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Theressa El-Shedraway

Professor Stalbird

ENG 1201

April 5, 2017

Research Essay

In the United States, we have a very high incarceration problem. There is about 320

million people in our country and about 2 million of those people are behind bars. There are

people are behind bars right now that could live in the entire state of West Virginia, higher than

any other country in the world. In many states, the black incarceration rate is at least four times

greater than it is for white residents. It is estimated that while of course there will be those who

are overtly racist they make up only a small portion of the racism that is affecting people,

upwards of 80% of people in America guilty of some form of day to day racial bias. Systematic

white oppression has seriously manifested itself into western society and it takes every day in

any place as a social norm. (Race, Prison, and Poverty, 2017)

Since Obama was elected president in 2008, many US citizens were hopeful about there

being less racism in the country, as they thought he would improve relations among races.

Theres a big race gap on this question: 88% of blacks and seven-in-ten Hispanics say more

changes are needed for blacks to have equal rights with whites compared with 53% of whites.

About four-in-ten blacks are doubtful that the country will ever make the changes needed for

blacks to have equal rights with whites (5 key takeaways about views of race and inequality in

America, 2017). By large margins, black adults are more likely than whites to say that blacks are

treated less fairly than whites across key areas of American life, but are they wrong? Studies by

Pew Research Center show that when trying to be productive in America and doing things like
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having to deal with the police or take out loans in a bank or simply shop, eat and participate in

elections they are at a disadvantage by a large margin. It doesnt stop there, when looking at

children being separated from one or both parents, and mothers having twice as many children

outside of marriage, the statistics skew more heavily as well.

Its crazy to think that when a police officer was asked why he shot an autistic man's

caretaker, who was lying with his hands in the air asking officers not to shoot, he'd answer, I

don't know (Rabin, 2016)? Rather than give in to the helplessness we feel to stop racism and

our collective, civic hemorrhage, every institution must examine its own role in continuing,

inadvertently and advertently racist thinking and policies. Before we consider recent examples

of racism and how it affects all Americans, let's be clear: No one is born racist. Racism is

learned (Lets Talk about Racism in Schools, 2016).

Being racist isnt a natural born trait. It is a social construct that has been learned or

practiced. They are practiced in institutions in government such as, education, or business,

through humanity over the years. It is almost considered an admissible thing. A recent Pew

Research Center report that showed white and black Americans aren't on the same page about

issues of poverty and racism, blogger Rob Wile (2016) said, While most black people think that

higher levels of poverty and lower levels of economic mobility in their communities are the fault

of America's legacy of systematic racism and under-investment, more white people are content to

blame black people themselves.

Even before sentencing, people of color are at a disadvantage. They are are less likely

to make bail than their white counterparts, spending more time in jail before they are even

convicted of a crime (8 Ways Our Prison System Is Even More Racist Than You Think, 2016).

States with larger black populations, particularly those in the South such as Alabama, Georgia
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and Mississippi, also expose this inequality. You can see this statistic in the charts below. This

shows that people of color are getting sentenced jail time for their trial, putting even innocent

people of color in jail for longer periods than their white counterparts which is leading them at

additional risk for violence and mental health issues. Research shows that because white people

assume or think differently when black people accused of a crime regardless of age, even black

children are less innocent by white authorities. There are people who believe this difference

contributes to the higher number of black men given a death sentence when compared to white

perpetrators.

In our country, there are people who claim that solitary confinement is "always

constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" and has repeatedly suggested to ban on

solitary imprisonment entirely for more than 15 days, referring to it as "torture" because of its

negative impacts on mental and physical welfare. A New York City Department of Health and

Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), black and Hispanic prisoners represented 40 and 46 percent of the

prison population but only 16 and 13 percent of those admitted to mental health services. (8

Ways Our Prison System Is Even More Racist Than You Think). There are no studies that show a

difference in earnings prior to incarceration based on race, although black ex-convicts show a

steep drop off in their wages following their release from prison. Slower wage growth and other

post-incarceration challenges lead to higher re-offense rates for black ex-convicts too, this

continues to cycle.

In the image below you can see clearly how incarceration rates have steadily inclined

since 1920, then spiking during the last 25 years. America is at six times higher rate than Canada,

England, and France, seven times higher than Switzerland and Holland, and ten times Sweden

and Finland. According to the Chicago Reporter, a monthly magazine that covers race and
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poverty issues, 1 in 5 Black Cook County (which contains Chicago and some of its suburbs) men

in their 20s are either in prison or jail or on parole (Race, Prison, and Poverty, 2017). Most

black men have criminal records in some inner-city neighborhoods.

Many Americans still think the civil rights movement, the 14th amendment, or the voting

rights act would be enough to stop all racism within America, however the incarceration rate in

the U.S. is the highest in the world, with over 2.4 million people currently behind bars.

Incarceration negatively impacts people on both sides of prison, jail, and detention center walls.

Over 80,000 people are being held in long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, and even

more are held in isolation in immigrant detention centers and juvenile facilities. Long-term

isolation has no rehabilitative benefit and is considered a form of torture under international law.

About 90% of jail is made up for males and their imprisonment rate is 14 times higher than the

rate of a women. Particularly young black males, make up a disproportionate share of the U.S.

prison population. In 2008, young black men, ages 18-34 were at least six times more likely to be

incarcerated than young white men.

Racism is systemic meaning it is a part of the system. Thats why people make the

mistake of individualizing and personalize racist acts. Black Americans make up 13% of the

population but had only 2.7% of the countrys wealth. The median net worth for a white

family is $134,000 and the median net worth for a Hispanic family is $11,000, that is how

you can tell systematic racism is a thing. Every year, no matter what America could be

going through, the black unemployment rate is twice as high as the white unemployment

rate. In college, if a black male were to get the same degree as a white male, the black male

would still be less likely to be employed.

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Racism doesnt only happen in the United States. It happens every day all over the

world. Racism can accrue from diverse cultures and religions. Those are important things

that people get hung up about. Racism is the belief that ones race, skin color, or more

generally, ones group, be it of religious, national or ethnic identity, is superior to others in

humanity. It has been part of the American landscape primarily since the European

colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century (A brief history of racism in

the United States). There is racism between Native Americans. Ever since the Europeans

came to North America and tried to take over. They tried to conquer the land. That is when

racism came and conquered the land.

In the 17th century, many Africans came to America as slaves. Even for those

Africans they came to America and were free, there were discriminatory laws that barred the

Africans from owning property and voting. Even though America doesnt have slavery

anymore, racism against this community remains and has manifested in different ways

today. There was an executive order that allowed Japanese Americans from certain areas to

provide security against sabotage.

Although there are those who deny it, racial profiling in our school systems is not

only there, but it is detrimental to our students mental health and well-being. Imagine being

frisked as you walked into school and asked to empty your pockets or walk through a metal

detector just to get to class. The schools in inner-city areas are also poorly funded and

staffed, resulting in a vicious cycle of failure. With poor grades and few reasons to stay

motivated, many students give up and turn to violence to solve problems of emotions or

hunger. Parents think children are getting the education they need when really the

government has only created a seemingly legal version of diverse child imprisonment. These
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issues have heavy ties into the psyche of Americans as we raised them to either be a part of

or effected by racism.

It would be a great dishonor to humanity if we did not focus on the disadvantages we

have instilled to the common person. Given the vast amount of evidence prided by those in the

socioeconomic field, it is evident that there are many areas in our countries structure that need to

be revisited and reformed. Far too many institutional constructs were created from the ground up

by the dominant race during times of even greater racial oppression that still affect our ever-

diversifying culture. Progress can only be made with a unified effort to continue to study and

observe these statistics and facts and make amendments to include the ambiguous nature that is

so desperately lacking in our country.

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Works cited

Macarow, Aron. "8 Ways Our Prison System Is Even More Racist Than You Think." ATTN:.

N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Racism." Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

"Racism." Pakistan Observer (Islamabad, Pakistan), no. 19, 2017. EBSCOhost.

"Race, Prison, and Poverty." Race, Prison, and Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Stepler, Renee. "5 key takeaways about views of race and inequality in America." Pew Research

Center. N.p., 27 June 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"The Psychology of Racism - Theory and Research." The Unbounded Spirit. N.p., 23 Dec. 2016.

Web. 12 Mar. 2017

What is Systemic Racism? Race Forward, 4 May 2016,

www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

Wormeli, Rick. "Let's Talk about Racism in Schools." Educational Leadership, vol. 74, no. 3,

Nov. 2016, p. 16. EBSCOhost."25% of Prisoners on Earth Incarcerated in the Land of the Free."

Smith Monitoring. N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Anderson, Melinda D. "How the Stress of Racism Affects Learning." The Atlantic. Atlantic

Media Company, 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

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(8 Ways Our Prison System Is Even More Racist Than You Think, 2017)