“We have made enormous progress in teaching everyone that racism is bad but where we seem to have dropped the ball is teaching people what racism actually IS” (John Stewart). Racism is a form of oppression. It is also a belief that some inherited characteristics, such as skin color: makes people feel inferior to their oppressors (Selfa, 2016). Racism has taken many forms throughout American history. The most notable form of racism in America was the enslavement of African Americans. During this period, African Americans were stripped of their identities and forced to believe that they were inferior to Europeans because of their skin color. When the 13th amendment was passed, African Americans were freed and granted some of the same rights as whites.
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Legislatures created laws that directly discriminated against people of color. These laws were known as Jim Crow laws. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Jim Crow laws were any state law passed in the South that established different rules for blacks and whites (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2016). Jim Crow laws were intentionally put in place to control African Americans and their interactions with Caucasians. Congress later passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which deemed Jim Crow laws as unconstitutional. Even though Congress granted equal rights for African Americans, racism continues to be an issue.
Today, many people believe that racism is no longer an issue. However, racism continues to be a major factor in African Americans mistrust of the criminal justice system. The purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent (Cavadino, 2008). However, research has shown that in comparison to Caucasians, African Americans do not receive equal justice.
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Legislatures created laws that directly discriminated against people of color. These laws were known as Jim Crow laws. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Jim Crow laws were any state law passed in the South that established different rules for blacks and whites (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2016). Jim Crow laws were intentionally put in place to control African Americans and their interactions with Caucasians. Congress later passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which deemed Jim Crow laws as unconstitutional. Even though Congress granted equal rights for African Americans, racism continues to be an issue.
Today, many people believe that racism is no longer an issue. However, racism continues to be a major factor in African Americans mistrust of the criminal justice system. The purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent (Cavadino, 2008). However, research has shown that in comparison to Caucasians, African Americans do not receive equal justice.
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