“And you have seen men in uniform drive-by and murder Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old whom they were oath-bound to protect.”(Coates 9). This sentence puts the meaning of innocence into the eye of many people. A majority of the people are afraid to face the reality of what was occurring those times. Innocent people gunned down every day by their supposed protectors. Talk about a double edged sword. Through the eyes of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s younger self, he describes the tragic murders of innocent people at the hands of people who don't even consider them equal. He depicts how people just glaze over them as if they had done something to deserve it.
Assurance in equal justice remains as an overwhelming political principle of American culture. Yet withstanding unbelief exists among numerous racial and ethnic minorities. Their doubt comes as no surprise, given a past filled with differential treatment in the arrangement of criminal equity, an issue particularly clear in police misconduct. Researchers have investigated police responses to racial and ethnic minorities for quite some time, offering sufficient confirmation of minority burden on account of police. These examinations raise doubt about different police techniques of coercive control, maybe none more so than police brutality. Its use exemplifies the pressures between police and minorities that exist in America today.
There are numerous issues that deal with the American criminal justice system, but the two I found most prominant that occur on a daily basis is the abuse from police officers and clear racism shown by the American criminal justice system. To begin, racism as we know is a prejudice directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. In the criminal justice system African Americans are directly targeted and punished in a higher more aggressive way, than say someone who is caucasian and committed the same exact crime. Racism is more often than not, the motive for official misconduct. There are examples of racism from every known region in the United States, spanning across centuries from slavery to
Addressing police brutality must be done with empathy for and awareness of the plight of the African-American community. Historically speaking, there has not been a period wherein the African-American community was not inhibited by institutionalized barriers. American enslavement provided the foundation for later oppressive provisions that are especially prevalent within inner-city, predominantly Black communities, which, incidentally, many of the prominent instances of police brutality have taken place. Political regimes like the “war on drugs,” “school to prison pipeline,” and mass incarceration criminalize and dehumanize the African-American community, and thus affect the collective mindset of the population. I believe that an imperative first step that has not been taken is acknowledging the effects these may have on the Black community. In order to move forward, the African-American community must heal. As an activist and aspiring social worker, I
On my way back to Miami, waiting for my flight at La Guardia Airport in New York and was eager to board my plane, I decided to watch the nearby television to pass time. That’s when I learned about who Michael Brown was. He was an unarmed black teenager, shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. On the TV screen were countless vivid images of the scene of Brown’s death and almost instantly it became ground zero for local outrage. Devastated to hear that yet another another teenage boy was killed by law enforcement, it was clear to me that there was an urgent need for justice in the US. The weeks following Brown’s death, news channels reported protesters flooding the streets near the
The author seeks to bring to light the unfair treatment of the Negros by the whites in the places they live in. He also seeks to show that leaders only make empty promises to their people. Brutal cases are most among the Negros as they are attacked and their cases go unnoticed or ignored. Moreover the author wishes to show that the Negros are not treated equally as other residents of Birmingham.
The legal system in the United States has been broken since it’s inception, disproportionately attacking, and punishing anyone who is not white. As the country grew, improving, growing prosperous, the broken system continued its work. One result of this broken system is police brutality, and overstepping of police power. In fact, according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, of the black people questioned, 70% said they felt they were unfairly treated when dealing with police. This cannot be a coincidence. This has been a problem since the beginning of law enforcement in this country. The incidents of police brutality today and the devaluation of African American lives is related to previous cases
The Rodney King Riots was one of the biggest talked about event in U.S history. This riot started when a man named Rodney King was pull over and was severely beaten by several police officers. Someone recorded a video of that incident and it was broadcasted worldwide. This video became a wide spread around Los Angeles and it caused a massive riot in the city that it became very violent. Eventually, the rioting stopped when the army was called in to control the situation. Many years later, there are still several cases of police misconduct happening in America.
Throughout African American history , the police force has been accountable for numerous detrimental deaths in the African American community due to racial discrimination. In 1960s, African American protesters were targeted by the police force because of the their desire to be be deemed as equal. Likewise, in today’s society African Americans are still experiencing active racial discrimination and injustices from the police force. African Americans have expressed their level of frustration with the inhumane actions of the police force. Police brutality of African American protesters has been rebirthed into 21st century by ongoing racial injustices through Henry Louis Gates Jr. and victims of the detrimental equality marches , evidence is presented.
On August 28th, 1955, a fourteen-year-old boy from Chicago, Illinois, was mercilessly lynched by two middle-aged white men in Money, Mississippi. In a matter of minutes, the two had clawed out one of his eyes, shot him in his head, tied his neck to a cotton-gin fan, and heaved his corpse into the depths of the Tallahatchie River. That boy whose body was found nearly four days later was Emmett Till. The reason for his murder? A false accusation of indecently grabbing a white woman as he meandered out of a grocery store. Like Emmett, between 1877 and 1950, nearly 4000 black men in the south had been lynched for alleged minor social transgressions. However, unlike those victims, Emmett’s lynching was much more than just another hate-crime that would be ignored. When Emmett’s mother saw his mutilated body, she held an open-casket funeral, and at that funeral, the entire world saw how viciously her son had been slain. Jet Magazine, a popular publication at the time, presented pictures of Emmett's gruesomely disfigured remains, lighting a fire that forced the American people to address the consequences of segregation in the South. Emmett’s murder inspired the likes of Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks to adopt a deeper level of activism; a crusade that would eventually become the American Civil Rights movement.
So far in the year of 2015, 66 unarmed African Americans have been killed by police authorities. Ever since the death Michael Brown in August 2014, the world has become much more aware of police brutality. According to wisegeek.org, police brutality is “a form of police misconduct in which officers engage in an excessive use of force.” Police brutality against African Americans is an issue that has been causing a lot of controversy in the past year. This issue needs much more awareness than ever before, since there have been many startling cases during and after the Ferguson protest. While there are many solutions to ending police brutality, most of them are difficult to accomplish individually. However, as a community, there are a couple solutions
On August 9, 2014, an 18 year old named Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. From this event sprang countless protests, all stemming from the fact that Michael Brown was African American and that he was killed by a police officer (Sokhi-Bulley). As the protests progressed, the demonstrations were met by increasing police resistance, bringing a growing sense of rage and conflict against the law enforcement of the town as well as the country. Overall, the community of Ferguson, Missouri, has a major problem of police brutality, likely originating from a sense of deep seeded racism within the force as well as the nation’s society.
Police brutality is explained as officers applying more force than what is needed to control a situation. For example, police brutality is when too much physical force is used or pulling a weapon against a civilian. Police officers have weapons supplied to them like handguns, pepper spray, batons, and stun guns, but they can only be used to the extent that is necessary to control a situation. However, if an officer shot a jaywalker or used any force at all it would be unreasonable. In addition, when threats or intimidation is used it is considered police brutality (Smith, 2016). Above all, if I witnessed police brutality I would contact a local law enforcement agency and inform
Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and existent concern in the United States and should be resolved immediately. Law enforcement must function as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. The presence of police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. The problem posed by the illegal exercise of police power is an ongoing reality for individuals of a disfavored race, class, or sexual orientation. Police brutality must be stopped so that police do not forget who they are serving – not themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. Police brutality causes a major concern in today’s society in America and a resolution is imminent. These racial prejudices are rooted in America’s deep psyche to grasp its power, we must move American original sin, slavery, and its corollary the terrible fear transmitted from generation to generation of a revolt.
Police brutality will be an issue until a solution is created. Many individuals are victims of this form of assault on daily basis. The liberties held by law enforcement are challenged each time they perform their duties. Police officers should abide by the same laws that each citizen is expected to abide by. Although police officers are granted with the right to determine laws as constitutional, civilians are sometimes treated in ways that are beyond unlawful.