Racism
Lady Justice has been the symbol of the legal system in America as the standard which all that practice law should follow. Since the era of the civil rights movement the premise has been and should still be that all people in the United States are equal. Despite countless efforts there is still a flaw in the system and that flaw roots itself in racism. In fact, there is a racial divide that separates those who practice law from those that are to uphold the law. Eleanor Roosevelt once stated “justice cannot be for one side, but must be for both sides” (wisdomcommons.org, 2014). This insight is not carried out by those who uphold the law or pass down judgments. The blacks in America, which make up small portions of the population, have …show more content…
What can be done to change the justice system so that there is equal retribution for all that enter it? There is no shortage of explanations from the preposterous to the irrational to the intelligent and finally to those that take action. The document that Haight wrote says “By taking account of the influence of implicit racial bias, the Court can move the nation toward a criminal justice system that effectively balances the safety of our citizens with true equal justice under law” (87). The term implicit racial bias is referenced in psychological literature to explain the racial divide within the justice system. There is no sure answer in the quest to establish the rights of black people in America. The case in Ferguson where an unarmed black teen was killed by a white policeman and the outrage of the black community shows their intolerance to lack of justice and the feeling that non-whites are still being treated as second class is shown in the protests that occurred from coast to coast. The Ferguson outrage is not just about the young teen killed in one town, but the mistreatment of an entire race of people whose perception is that they are being treated just as the slaves had been. Many studies show this to be true among the officers to the juries to the judges in the American justice system. People have to wonder how black people have dealt with discrimination with such grace. If any other race of people were treated the same as those in the black community there would have been an uprising and people would have been held accountable for their actions. In the words of Dr. King “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”
Lady Justice has been the symbol of the legal system in America as the standard which all that practice law should follow. Since the era of the civil rights movement the premise has been and should still be that all people in the United States are equal. Despite countless efforts there is still a flaw in the system and that flaw roots itself in racism. In fact, there is a racial divide that separates those who practice law from those that are to uphold the law. Eleanor Roosevelt once stated “justice cannot be for one side, but must be for both sides” (wisdomcommons.org, 2014). This insight is not carried out by those who uphold the law or pass down judgments. The blacks in America, which make up small portions of the population, have …show more content…
What can be done to change the justice system so that there is equal retribution for all that enter it? There is no shortage of explanations from the preposterous to the irrational to the intelligent and finally to those that take action. The document that Haight wrote says “By taking account of the influence of implicit racial bias, the Court can move the nation toward a criminal justice system that effectively balances the safety of our citizens with true equal justice under law” (87). The term implicit racial bias is referenced in psychological literature to explain the racial divide within the justice system. There is no sure answer in the quest to establish the rights of black people in America. The case in Ferguson where an unarmed black teen was killed by a white policeman and the outrage of the black community shows their intolerance to lack of justice and the feeling that non-whites are still being treated as second class is shown in the protests that occurred from coast to coast. The Ferguson outrage is not just about the young teen killed in one town, but the mistreatment of an entire race of people whose perception is that they are being treated just as the slaves had been. Many studies show this to be true among the officers to the juries to the judges in the American justice system. People have to wonder how black people have dealt with discrimination with such grace. If any other race of people were treated the same as those in the black community there would have been an uprising and people would have been held accountable for their actions. In the words of Dr. King “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”