Racial Disparity In America Essay

America is an immensely diverse nation; built on the ideals of the ‘Land of the Free’ and ‘Home of the Brave’. The United States is also known as the Land of Opportunity, but how true do the statements ring for all of its citizens? Civil rights movements, within the United States, have made large milestone victories since the early to mid-1960s; changes and implemented laws and policies have since guided a movement of appeared equality. How is it then, with this appeared movement of equality, that the United States penal system has become so overwhelmed and disproportioned in the representation of its races? Racial disparities between Non-Hispanic Whites, Non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics, within the penal system, have become increasingly more concerning. A study of empirical research of prosecution, conviction, and sentencing …show more content…
Although diversity has made its way into the court system leadership, race and ethnicity still seem to play a vital role in the outcome. Racial discrimination does not present itself as it did fifty years ago, but yet presents itself in a more secretive manner that results in racially discriminatory outcomes. Two studies that have been conducted within the past twenty years yielded two very significant findings. First, that, unlike previous studies, this one accounted for crimes committed and the defendant’s criminal history (Kansal & Mauer, 2005, p. 1). Secondly, rather than assuming racial bias exists in every situation, the study dared to ask in what way the racial bias manifests itself and when (Kansal & Mauer, 2005, p. 1). Through interactive analysis sentencing results heeded that minorities, both young Black and Latinos, were found to be sentenced more harshly than other defendants, and also when victims were white (Kansal & Mauer, 2005,