Racism has been an ongoing issue for centuries. In 1890 Jim Crow laws were created to keep African Americans and Whites separate, but “equal”. This stripped them from any and every public classroom, bathroom, theater and even water fountain. In the tempestuous decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists spoke up in hope of bringing about change; Martin Luther King was the leading voice for these activists. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” (Martin Luther King). This was part of King’s most famous speech “I Have a Dream…,” which struck citizens with a feeling of woe. Finally, the federal government
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Martin was walking home with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea when he was shot and killed by a 28-year-old white man. This struck the nation with such agony as it tried to digest the death of this young man. It brought up many controversies about whether race played a factor in his death. The fact of the matter is that young black men are seen as a greater threat, more violent and more dangerous than any other young man. Our nation needs to ensure that young black men and boys are treated fairly. The racial and ethnic disparities that exist in our criminal justice system do not meet the standards of treating everyone equally; Research has proven this. The American Psychological Association researched specific police officers' records to determine their use of aggressive force while on duty and found that those who “dehumanize” Blacks were more likely to have used force against African American children than officers who did not dehumanize Blacks. Dehumanization is “the belief that a certain group should be treated as less than human,” (Websters Dictionary). This study specifically researched African Americans being taken down or wrist locked, kicked or punched, use of a police dog, electric shock and/or killing. The same study also found that African Americans as young as ten-years-old may not be viewed as an innocent child like young white boys are, instead there are viewed as “thugs”. A political cartoonist, Roger, depicted a neighborhood watchman calling the police on an African American boy playing in a tree. The watchman is in a Ku Klux Klan suit, inferring he is a white man. This study and political carton go hand-in-hand in describing a black boy’s loss of innocence due to the racial discrimination by white people in America. Both are similar to Martin’s case. He was an innocent, young, African American boy who, by a white man, was wrongly viewed as a
Martin was walking home with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea when he was shot and killed by a 28-year-old white man. This struck the nation with such agony as it tried to digest the death of this young man. It brought up many controversies about whether race played a factor in his death. The fact of the matter is that young black men are seen as a greater threat, more violent and more dangerous than any other young man. Our nation needs to ensure that young black men and boys are treated fairly. The racial and ethnic disparities that exist in our criminal justice system do not meet the standards of treating everyone equally; Research has proven this. The American Psychological Association researched specific police officers' records to determine their use of aggressive force while on duty and found that those who “dehumanize” Blacks were more likely to have used force against African American children than officers who did not dehumanize Blacks. Dehumanization is “the belief that a certain group should be treated as less than human,” (Websters Dictionary). This study specifically researched African Americans being taken down or wrist locked, kicked or punched, use of a police dog, electric shock and/or killing. The same study also found that African Americans as young as ten-years-old may not be viewed as an innocent child like young white boys are, instead there are viewed as “thugs”. A political cartoonist, Roger, depicted a neighborhood watchman calling the police on an African American boy playing in a tree. The watchman is in a Ku Klux Klan suit, inferring he is a white man. This study and political carton go hand-in-hand in describing a black boy’s loss of innocence due to the racial discrimination by white people in America. Both are similar to Martin’s case. He was an innocent, young, African American boy who, by a white man, was wrongly viewed as a