The Racism Of The Black Population

Police violence is a reoccurring issue in today’s world especially in America. It seems as though we live in a society where Police officers target minorities practically young African American men. On October 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald was roaming around a neighborhood in Chicago who happened to be “holding a knife” (Good). Jason Van Dyke as well as a few other officers responded to the calls and spotted McDonald wandering in the middle of the street. After a few seconds of the police officers ordering McDonald to release the knife and surrender himself to them, Van Dyke stepped out of his vehicle and released 16 shots into McDonald within thirteen seconds.

The police involved shooting of Michael Brown has changed the way society views law enforcement, and the method of how law enforcement officers have to interact with this same society. With the deaths of individuals like Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and with the assistance of social media and bias news reporting, as well as high level officials within our social structure, who’s speech and words can carry a large impact on our behaviors, there has been a picture painted that police are murdering people of different ethnicities without regard for justifiable force. Politicians, celebrities and the media alike, have been a major contributor to the anti-police sentiment and the violent interactions that police

Many African-Americans are killed every year by police officers and their deaths impact not only their families but their community. However this past year the death of John Crawford and Tamir Rice impacted not only their family or community, but the entire nation. The case of Rice and Crawford isn’t nothing new, we always hear about a black person being shot by the police quite often. The only thing that makes these cases unique from rest is that they were both caught on tape. On November 22nd, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing in the park with a toy airsoft gun when officer Timothy Loehmann shot him two seconds after arriving to the scene. He died the next day due to a "gunshot wound of the torso with injuries of major vessel, intestines and pelvis” according to the autopsy results that were realized shortly after. 22-year-old African-American John

This disproportionate use-of-force is of major concern because it leads to an increased negative perception of law enforcement across the black community as a whole. The use of deadly force towards the black community need to be made a top priority amongst police departments if they want to improve their relationship with the black communities they serve. Police do have to make split second decisions that could mean life or death but they need there psychological background should be better understood before having an officer patrol an entirely black community. There appears to be an increase in the use of deadly force by the police towards blacks in recent years there have been a number of incidents involving unarmed black men being killed at the hands of police (Milner, George and Alison, 2016). Michael brown, Freddie Gray, Dante Parker, Eric Garner and Walter Scott grabbed media attention in 2014 and 2015 as Unarmed men killed by police officers using deadly force( Milner, George and Alison, 2016).

Eric Garner. Keith Lamont Scott. Philando Castille. Michael Brown. Do you know who these people are? I am Arianna Dwomoh, a ninth grade at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, NC. I want to write to you about how racial profiling/ bias is a large part of police shootings and arrests lately as most victims are unarmed people of color. Over the past couple of years, cops have shot and killed unarmed or innocent black men and boys. This shows light upon the worrying racial differences in how police use force. For those who critique the police, the numbers show that it's not just higher rates of gun ownership and violent crime that explain the higher number of police shootings in the US, compared to other countries. Maybe, it's the nonchalant

While racism might appear to be the primary cause of a higher proportion of African American deaths by police, when comparing that to crime rates and police encounters by African Americans, the proportional gap significantly lessens. According to “the counted” police shootings database by the guardian newspaper, police shootings of African Americans in 2016 make up around 25% even though they only make up 13% of the population. This one statistic has led many people from the general public, media, and scholars to attribute this as evidence for racism. What they fail to mention however, is that according to the FBI database on crimes committed by race in 2011, African Americans commit 28.4% of all crimes, 50% of homicides, 55.6% of robberies, and 33.6% of aggravated

Recently, there has been much in the media about clashes between African Americans and the police. Two such cases, being the shootings of Michael Brown and Laquan McDonald - both incidents resulting in public outrage. These cases result in questions about racial profiling by police. Through research, it is clear that African Americans are the target of racial bias by many police departments in the United States; in order to remedy this situation, law enforcement agencies need to (and are beginning to) undergo scrutiny on their interactions with the public and, additionally must receive training on diversity.

In recent years the on-going clash between the Chicago Police Department and the city’s black youth have epitomized in the shooting of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer seventeen times. Since, the city has witnessed large and violent protests and further endured racial out lashes and anti-police sentiment. As a baseline for understanding, this violence too is subject to only a few Chicago neighborhoods mostly on the city’s south and west sides where poverty is high and opportunity is slim. Some startling statistics involving race and the Chicago police verified by Chicago’s police accountability task force has concluded that in Chicago, African-Americans are shot nine times more than whites. In addition, blacks are stopped eight times more frequently than any other race (Johnson, 2016). Further, according to the study almost 300 African-Americans were shot by Chicago cops between 2008 and 2015, compared with 55 Hispanics and 13 whites. Since the McDonald shooting and the police scrutiny that has followed, violence in Chicago have risen astronautically in the year 2016 to date with 1,587 shot and 270 dead in only six

It is said that America is free, all people have equal rights and are treated the same, but when it comes to the lives of black people the same rules should but do not apply. Although African Americans only make up 2% of the U.S. population, they are killed at twice the rate of whites, hispanics and Native Americans, and were 9 times more likely to be killed by police officers in 2015 (Swaine, Laughland, Lartey, McCarthy). Being born black in america means that not only are you more likely to be pulled over by police and hassled, but you are almost 10 times for likely to be shot and murdered by a police officer. ‘Yes, all lives matter, but all lives, white, are not being shot six times the rate of blacks and that’s what we need to be aware of’ (Schwartz).

Killings among young men of color has risen in these past few years during altercations with the police. African-American and Latin-American men are dying for reasons such as rush of judgement and possible acts of racism. These acts that are being committed are considered the term of police brutality. Police officers seem to be shooting unarmed men of color as the ultimate solution when being confronted with these altercations. These three examples I will provide will show how many young minority men are being killed at unprecedented rates across America.

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.

This project is comprised of rhetorical commentary overview, that is used to examine and develop a better understanding of the terms, race and racism in society (critical race theory) (Stefancic and Delgado 1995, 177). By using the critical race theory and examining incidents of police misconduct, this will determine whether or not race plays a crucial factor. Additionally, this project encompasses a vast knowledge of the criminal justice system and the police departments of the United States of America. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that “police work is dangerous, difficult, and unappreciated, but there is no excuse for the type of behavior recorded on videotape” (Brooks 1991). The main focus of this research is to review cases that have been reported in the media, in order to come to a comprehension of why there is a higher proportion of minorities being killed by police officers. By incorporating the critical race theory and qualitative data, there will be a contribution on how to solve these societal issues.

America is too big of a country to try to fix the problem with racism all in one. As the people of America, we should take initiatives in fixing the problem within our communities, schools, workplaces, and legal systems. Some individuals are in denial that they have a problem with racism or that racism is a problem. Therefore the first step in fixing the problem with racism is to admit that there is a problem. In my opinion, we should educate those who are racist on the effects of racism, get them to open up about being racist and to talk to those who are affected by racism. Then we could host anti-racism meetings and events within our communities. At the same time educating our youth on racism because they are our future. After removing racism