When a question about plans for the future was posed to a class of 9th graders,
When a question about plans for the future was posed to a class of 9th graders,
“The decline of legitimate employment opportunities in the inner cities increased incentives to sell drugs”(Graff). These neighborhoods are poverty filled; African-Americans become targets of the policy by default. Even though these African-American males are not violent offenders, they often receive a long-term sentencing comparable to violent offenders. Most of these males start selling drugs, and getting arrested at a young age, which happens to be during secondary and post-secondary education. Being imprisoned, they are deprived of rights, education, and are unable to receive reasonable…
The general consensus among the youth is that education is a waste of time and energy. This is evident by the fact that the Northern High School in Baltimore City had a 38 percent success rate (Moore 108). As pursing an education requires hard work and dedication in order to become successful in life, these kids who no longer attended school had already found a short curt to success provided by the street life. While these kids were able to get ahold of quick money that required minimal effort, the young mindset of these kids could not foresee that the street life only provided a means for short gain and great risks of losing their lives or spending it behind the bars in prison. As the author eventually learned at a later age, “the way many governors projected the numbers of beds they’d need for prison facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders” (Moore 54).…
According to the U.S Census, there are around 655,000 current African American high school seniors. Yet, when reading the statistics of the Ron Brown scholarship applicant pool, there were only 4,000 students who applied. These 4,000 merely makeup .006 percent of the black seniors in this country, and they shine a light on an area that the Ron Brown Scholar program needs to address. Today, the modern education system is tainted with bureaucratic and oligarchical tendencies that prevents students of color, and low socioeconomic backgrounds from excelling in this highly competitive field.…
The five wrongfully convicted victims in the Central Park case are among the most notorious cases of unfairness and prejudice in the U.S. The Central Park 5 documentary by Ken Burns showcases how racial bias, societal pressure, and other factors led to the wrongful conviction of five young black and Latinx teenagers between the ages of 14-16. From a sociological perspective, there are two theories that can be used to analyze the film, which are symbolic interactionism and conflict theory. Symbolic interactionism showcases how dynamics such as social interaction and group behavior shaped law enforcement actions to apprehend these teenagers, while conflict theory helps account for factors such as race, class, gender, and power and how it contributed to their wrongful conviction and forced confessions that the media used to perpetuate them…
Did you know that 40% of students expelled from public schools are from the African American decent? Black students are three times more likely to be expelled than their fellow white classmates. Of that 40% half of them are more or less likely to never graduate or even receive their high school diploma and are sent on the road to join the already 68% of inmates in prison that also did not receive their diploma or GED. This is what society now calls the “school-to-prison pipeline”, it refers to the policies and practices that pushes children out of the classroom and into the juvenile justice system, and later the criminal justice system. One main reason this is so common is because of the “zero-tolerance” policy schools practice.…
Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western a former Sociology Professor at Princeton University goes into great detail on the evolution of punishment in America and its overall affects. He expands on one of the most controversial topics in America the American penal system; and how it went from a rehabilitative, self-reflecting tool in the early 19th century to a deterrent and strict form of punishment in the mid 20th century. Western also touches base on racial inequality in regards to imprisonment in the United States and the overall effect it has on one group of people. Western begins his book with a brief history of American penitentiaries, naming two famous institutions, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and Auburn State Prison in upstate New York.…
Abstract In the African American community, public education does not open doors for all students as it should, and most because our kids deserve more. Instead many students are restricted to the adverse effects of the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) because school systems are not eradicating educational equality. This document will explore how the school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon affects one’s perception on black identity. The information collected within this study was strategically gathered in order to understand (1) how African Americans identify with society’s caricature of black identity, (2) the contributing factors of the STPP, and (3) innovative approaches to dismantling the pipeline.…
Jonathan Kozol’s “Preparing Minds for Markets” offers an insight into the modern public education system and the curriculums provided by inner city schools today. The author wants to point out the flaws in the education system and expose the corporate corruption that has occurred in government funded schools. While many students in these lower income neighborhoods would benefit from some of these changes to the statutory educational agenda, forcing job training and career decisions onto elementary students is a grave injustice. “Preparing Minds for Markets” was an extremely interesting expose about how corporate America has taken over the public education system. According to this piece, corporations are influencing legislation that corrupts…
College in today’s society is seen as a lifestyle, experience, and a necessity. Millions upon millions of students are crushed by the false reality being spewed off by television on how life will be after high school. Young impressionable minds are brainwashed into believing that college isn’t the path to success, but instead it is luck. These young minds start to believe that they will become rich and famous while avoiding the dues of student loans. This false reality leads these students to view college in a negative light when in fact a college education is what could be setting them apart from their ideal lifestyle.…
African Americans youths commit more delinquent acts when females are the head of the household. Most researchers find that broken homes have a larger effect on delinquency among African Americans (Monahan 1957; Moynihan 1965, Rosen, Lalli, and Savitz 1975). Youths who have dysfunctional families are more likely to be recommended for incarceration. This information was discovered by Rodriguez; she went through multiple interviews with probation officers. Detention decisions appear to be disproportionally reserved for youth of color.…
Economically, Desoto accommodates African American’s fairly. Many jobs are available to the African American youth. If more Hispanic’s and Asians moved into town, there will be a higher need for their employment. Companies will be forced to accommodate the customers of that ethnicity. Sadly, this will decrease the job opportunity for my ethnic group.…
Introduction The school-to prison pipeline is an epidemic slowly crippling minority youth all over the country. This unspoken system teaches these children that the only path for them is jail. Jail has become the narrative of the black life in America: Like Jim Crow (and slavery), mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race.…
The cover of Big K.R.I.T’S mixtape cover is relatable, because every day I can see myself in the little boy who is sitting down, positioned on the wall, especially being in college, and being exposed to liquor, clubs, drugs, etc. This image shows that in everyday life people have to choose what to do and what not to do. People have to make a choice between different influences, and choose what is the “right thing”, or “wrong thing” to do. I have seen myself all of my life having to make this choice between living or trying to be the “best Christian” possible, or going out getting drunk, trying new drugs like the majority of people. 4 Eva N a Day was written by BIG K.R.I.T. a rapper out of Meridian, Mississippi.…
In the United States the juvenile justice system is very harsh and can be unruly on children, even though it claims to rehabilitate and not make children feel like criminals. As young as twelve children are being charged as adults with homicide, murder and other high degrees of crimes. Some would say the system would be a bit of a joke and others find this to be equal justice. This body of written work will go over why juveniles are treated the way they are in the justice system and how race has even taken effect on the outcome of these individuals.…
The Media’s Portrayal of African-Americans It is of no surprise to anyone that Africans have had a violent and discriminant history ever since they stepped foot in America. Even after the inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr, racism is prevalent throughout the country, and is influenced by the corrupt media .They are made out to be dangerous by the media, and it has very well reflected on the American population. Through the use of stereotypes, propaganda, and attention-bait, the media has shaped the way we perceive black people in a negative manner.…