We need to acknowledge institutional racism exists in every corner of our society. We need to define what the root causes are, not just the symptoms of the disproportionate system. One of the many issues that face the public today is police violence against minorities. The oppressive and controlling nature of our racialized society has shaped history and define our laws. The fear of our own implicit bias is understandable, but we must have the courage to deal with its destructive nature. Institutional racism and sexism destroy lives, and we all agree lives matter. American society operates on preferential treatment to one group based on unearned advantages. It 's clear that’s part of a far larger problem that our society must admit exists. That why we say "black lives matter" because we want our society to reflect that black lives matter as much as everyone else 's.
Now let 's shed some light on what’s happening in this country that has sparked “black lives matter”. Freddie Gray had his spine nearly severed in the back of a police van. Eric Garner was selling loose cigarettes on a street corner and wound up dead when an arresting officer put him in a
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Sandra Bland was found hanged in her jail cell shortly after being yanked from her car, thrown to the ground, and arrested after police pulled her over for not using her turn signal. Samuel DuBose was shot in the head and killed after a University of Cincinnati police officer stopped him for driving without a “front” license plate. Too many black lives are lost under suspicious circumstances or following petty crimes that don 't even merit jail time, let alone the death penalty. It 's time to admit that institutional racism exists. And it 's time to admit that we will never be the society we want to be until we deal with it in all conscience, openly, and head-on. So maybe we should just start with institutional racism in
In December of 2014, Eric Garner was killed after being accused of selling untaxed cigarettes, he was a black, asthmatic and unarmed man. Officers put Garner in a chokehold and even after garner stated “ I can’t breathe” officers did not back down. Since the incident, there has been an increase in the death of minorities with police encounters. The Black Lives Matter movement was established in order to bring awareness of police brutality against minorities. In “ I yelled Black Lives Matter at A Trump Rally”by Sierra Thoma, she recollects a caucasian man yelling “all lives matter” in opposition to “ black lives matter”. Although all lives matter, their is less police brutality incidents and political injustice against Caucasians . Thomas also states that she was pushed around by a police officer escorting her out of Trumps rally. Thomas article raises the question “ what if there was increase in police brutality against whites?” and “ what if it was a white organization protesting?”, would Trump 's reaction be the same? Would society be more accepting to a white lives matter movement? The police related incident at Fruitvale station relates to the struggle that minority lives face today. On November 1st, 2016, Laurie Bouie was shot by New Jersey police after they discovered him and his family trying
The question becomes that, after all the progress we’ve made as a society, why do we still allow racism to exist, especially in our criminal justice system? The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization that promotes changes in sentencing policies and fights against unjust racial practices, conducted a report in July 2009 and found that non-whites made up two-thirds of the people in the US with life sentences (Quigley, “Fourteen Examples of Racism in Criminal Justice System”). Our society is built upon the idea that whites are superior to all other races and, because of this, we may never be able to fully erase racism. However, we can try. Despite what these and other criticisms say, I believe that all humans are equal in all aspects of life, and that race cannot take away a person’s right to live happily and healthily in this world. Although we have come very far, we still have a long way to go. Our efforts will be worth it the day that jail sentences are based on the crime, not the race of the
The newly formed, Black Lives Matter movement, campaigns against violence towards black people. BLM regularly organizes protests around the deaths of black people in killings by law enforcement officers, racial profiling, police brutality, and inequality in the U.S. criminal justice system. The movement was the brain child of Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi that sprouted from the hash tag #BlackLivesMatter after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. BLM became nationally known for its street demonstrations following the deaths of two Black Americans: Michael Brown (Ferguson, Missouri) and Eric Garner (NYC, New York). However, unlike the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, the Black Lives Matter movement is a decentralized network that has no formal structure. In a modern age where news spreads like wild fire, social media is the new base for discussion on racial bias, not only in the legal system, but rather, in society as a whole. Its because of this that the Black Lives Matter movement has been able gain immense support from the younger population and has been able to grow in such a short period of time. (Garcia, 2015.). In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement social media movement, the “All Lives Matter” movement gained headway as well. The Black Lives Matter campaign pertains particularly to
This paper was written to discuss the hot button topic, “Black Lives Matter.” Specifically, in regard to law enforcement. This has been an ongoing and controversial issue ever since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. This is when the movement “Black Lives Matter,” was born, with the belief that blacks are treated unfairly by law enforcement. I, however, do not believe that blacks are treated any more unfairly by law enforcement than any other race.
Racism is a thing of the past; it is not still present in 2016. Racism is dead. These are widely misunderstood or incorrect phrases people tend to say. Actually racism is everywhere; it is in our news, entertainment, everyday life etc. People continue to deny it even though it is plainly here in our faces. It is 2016 and the KKK (a terrorist organization against African Americans) is still rallying, but people think racism does not exist anymore. The KKK even rallied at the University of Missouri. Black students were threatened and frightened to attend some of the classes that they are paying for. What is stopping them from coming to the University of Memphis? As shocking as that is people will still say racism is in the past. I believe racism is when one particular race believes their race is better than another, and will mistreat, abuse, and try to keep that race down. Racism is defined as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that
A number of African American people have been murdered by members of the police force and there still has yet to be any justice for them. The fact that members of a force that are meant to protect us, are actually killing many, brings on a feeling of uneasiness and distrust. They’re targeting innocent members of society for no other reason than their skin color. And justice hasn’t been accomplished in honor of all the people that were murdered. This proves just how unjust the criminal system is and how much work needs to be done to bring justice and equality for every gender, race,
“Never trust anyone who says they do not see color. This means to them, you are invisible.” The Police System needs to be fixed but it’s not going to accomplish in 1 day. In America, structural racism is every day. White Americans don’t see how dreadful Structural Racism is and how it affects people of color that are suffering from racism, police brutality, and inside of poverty. America is not aware of how serious structural racism is. Maybe they weren’t taught correctly or maybe they were taught to not care about it.
The over-reactions of a peaceful protest in Ferguson, Missouri prompted the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement is a response to the over exertion of power by domestic police towards inoccent black citizens. According to (Jaccard 2014), today’s police respond to domestic violence calls and peaceful protests as if they were fighting in the battlefield. This has caused some controversy in black communities, where they feel that they are being targeted because of their race. The movement shines light on the now aggressive nature of our domestic police and how their behaviors threaten local
Presently racism in the U.S. is presented through the media’s portrayal of the shooting of African Americans by police officers. This racism can be found in the racial bias that is obvious in media in the present day. In the video “Terence Crutcher’s Police Shooting & Racial Bias in America” by The Daily Show, Trevor Noah mentions that we are “ living in a society where racial divisions are so deeply baked into every part of society that we don’t even notice them anymore” (The Daily Show). By stating this Noah is showing that the racial bias that is shown in many news interviews and media forms is often overlooked and quite often already present. Another example of the racial bias that is set in most Americans can be found in the video “A White Audience is Left Speechless Racism in America” when a lady asks the audience to stand up if they would want to be treated the way African Americans are treated in society. The lady responds to her audiences lack of standing by stating the obvious fact they they are aware of the situation and they do not want that to happen to them, then she asks why they “are so willing to accept it or allow it to happen to others” (YouTube). This shows the fact that people are aware of the way that African Americans are being treated because of racial bias however because the way they are treated is so normalized people aren’t
Racism in the criminal justice system apparent and never will be addressed properly I say this because when you take a look at the case of Clarence Brandley in 1990. He was released after spending nearly a decade on Texas’ death row for a crime he did not commit. The misconduct in that case involved every level of government, from the police who threatened witnesses to prevent them from testifying for Brandley, to the trial judge and the prosecutor who held secret meetings to rehearse objections and rulings, to the state attorney general who lied about the results of a lie detector test. Racism enabled Texas’ officials to pursue Mr. Brandley with such a single-minded disregard for facts, fairness human decency and basic justice was that the victim in the case was a white school girl who had been raped and murdered (Curtis et al., 1987). These officials refused to do their obligated job and find the murderer of this girl, but instead chose to pin and railroad an innocent man solely because the color of his skin. This is a prime example of no matter how many decades past by racism in the United States will not
Racism appears everywhere and is playing an enormous role in society, not only to the Hispanics, but also to the African Americans. In fact, Being Latino in American society can be challenging there are many stereotypes that are said about Latinos. Not only do politicians give Latinos immigrants a bad name, but they also attempt to debase immigrants. From living in a Caucasian neighborhood, and going to a high school with five percent Hispanic. Politicians giving Hispanics a bad name, I know firsthand experience does not only affects me but everyone. Racism is an issue that was introduced to our environment through Cultural beliefs.
In American life race will continue to be an important role in the criminal justice system. For several years the criminal system has failed to maintain its “justice” and will conclude with an answer depending on the victim’s profile. Many cases are taken to court, but surprisingly aren’t winning. Lots of them don’t achieve justice for the reason that everything concludes to the same category which is depending on the victim’s profile. Statistics have shown that the number of African Americans in prison is higher than Whites meaning that eventually race can determine on who goes to jail. Most cases aren’t resolved with an actual justification which leads to incarcerate the wrong victim who then has his life ruined because an unfair move that the judge decided to make without having the accurate information or depending on his thoughts of the victim. The media have provided
Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement, originating in the African American community. It campaigns against violence toward black people and has become a uniting call for an innovative chapter in the black freedom fight. The clearance of Trayvon Martin’s killer in 2013 and the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 stimulated this movement. Black Lives Matter isn’t just about the loss of Black lives; but mainly about the lack of consequences when African American lives are taken by Caucasian officers. The question is; do black lives truly matter to those that claim to protect it? The answer is no they do not because the movement’s alleged “peaceful” protests continuously
Race seems to be a common theme throughout history, pertaining to the injustice that one has received based on their background. However, as race is a big issue, interracial issues are higher than ones of a different race, 85% of the time black people are the perpetrators of the crime (Jefferson). In this article, it also talks about how in 2013 a black person is six times more likely to commit a murder than any other race. This fact is shocking but describes why many people have predetermined thoughts concerning black people and their actions. Even though this fact is relevant we cannot simply look at every black person in the same way, because everyone is different and unique in their own way. The quote from Martin Luther King Jr. mentions brotherhood and it being a solid rock, but in actual fact, even your own brother can turn on you. The justice department has been put in place to protect the people and serve as protection for people who are being victimized. Yet police then and now still seem to abuse their authority, "We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality." For generations, police have rightfully and wrongly accused black people purely based on the colour of their skin, but to the lengths, some police officers take it to abuses their position in which one originally trusted. In recent day there have been many cases such as the Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ferguson and much more that highlight the police in some cases murdering someone just because they stole something and are believed to be carrying an armed weapon. This racial profiling is so wrong, but it still happens to similar extents resulting in another life being taken away. As much as a whole we try to be accepting, but all of it seems to be an illusion as we still cannot move forward and get rid of the
The movement BlackLivesMatter have outed hundreds unlawful officers and victims that never got the justice needed. The same characteristics (color and style) that emulates strong, noble people can backfire. Black people in this country who actively resist dehumanization makes a call to action and a response to anti-Black racism in our current society. (Cullors, 2015) The growth of the movement has moved country-wide, first starting in the south; the south had always had history of racism and anti-black impulses. This movement is continuing to carry up north and west, and is projected that any officer can be the next one to unlawfully kill another black individual. These immoral police officers are no different from the rest of the police force, their uniforms are no different color or style they do not have different titles, there is no distinction between the these two types of officers. African Americans are persuaded to be more cautious and angry towards police officers; anyone with a cop uniform can be considered a threat to their life. Innocent cops were murdered in retaliation to the unfair judicial systems that are not punishing these cops. Once a police-like uniform is worn it not only once symbolizes honor and power, but t too many communities