Structured Inequality and Incarceration
Structured Inequality and Incarceration
Lori Young
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Abstract When it comes to arrest and incarceration, black men are overrepresented in comparison to Hispanics and whites. Over forty years ago the Civil Rights Act was implemented and racism still continues today due in part to a form of cultural imagery. This structured inequality is evident in the politics of government and all levels of the criminal justice system. The very system that is to be fair has been found to be racially disparate in the treatment of blacks. The causes and existence of this state has been researched for over the last twenty years as to it why does it exist, what are the consequences and how to correct it.
Structured Inequality and Incarceration Blacks are arrested and incarcerated at a higher rate than Whites, Hispanics and other minorities. While statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2011) show that crime has decreased for 2011, the rate of incarceration for blacks has increased. Research, through the years, has shown a form of racial oppression, sustained by structural discrimination and inequality (Quigley, 2010). This matter of racial disparity or inequality has been supported by government, law enforcement and the judicial system. As Jim Crow came to represent the racial oppression and segregation after the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement, many are comparing this mass incarceration to being a new Jim Crow type of racism, separate but not equal (Alexander, 2011).
Structural discrimination is shown when a dominant group has policies and behaviors that have power or jurisdiction over the non-dominant group (Coker 2003). The structured inequality becomes apparent when these areas of jurisdiction are used to aggressively affect the well being and socioeconomic welfare of a group. Whites, as the dominant group, have the most control over the function of law enforcement, the judicial system and
Lori Young
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Abstract When it comes to arrest and incarceration, black men are overrepresented in comparison to Hispanics and whites. Over forty years ago the Civil Rights Act was implemented and racism still continues today due in part to a form of cultural imagery. This structured inequality is evident in the politics of government and all levels of the criminal justice system. The very system that is to be fair has been found to be racially disparate in the treatment of blacks. The causes and existence of this state has been researched for over the last twenty years as to it why does it exist, what are the consequences and how to correct it.
Structured Inequality and Incarceration Blacks are arrested and incarcerated at a higher rate than Whites, Hispanics and other minorities. While statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2011) show that crime has decreased for 2011, the rate of incarceration for blacks has increased. Research, through the years, has shown a form of racial oppression, sustained by structural discrimination and inequality (Quigley, 2010). This matter of racial disparity or inequality has been supported by government, law enforcement and the judicial system. As Jim Crow came to represent the racial oppression and segregation after the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement, many are comparing this mass incarceration to being a new Jim Crow type of racism, separate but not equal (Alexander, 2011).
Structural discrimination is shown when a dominant group has policies and behaviors that have power or jurisdiction over the non-dominant group (Coker 2003). The structured inequality becomes apparent when these areas of jurisdiction are used to aggressively affect the well being and socioeconomic welfare of a group. Whites, as the dominant group, have the most control over the function of law enforcement, the judicial system and
References: Walker S Spohn C DeLone M 2011 color of justice: Race, ethnicity and crime in americaWalker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2011). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity and crime in America (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.