Institutional Racism Essay

I absolutely believe that in order to get a fair trial a jury must be racially diverse. Without a diverse jury I do not believe a black man can receive a fair trail from an all-white jury or a white police officer charged with police brutality can receive a fair trial from an all-black jury. However, while there are exceptions to the rules for some cases, for the most part statics have shown that racial bias and unequal treatment under the law is prominent in today’s society. Institutional racism is imbedded in the foundation of our criminal justice system. Institutional racism can be defined as a collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture or ethnic origin.
Dr. Joy Degruy describe it as “Cognitive dissonance” the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change. America has used it to reconcile its ideals of equality and justice with its treatment of ethnic minorities such as African-Americans. For example, we can look back at all the unarmed shooting of black men by the hands of police officers. First thing media outlets try to do is justify the shooting by demonize the victim and proclaim that somehow this person had it coming by either bringing up pass records, or suggesting that if he didn’t do anything wrong, why would he resist arrest. So if a black man is on trial with an all-white jury, it is more likely he will be found guilty because the cognitive dissonances that black men are dangerous, or commit more crime, well lead the jury to believe that “well if he was arrested for the crime he must of done it.” So when it comes to a black man getting a fair trial by an all-white jury, until we can overcome our racial bias and destroy institutional racism, my answer is