Social Injustice In America

Words: 1220
Pages: 5

America exists on the sole foundation of equal and inalienable rights for all that seek refuge inside its borders. However, history has systematically denied generations of such refugees these basic rights in the interests of labor and prejudice. Given this history, did America ever cease the unequal treatment of non-white citizens; specifically black Americans? In addition, to what extent and forms do institutionalized racism take to contribute to the discriminatory treatment of African Americans in the United States? Currently, America endures systematic social injustices; injustices observable through the murders of unarmed black citizens by law enforcement officers and several discriminatory workplace practices against African Americans. …show more content…
A leader leads the people, and if leaders systematically and continually oppress, the society will follow. Now, not the entirety of society will blindly follow leaders; but the leaders reflect the majority mindset of the people. What does this mean for the oppressed? The economic consequences, the societal consequences, and financial consequences that follow and remain deeply rooted into the foundation of a nation prove to be detrimental. A society that remains divided amongst each other will struggle for power, and whoever gets the upper hand first gains the advantage. Even in ‘minor’ advantages using education, workplaces, and court systems as examples, data shows that each disparity adds up. Almost every aspect contains some form of racial prejudice; housing, job hiring, legal representation, court sentencing, and many more examples. If the US government addresses and eliminates institutionalized racism, it could be a key factor to alleviating the ongoing oppression of blacks in …show more content…
White people possess the advantage since white people created the Jim Crow laws, the possibility that centuries later whites still remain in power is conclusive. Does the statistics improve in favor of black people? Unfortunately, about a quarter of juries in death penalty cases cite no black jurors, and more than two-thirds have two or less; erasing representation and exponentially increasing racial bias (The Sentencing Project, ‘to the United Nations Human Rights Committee’). With little to no representation and a whitewashed jury, this suggests that: “...implicit racial bias affects trial judges and jury members’ ability to evaluate guilt and innocence objectively, skewing their judgment of black defendants’ cases toward guilty verdicts regardless of the evidence presented at trial.” (the Equal Justice Initiative, Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy) In 1986, the Supreme Court held in Batson v. Kentucky rules it unconstitutional for prosecutors to omit jurors from a jury in a trial on a racial bias. But, qualified black jurors illegally turned away as much as 80 percent of the time in the jury selection process; the Equal Justice Initiative found in their study. The bias found in these journals prove to be subtle forms of systematic racial disadvantages, but white people gain the upper hand in every aspect; no matter how subtle or overlooked the