It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
- Frederick Douglass |
Detrimental effects of Racial Bias within Mass incarceration
Out of all the Americans imprisoned in our jail system today, 40% of them are African-American. The film 13th epitomized how mass incarceration exemplifies racism and ignites war on the poor, detrimentally affecting their lives in the present and future during this modern time. The film 13th exposes racial and organizational discrimination and bias in the criminal justice system leading to mass incarceration. This film features slavery being banned, to the 13th amendment being introduced; redesigning slavery’s infrastructure. Prisons profit off of this economically and receive free labor. This gave the government and administration incentive to fill the prisons. Then the Jim Crow segregation laws were enforced. In the past, presidents also used the current rising crime rate to bash the civil rights movement. They both spoke out on drug issues as a “public enemy” and not a health issue. They also demanded “law and order “as a new offensive strategy to profit off of. The call for “law and order “soon became a southern tactic where Democrats and Republicans started passing bills to continue profiting and hold control over the criminal justice system and its prisoners. Nixon’s administration official eventually admitted the “war on drugs” was “...all about throwing black people in jail”. African-American communities struggled because of this and the cycle persisted and continued to benefit the economy. When watching 13th, I was disturbed and upset at how people were being treated but, I believe the film is important in igniting change and exposing the world to the discrimination African-Americans experience and how the criminal justice system‘s infrastructure is harming them. It is frustrating that society and people in power ignore the wrongness in these actions, facilities, or the harm they have caused and continue to do so. It disgusted me that they know individuals and society are suffering due to the racial focal point and profits of prisons but do not take any action. There are two chapter course-readings that connect to the film in part IV Chapter 3 and 4. Chapter 3, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness discusses Obama’s message and how it was aimed towards absent, black fathers. But, how he did not address that absentness was because of mass incarceration. He discusses personal responsibility and the black stereotype for political gain. This chapter emphasizes the “... majority of young black men… are currently under the control of the criminal justice system”. That “thousands of black men are unable to be good fathers for their children...because they are warehoused in prisons, locked in cages”. “This was not voluntary, it was forced and a result of the ‘war on drugs’”(p.286). This chapter is aimed at black men stereotypes and how mass-incarceration contributed to this by disrupting communities and families. Chapter 4, Living While Black and the Criminalization of Blackness relates to the film 13th because it also exposes how black people are negatively perceived and treated in society. It shows a waterfall effect in the criminal justice system. Many people of color are “... viewed with suspicion, profiled, and threatened with responses from police for minor infractions, or less”(p.294). Racial profiling played a significant role in the “war on drugs “, mass incarceration, police brutality, and the detrimental effects faced by colored communities. Both this chapter and the 13th show examples of wrongly imprisoned colored people who were targeted because of their race. Both also, show evidence on how they are treated less than others and how this negative outlook perpetuates the cycle of treatment and criminal outcomes. The film is an example of organizational discrimination because it focuses on discrimination within one organization being the criminal justice arena. This is because policies and rules were put in place to impact colored people and profit off of them economically. For example, Clinton’s crime bill and the “war on drugs“. The way blacks were portrayed led them to be the focal point of the “public enemy“ and directly violate their communities after these rules and policies were enacted. The entire film was based on the criminal justice system and the way it treated colored people back then and now. The prison system can be reformed because people have a more accessible way to be exposed to injustice with today’s technology. There have also been a lot of cases that show people are not being treated properly or receiving the help they need in prison. Prisons are overflowing with people and have become a political weapon over the years. Activists, scholars, prisoners, supporters, and families have all contributed to evidence over the years that prisons are aimed towards black communities and do not rehabilitate people during the time they’re locked up. Change is consistently being pursued in efforts for better results. Therefore, prisons are eventually able to be reformed due to the desire for change and betterment of society based on the past and modern day racism, mass incarceration, and their detrimental effects. In conclusion, mass incarceration exemplifies modern-day racism and has detrimental effects on poor communities. They are targeted due to organizational discrimination where rules and policies make them subjected to violence, accusations and prosecution due to race. Racial bias and profiling also contribute to these issues. The 13th provides historical and present evidence of racial discrimination towards color people. There is also evidence of the negative effect over representation of colored people in crime and violence has on society. Mass incarceration is also a war against the poor because their communities were targeted with policies aimed towards more-likely incarcerating them. The infrastructure targeted their communities and profit off of them by criminalizing blacks, the poor, and colored people; similarly to the past. 13th exposes many hard truths about mass incarceration, its history, origins, and effects on race and poor communities.
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AuthorMy name is Alexandra Ross and I will be posting all of my assignments on this page. Please feel free to comment and ask questions! Archives
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