One of the greater issues in America today is the controversy with nonwhite Americans being treated unequally within the justice system, mainly by the police. Most people try to ignore the fact, but others know and agree that the mistreatment of nonwhites is wrong. This will not be an easy issue to resolve, but the more aware society becomes of the issue, the more the people of the country can do to put it to an end. Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, discussed this overall issue. Her main argument is the War on Drugs has caused many problems for those who are nonwhite, especially with police officers and the justice system. The War on Drugs was America’s way of legally being able to discriminate against nonwhites, and most of
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One of the more recent stories, the death of Terence Crutcher, grabbed the attention of the country. According to CNN, Crutcher’s car had broken down in the middle of the road and he was waiting for help when police arrived due to a 911 report. The report stated that, “An unarmed black man walks on a Tulsa, Oklahoma, road with his hands in the air,” (Tulsa Police Shooting Investigated by Justice Department). The shooting officer claimed she thought Crutcher had a weapon and was reaching for it, but no weapons were found and his car window was rolled up so it was not possible he was reaching for a weapon. The controversial question that this case imposes is, would the officer have shot Crutcher if he was white? Many would say no, and that police tend to see black males as a ‘threat’ even when there is none. In Just Mercy, Stevenson mentioned an encounter he had with police officers. He was sitting in his car in front of his apartment listening to the radio, when officers had pulled up and drew weapons on him because he looked suspicious. Stevenson claims even though he was innocent, he was scared and the thought of running crossed his mind. “When I thought about what I would have done when I was sixteen years old, or nineteen, or even twenty-four. I was scared to realize that I might have run. The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became about all the young black boys and men in that neighborhood,” (pg. 43). Stevenson points out that even though someone may be completely innocent, when approached by police with guns, they still might run due to fear. Police assume that when someone is running from them, that they are guilty or impose a threat. Shootings could be avoided if officers approached civilians in a more professional way that would not scare them into running
One of the more recent stories, the death of Terence Crutcher, grabbed the attention of the country. According to CNN, Crutcher’s car had broken down in the middle of the road and he was waiting for help when police arrived due to a 911 report. The report stated that, “An unarmed black man walks on a Tulsa, Oklahoma, road with his hands in the air,” (Tulsa Police Shooting Investigated by Justice Department). The shooting officer claimed she thought Crutcher had a weapon and was reaching for it, but no weapons were found and his car window was rolled up so it was not possible he was reaching for a weapon. The controversial question that this case imposes is, would the officer have shot Crutcher if he was white? Many would say no, and that police tend to see black males as a ‘threat’ even when there is none. In Just Mercy, Stevenson mentioned an encounter he had with police officers. He was sitting in his car in front of his apartment listening to the radio, when officers had pulled up and drew weapons on him because he looked suspicious. Stevenson claims even though he was innocent, he was scared and the thought of running crossed his mind. “When I thought about what I would have done when I was sixteen years old, or nineteen, or even twenty-four. I was scared to realize that I might have run. The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became about all the young black boys and men in that neighborhood,” (pg. 43). Stevenson points out that even though someone may be completely innocent, when approached by police with guns, they still might run due to fear. Police assume that when someone is running from them, that they are guilty or impose a threat. Shootings could be avoided if officers approached civilians in a more professional way that would not scare them into running