many Americans will argue that the abolition of slavery and the Jim Crow laws, through the civil rights movement, brought an end to systemic racism. Therefore, African Americans are now free. However, according to Michelle Alexander, this is far from the truth. She addresses the issues of African Americans being in a system of racial and social control in her book, The New Jim Crow. Published in the year 2010
Introduction Mass incarceration in the United States has been a very prominent and distinct feature of our criminal justice system. The rates of which this system imprisons is very unequal when compared to other countries in the world, as well as when compared to other races within the United States itself. Mass incarceration does alter the lives of those who are within its prison system, and also those who are related to those individuals whether it be through blood or bond. These effects can extend
Michelle Alexander. The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2010. 1. Michelle Alexander book purpose is to expose the structural racism against the African American community and brown men face. This structural racism is expressed by the state in mass incarceration of African American and other color males and thus crates a new racial caste system. The method the state used to make this new comprehensive, excellently disguised system of racialized
Racial divisions are evident in societies across the globe, and have been for centuries. While there are distinct differences between these relationships of class and race, many similarities are clear. History has shown a long list of tactics to exploit, terrorize, and manipulate racial minorities and lower class citizens. For the indigenous people of Guatemala and the American Indians, the inception of racial and class discrimination occurred during colonialization and continues to show its impact
as the War Between the States, was a four-year war between the years of 1861 and 1865 between the United States and the eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. There were many many causes of the American Civil War, such as the Industrial Revolution, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the election of Abraham Lincoln that resulted in the effects of Reconstruction and Jim Crow Laws that are still relevant in the United States today. With the Industrial
movement by the African American Black community started in the year 2013. This movement sheds the light upon the core issues of racism, discrimination, domestic violence to police brutal killings and the pain and agony faced by the black people and trying to act as a light of hope for the downtrodden colored community in a world of violence, tragedy and death. #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society. The movement began with
Most black Americans are under the control of the criminal justice today whether in parole or probation or whether in jail or prison. Accomplishments of the civil rights association have been challenged by mass incarceration of the African Americans in fighting drugs in the country. Although the Jim Crow laws are not so common, many African Americans are still arrested for very minor crimes. They remain disfranchised and marginalized and trapped by criminal justice that has named them felons and
Letter from a Birmingham Jail is an important piece of American literature written by Martin Luther King during a crucial time of the American Civil Rights Movement. The essay highlights the racial tension in the American deep-south, the so-called Bible belt. King exemplifies the mistreatment of African-Americans brought on by policemen and the biased political structure that geared toward upholding white American supremacy rather than equality. King cleverly employs several strategies such as showing
where racial prejudice and segregation was high in our country, but amid all the intimidation and all the segregation, it sought to end the hate and racism in the United States. This speech cemented King, with the likes of Lincoln, as one of the men who helped shaped the United States of America. However, it still is and it can be described as a fascist time in the history of the United States. Fascism as described in the textbook, Understanding Politics by Thomas M. Magstadt has "enjoyed mass support
as well as labor union strikes that drastically affected the economy. The 1920s was a time of cultural change in the United States that led to a conservative reaction. Nativism
Alexie Sherman’s, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” displays the complications and occasional distress in the relationship between Native-American people and the United States. Despite being aboriginal inhabitants of America, even in present day United States there is still tension between the rest of the country, specifically mainstream white America, and the Native-American population. Several issues regarding the treatment of Native-Americans are major problems presently. Throughout
Literature Review Police Violence (Definition) Police violence towards african-americans is a major problem. Also referred to as police brutality, it is a misconduct by members of the police community towards a civilian. More specifically, it is “the use of excessive and unnecessary force by a police officer” (LegalDictionary 2017). There are many ways in which police brutality can happen. Physical abuse where an individual is thrown to the ground, pointed with a gun to be intimidated, hitten with
definition of mass incarceration is a term used by social activists to describe the significant increase in the number of incarcerated people in United States ' prisons over the past forty years, from 1970 to 2005 the number of inmates has risen 700%. Lawrence (2011) has stated that more than 2.3 million people in America are in jail or prison and sixty percent are African American and Latino. In this paper, I will present information on mass incarceration of black males, the development of a racial injustice
The Land of the Free is the home of 25% of the total worldwide prisoners according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The incarceration rate in the United States started to increase exceptionally in the past 30 years as one of the measures against the proclaimed “Drug War” by United States President Richard Nixon. As a result, 756 in every 100,000 Americans are behind bars (Webb, 2009). The development of the punitive system, particularly prisons, has resulted in a progression of collateral problems
rights and the racial inequality during the civil rights movement. Selma is about civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. heading to the rural Alabama City, Selma, to secure the voting rights for the African American community by having a march to Montgomery. It shows the struggles from what the African American community had to endured during the 1960s. Selma shows a social significance to today’s current events, specifically
Some people believe that the use of violence is the best way of achieving substantial change. I argue that non-violence is the key to achieve lasting change, because some of the greatest acts of non-violence have led to changes which have not changed and have transformed the lives of many people. However, I understand that violence may have to be used in certain circumstances. Some figures who thought that change can be achieve through using violence and violent methods were Malcolm X, Camilo Torres