Preview

Racism In Institution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
603 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism In Institution
When studying issues of institutional racism, a primary discussion question is: Is this institution currently racist? A follow up question would be: Did the racism stem from someone with racial attitudes and beliefs? The institution could have been managed by a racist leader who then hypothetically retired or passed away, so is the institution still racist? In most cases, the answer is “yes” because the institution was formed on racial biases, policies and so on, which still have an effect on people of color today. There are many institutions, police department included, that are formed on such racial biases.
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement created a campaign and website called “Campaign Zero,” in which they lay out potential solutions
…show more content…
That idea supports the claim that “Yes, although the person who created the institution is long gone, the institution is racist because was formed on such racial biases which have an effect on the institution today.” The history of policing can be a directly correlated to the current practices and policies of police. There has been a history of crime in inner cities, which due to policies implemented in the past (an example would be redlining), are now primarily the home to people of color. Crime happens everywhere, in every community. People in suburban American may not be surrounded by “inner city crimes,” but there are other issues, for example a problem with higher end and more expensive drugs. There are “more crimes” in the primarily black communities because there are more police present looking for such crimes. In some cases, these racist policies that result in present day racist attitudes (and) or beliefs were implemented in the past are still current policies for institutions. In other cases, the policies may have been modified, changed or removed from an institution, but affect people of color. The history of policing and the policies directly impacts the current situation of police violence towards black …show more content…
Two possible solutions created by the Black Lives Matter leaders are increase in training and decrease in profiling, which are two direct examples of “implicit bias,” attitudes and beliefs that stem from the unconscious. When cops are told to stop “suspicious” residents of the community, they primarily target people of color. Tests have been conducted that prove everyone (people of color included) are instilled with some degree of implicit bias. In regards to police officers, the implicit bias can explain why they target people of color, their subconscious recognizes them as “suspicious” and “dangerous.” Police officers can not control their subconscious minds, it is an unintentional behavior. Although, these attitudes and behaviors are non accidental because such attitudes and behaviors have been deeply rooted in the minds and subconscious of the police

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    This essay will screen through the changes made in major areas of Criminal Justice System after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report published and attempts to address changes that have already implemented, the supposed and actual outcomes, and effectiveness of these changes in tackling institutional racism mainly based on qualitative academic debates.…

    • 2082 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1999 a Gallup poll of citizens found that 59 percent of Americans believed that “race-based profiling was widespread” (). In an additional study, Weitzer and Tuch found that 80 percent of African Americans believed that racial profiling was prevalent in their own city and 90 percent believed that racial profiling was widespread within the United States. Additionally, 59 percent of Hispanics believed that racial profiling occurred in their city, and 77 percent believed that racial profiling was widespread within the United States. These perceptions are damaging to the police profession and addressing the issue heals wounds and builds trust within their communities. While the Blue Ribbon Investigation was not conducted due to specific allegations brought against the Portland Police Department, the investigative team assumed that Portland is “no different from other cities in the United States, where the perception that police unfairly target people of color is common and has been documented” (). Therefore this investigation was a proactive examination of the Portland Police Departmentto determine if racial profiling was occurring, either confirming or denying citizen’s beliefs that racial profiling was a widespread issue within the United…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the early phase of post-war immigration, there was an assumption that members of ethnic minority groups were no more likely to be offenders or victims than the majority white population. It was also assumed that the criminal justice system treated all ethnic groups fairly. According to a major investigation into police and immigrant relations in 1972 ‘black people were more law-abiding than the general population’ and there was little evidence against Black and Asian immigrants with regards to an increase in crime rates (Layton-Henry, 1992). During the next 10 years, however, relations between the police and the black community deteriorated and evidence mounted of increasing racist attacks.…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This bold quote opens up a new perspective to readers by clearly stating the importance of police brutality against people of color. If racism exists in society it exists in the government and the police force too. This is not an idea that should go away after reading. This is the start of a conversation about how individuals can change their country and therefore their police force…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States of America racial discrimination still exists to this day. Minorities in our country are not seen as equal people. When a person is deprived of their human rights it makes them feel degraded and troubled. In order to become a more civilized country, we must forget the color of our own skin and live with each other as one. In the article “Why Racial Profiling is a Bad Idea” by Tom Head, discusses the way cops pay more attention to those of minority races and how they usually find them guilty of crimes they didn’t commit. Even though many officers will deny their participation in this type of profiling, a lot use this tactic to pull over and arrest Minority races. The article “Racial Profiling Lives On” by Devon Carbado, Cheryl Harris and Kimberle Crenshaw, also displays examples of how racial profiling continues to this day. There are many ways cops can search/arrest African Americans or other Minorities for no reason and still keep from breaking the Fourth Amendment and the authors of “Racial Profiling Lives On” supports there claims with emotional examples that appeal to a pathological type of audience.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bias-Based Policing

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page

    One of the major problems that police deal with is bias-based policing. Bias-based policing is best described as practices that police intentionally use based on ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation. It also includes racial profiling (p.31). In my opinion, this problem will always be around, because there will always be at least one bad police officer. In order for us to minimize this problem, police officers should interact with the people in the community more. If the police made relationships with people of all races, it would make it easier for the community to trust law…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States most people do not see racism in the criminal justice system as a major issue. That’s because the majority of citizens in this country aren’t involved with our criminal justice system, which is a good thing. There are also a lot of people that are involved with our criminal justice system for good and bad reasons. Throughout the history of this country racism has always been a major issue, and still is today on some terms, but if you were to get law enforcement involved, I believe there would be many different opinions. When it comes to racism and any issue people in this country could go on forever with their opinions about who is right and who is wrong. The big question being asked…

    • 1791 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Institutional racism is societal patterns that influence discrimination against a particular race or ethnicity (Hart 2015: 14.) An example of institutional racism can be seen in the south side of Chicago, specifically with the schools located there. As a result of the poverty invested communities all around the area, children attending schools are often times forgotten about. Most of the schools are filled with minority groups, which causes schools to receive poor funding from Chicago Public Schools (CPS). On top of that, the south side is predominately a African-America community which only adds to the discrimination.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Institutional Racism Within the Criminal Justice System in the U.S Institutional racism is quite apparent in the U.S criminal justice system as not only the police force seem to be "institutionally" racist, but the judges too in certain states. Ian Haney. F Lopez defines institutional racism as being divided into “path and script racism: Path racism is directed racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions. Script racism is undirected racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions. ”Lopez suggests that some judges in the state of California are institutionally racist, especially towards Mexican-Americans.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racial profiling, the stereotypical cop vs anyone that isn’t white scenario, is happening in every back alley, ghetto, and high profile neighborhood across the nation. For those of you who don't know racial profiling is when someone is stopped for no reason other than the color of his or her skin. Unfortunately, in forty-six states racial profiling happens to have unclear laws or no data about the person is required to stop them, which is more than half the country even though it promotes stereotypes, isn't reliable, and causes psychological harm (Racial Profiling in America).…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The majority of society believes that racial profiling does not exist, yet it does. Racial profiling creates the psychological assumption that all minorities will most likely engage in criminal activity, whether it is intentional or unintentional. This form of criminal action is illegal and is a transparent form of racism. Racial profiling is a severe problem in today’s society, whether it is in the U.S or in other countries. This sort of action is not based on one category. It can be based on race, gender, appearance, religion, etc. Racial profiling and the inability to protect to the minority society has prevented the minorities from trusting the law enforcement. According to Ramirez (2000), racial profiling is defined as any police action…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racial Profiling, we see it, hear it, and experience it, all because of our skin color, ethnicity or simply because of our names. All throughout the country, millions experience racial profiling whether it’s in a school, a restaurant, their neighborhood, or in jail. Racial Profiling has destroyed the public trust in not only police officers but from everyone around them as well. Listening to movements based on the killings due to being a certain race and learning from the death of Eric Garner and the series of deaths of others, concludes that two issues need to be solved: racial profiling and police…

    • 103 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The judging of an individual’s character by their race did not become relevant because of the Rodney King beating, the attacks on the World Trade Center, or the illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border. Racial Discrimination has been a reoccurring issue for centuries. Throughout time, these judgments and discriminations have led to unwarranted searches, racial riots and unjust prosecutions. Racial Profiling not only adds to this overwhelming issue but is upheld by the U.S. government and prominent leaders. Racial profiling has caused divisions between black men and the police, negative effects on immigration and race relations, and false imprisonment, further proving that racial profiling is not defensible public policy.…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although police and prosecutors may contend that discrimination does not occur within their agency but that does not mean discrimination doesn’t occur. The facts show that minorities are targeted much more than whites. There are many factors that contribute to this. I don’t believe it is any one agency that specifically targets minorities but rather the criminal justice system as a whole. The interplay between the media, the criminal justice system, and the public has a huge influence on discrimination within the system. Another big factor in the disproportionate minority contact is the fact that the poor, troubled inner cities are filled with mostly minorities. The culture within these poor neighborhoods perpetuates a crime mentality that becomes an easy target for the criminal justice system. I argue that the discrimination doesn’t come from a racial bias but rather from the criminal culture created in poor areas.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Reduce Racial Profiling

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page

    The three steps proven to help reduce the amount of racial profiling, or racial bias are one “raise awareness of implicit bias among police leaders and officers;” two “transform the conversation between police and the community;” and three put policies in place to limit the impact of bias” (Keesee, 2015).…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays