"Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets." Rasmus & Casper
The belief that one race by nature stands superior to another defines racism. Racism can be traced back to the beginning of civilization and has always existed as a horrible issue in our society. Many attempts and reforms have occurred in hopes of eliminating racism and much progress has been achieved. Yet, even after the emancipation proclamation, equality laws placed within the constitution, small revolutions and acts taken by people such as Rosa Parks -who refuse to sit in the back of the bus during an era of segregation- racism remains an ominous, undefeatable problem in our society. In fact, the justice system, thought to unit and promote equality in "the land of the free," actually contributes to the destruction of our national idea of racial harmony. This paper will focus on how the criminal justice system works and how racism plays a major role within the justice Lobhai 2 system. Incorporated throughout the paper lie excerpts from poets and individuals who have spoken out against this bias justice system and racism they many have experienced in their era. African Americans have especially experienced and suffered from racism, beginning from the days of slavery and the need for cheap labor during the Industrial Revolution. In an essay entitled Black Americans: Prisoners of Socio-economic Cycles, the author states that "Those first Africans were prisoners of a socio-economic system which by design was purposely incapable of rendering justice and therefore, equal opportunity to Africans as well as other minorities (Ansar 2)." During the years of oppression, in which blacks still experienced limited freedom within the law, many artists spoke against this discrimination through their literature. One such artist, Langston Hughes, who lived from 1902-1922, expressed his