Redefining 'Criminal'

Disparities in the criminal justice system are massive in modern American society. Blacks are consistently imprisoned at a higher rate than any other race. This trend has only increased in severity over time. About 30 percent of all Black arrests were drug offenses, 30% of Hispanic arrests were drug offenses, but 30% of White arrests were for violent offenses. Whites are not only arrested less frequently than other races but they are also arrested at a much lower rate for drug offenses. This indicates that Whites are generally only imprisoned for serious, violent crimes. This study clearly shows that there is a higher imprisonment rate of people of color than Whites, and that the majority of these arrests are for drug-related offenses, while the majority of arrests for whites are for violent crimes. (Oliver, 2004)

Like almost all issues involving racial inequalities, finding a working solution for the criminal justice system gap is not an easy task. Law enforcement officers should be required to complete an intensive training showing the racial disparities and educating them in current discrimination. Officers should be immediately held accountable for any action that is racially charged. In terms of our actual justice system, minorities need to be better represented within the system, and those going through the trial process need to adequately represented (The Sentencing Project, 2008).

2011 Rates of Incarceration in Washington, DC

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Rates of Imprisonment for drug (non-violent) crimes

Education BoBation Fee Fhi Phophation

     As a lot of the issues in the educational gap are due to disparities in disciplinary approaches, many of the solutions to close this gap are related to that area. The first, and arguably the most important step, as it creates momentum in the right direction, is to get rid of the Zero Tolerance Policy. The Zero Tolerance Policy has been proven to actually be counterproductive by the American Psychological Association—the relationship between school-wide academic progress and the rate of school suspensions/expulsions was actually negative (Skiba, Reynolds, Graham, Sheras, Conoley & Garcia-Vazquez, 2006). A shift away from this detrimental policy will greatly benefit all students in the school system. In place of the Zero Tolerance Policy, schools should provide more guidance for the students who are having issues in school. On top of that, teachers should be made aware of current racial disparities and trained to learn how to deal with this issue, rather than pretend it is not there.

Data:

• The average 4-year graduation rate in 2010-11 at a public high school was 79%. 
• Asian/Pacific Islander students were at 87%
• White students were at 84%
• Hispanic students were at 71%
• Black students were at 67%
• American Indian/Alaska Native students were at 65%
• For the 2011-12 school year, the numbers increased universally by 2% (Stetser & Stillwell, 2014)
• 42% of White 4th graders were above the basic reading level (considered proficient or advanced), while only 18% of Native children in the same classrooms achieved the same scores
• An almost identical difference was shown in 8th grade math students 
• This difference has been shown to be fairly consistent over time (The Educational Trust, 2013)
• Suspensions in 2009-10- 5% of White students, 17% of Black students, 8% of American Indian students and 7% of Latino students (Losen & Gillespie, 2012)

Conclusions:

• There has been absolutely no improvement in the gap in the graduation of those of color—specifically those considered to be of the Hispanic, Black or American Indian/Alaskan Native races. Native students are falling victim to the largest gap in this system.
• One of the major considerations for this educational gap is the Zero Tolerance Policy and the disciplinary gap in the school system
• Black students are most often targeted for suspension across the nation, making it very difficult for them to complete school and get a proper education

AA: Yay or Nay?

     Affirmative action is a policy that favors members of a disadvantaged group that is perceived to be suffering from discrimination within the culture. This is also called positive discrimination. This was created in order to compensate for the detrimental effect of centuries of economic and social oppression of these minorities in our country. Affirmative action was coined by President Kennedy in his Executive Order 10925, which also established the Equal Employment Opportunities Committee (EEOC). This was furthered by President Johnson with his executive order in 1965 that prohibited discrimination for government contractors and by President Nixon in his executive order in 1969 that prohibited discrimination in the workforce as a whole. Today, affirmative action is used in college and university admissions merely as a component of the admissions process in order to promote diversity. Higher learning institutions are not allowed to have quotas or use point systems in regards to race. This has become the norm over time, as many court cases regarding this issue has gone to the Supreme Court. The three most controversial and influential cases are UC v Bakke (1978), Gratz v Bollinger (2003), and Grutter v Bollinger (2003). The UC v Bakke case established that universities could not use quotas due to the Equal Protection Clause, the Gratz v Bollinger case established that universities could not use a point system due to the Equal Protection Clause, and the Grutter v Bollinger case established that using race as a small component of the admissions process was acceptable. Further, in a 2006 trial against the University of Texas-Austin, the court ruled again that this was acceptable as long as there are no doable alternatives that did not involve race.

Minority students are consistently unprepared for college

Universities are beginning to recognize the educational gap,
but there is still much work to be done

    This topic is certainly controversial in modern society, especially at colleges and universities. However, it is also a vital issue for those of color. Abolishing affirmative action may have very negative effects on the success of students of color. There are many objections to affirmative action, including that it lowers academic standards for minorities and that it is reverse discrimination. However, as previously stated, it is only a small consideration among many for admissions and the number of minority applicants is currently such a small percentage that it barely makes a difference in the percentage of admittance of white (or “privileged”) students. My initial thoughts on this topic are that affirmative action should stay, however that there should be more initiative to improve the college-readiness of low-income minority students as soon as elementary school. It has been proven that there is a large gap between minorities and white students throughout grade school and improve this would all but eliminate the need for affirmative action in higher learning facilities.

Figurative TV or Literal Tropes?

Blackface, where someone of light skin paints
themselves dark and perpetuates stereotypes,
was commonly used in the 1900s to demean
African Americans

     One very common theme in comment dialogues on YouTube videos is the perpetration of racial stereotypes. There are many racially charged TV tropes-- "Blackface", "But not too black", "Minority show ghetto"-- that can attest to this mentality being common and deep-rooted in our society. The one that caught my eye in particular was "Scary black man". This refers to the appearance of a character in the plot who is there purely to scare and intimidate other characters-- as you may have guessed, this character is more often than not a large black male. There were many, many comments on the Bill O'Reilly/Ferguson video saying black people are dumb, that there are two types of black people-- classy blacks and ghetto blacks-- and, perhaps one of the best examples, "Ferguson is for violent, looting, retarded niggers". The "Scary black man" trope is actually the basis for the entire Ferguson trial-- did Wilson shoot Brown simply because he saw him as intimidating due to the fact that he was a large black male? In the comments on a Top Gear video discussing Mexicans, someone actually ventures to say that the "only thing [Mexicans are] good for is tacos and dishwashers", to which someone responded "Coronas are good too." While some people pointed out that Top Gear has a knack for making fun of everyone, others point out that in that particular clip, Mexicans are the only people they are talking negatively about. And specifically that they are referred to as lazy and stupid. 

     Another theme I found interesting in YouTube video the comments was the focus on the race of the person commenting, whether by that person themselves or by others. Many people mentioned their race as they commented-- "I'm Mexcian and...", "as an Asian university student..."-- and others would blatantly ask the race of the author of the previous comment, as if it would change the words they said. One of the most bothersome examples of this in my eyes was the comment on the Bill Maher video that said "Kerry Washington didn't know what the fuck she was talking about. Of course she's advocating racial discrimination." It is interesting to me that this user totally ignored the fact that, at one point, Bill Maher and the man sitting between Cain and Washington both agree with Kerry and contribute to her side of the debate. It is important in some situations, where the user is pulling from personal experience and wants to share that, in which disclosing race would be beneficial. However, I am intrigued by the comments where someone is offended by something said and wants to know the race of the person they are arguing with, as if that would justify how they feel and what they are saying.

The victims of Jeffery Dahmer

     Yet another theme I recognized was the question of whether or not something being said was racist. The word "racist" was thrown around hundreds of times in these conversations, and I think many times without necessity. Rather than having an open discussion about opinions, people choose to post angry, offensive comments. The best example of this was in the comments on the Jeffery Dahmer case-- there were many arguments on whether or not the cops that allowed Dahmer to take the clearly terrified Konerak back with him to his apartment were being racist for not listening to the two black women who did not believe Dahmer. Many people (and even the article itself) suggested that the police were much more inclined to listen to and believe the calm-headed white male over the two passionate black females. On the other hand, many people commented that it was due to homophobia or the lack of evidence or the officers not wanting to have to file any extra paperwork. In the comments on the Bill Maher video, there was a comment that read "again you prove your hatred and racism". Many of these accusations may be correct, as there are many blatantly racist comments in these threads. It is just very interesting to see how people react and respond, and how accusing someone of being racist can be used to try to win the argument by shaming the other person, rather than to promote awareness of racism as a social issue.

Ballin'

     "Stock stories" are stories that are passed down through individuals and are maintained generation after generation to uphold the status quo of society. These stories often perpetuate the idea of racial divides and white privilege. The most common stock story I have told and been told is the idea of the American dream. This story seems harmless- it is the idea that anyone can, through hard work, increase their socioeconomic status in American society. While this has worked for some, we must consider that hard work is not the only factor that helps people move up from a low economic status. Often, race is consciously or subconsciously taken into account for jobs, etc. and a person of color who has worked hard for that position could very well lose it to a privileged white. Another story I have seen a lot of is the idea that black people are good at sports. While this is veiled in a positive light, it actually very negatively portrays African Americans into a stereotype where people will no longer consider them as being good at other things, such as academics.

     The issue of exploitation in sports is massive at universities. Students are admitted at lower standards, not required to perform at a competitive academic standard during their time being a student athlete, and, as a

result, are unprepared for the real world if their sports careers don't pan out or when said careers end within the 10 years due to normal aging of the body. We came up with two sort of categories of solutions to these issues, which we agreed as a group are not mutually exclusive. The first was to work to give athletes other options other than school, i.e. a minor league for all sports that kids can join rights out of high school if they do not wish to get an education. We also agreed that, where they to play a sport at a university, schools should take more actions to hold the athletes responsible for their educations, including more rigorous academic demands for student athletes and promoting the idea of higher education and then benefits to these students who think academics is their only way out of poverty. 

To and (A)Fro

     As a white female with straight blonde hair, I have never worried (beyond having the normal bad hair days) how people would judge me based on what is on my head. And I certainly I do not have people attempting to touch my hair on any occasion. These are common issues of those of color, and people will come up to them and touch their hair, etc. without asking. I won't lie; I have had the urge to want to ask if I could touch a fro. After hearing the opinions of those with hair that others commonly ask to touch, my view on this issue has significantly changed. I was most surprised to hear that there is even a hierarchy based on hair type in other countries, where straight, blonde hair is uncommon but idolized.

     Often, I think of the use of afros in mainstream media as an example of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is the taking of the property, expressions or artifacts from another’s culture without permission. This has become a serious issue for minority groups in modern day America due to America’s background in slavery and due to the celebration of Halloween. Other examples of this are the use of Native American and Indian outfits and headdresses as sexualized Halloween costumes. This can often also be seen in dance and music—for example, Miley Cyrus began twerking, which was a dance style that can be traced back to the African American community. A result of this phenomenon is the exploitation of minority groups; while these costumes and dances are temporary, the stigma they create against these cultures lasts for generations. Some solutions offered for this problem are to make the public aware of these issues and to make sure they are aware that is it important to be respectful of things that represent others cultures, especially when it comes to sexualizing things for the media.

Avoidance: A Disservice

It is very often seen that White people have more opportunities that they don't have to work for. I personally believe that this is due-on a very basic level- to people's need to preserve their self-image. When our country was founded, it was deemed okay to separate people due to the color of their skin and it has created an unspoken tendency to continue gravitating towards people of the same skin color even today. I think this creates a cycle where privileged Whites who are older and in positions of power will unintentionally tend to interact more with younger Whites and the increased percentage of interactions with younger Whites over younger people of color leads to more opportunities and privileges to be passed down exclusively to those younger Whites.

I think this gravitation towards people of your own color can be attributed to growing up without having any conversations about race in the home and, therefore, feeling uncomfortable talking about or acknowledging it for fear of being considered racist. For example, when a white person who grew up in this very common environment walks into a room full of people of different races, their tendency will probably be to gravitate towards other whites to avoid unintentionally embarrassing themselves or creating any awkwardness. This does, however, hinder Whites because of the lingering fear of being considered a racist and the feelings of guilt when considering this phenomenon. Personally, while I know I haven’t don’t anything wrong, I do feel badly knowing that I have received an unfair advantage over people with darker skin than I. I think people inherently like to be challenged and handing one group of people advantages without any good reason takes away a lot of opportunities for that and ultimately brings down our society’s progress as a whole.

Self confidence/worth is often associated with hard work

       Due to this need for the preservation of self-image, I believe it is common for most white Americans (who don’t have any personal prejudices against those of a different race) to not acknowledge the advantages they have nor the underlying structural conditions that created them, because it creates those feelings of guilt. Many white Americans want to believe that they created their own success and do not want to consider the fact that they may have been handed many of their opportunities simply due to their race. This can take away the sense of self-worth that comes from feeling like you overcame a challenge or that you truly earned what you have.