Seventh Week Blog Post

 The Criminal Justice System, Racial Disparities, & Intersectionality

After reading and listening to this week’s material, I mainly felt called to action. While topics such as the criminal justice system and intersectionality can be heavy, they also give a strong sense of urgency for change. I did feel helpless in the sense that this is a big issue that I alone cannot solve, but that soon turned into inspiration for a better future. 

I had a decent understanding of the prison system before we started the topic in class, however, I am much more knowledgeable about it now. I knew that people of color, specifically Blacks, are much more likely to be thrown in jail or prison for longer sentences than Whites would be. Most of my knowledge concerning the inequality of the criminal justice system came from the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the past couple of years. In contrast to this, my parents are very conservative, so I have had lots of different opinions thrown my way. My understanding of the prison system has definitely evolved through the years, and has changed even more so with the aid of this class.

One of the biggest issues in the criminal justice system is the alarming fact that Blacks are disproportionately in jail or prison compared to whites. While there are many arguments to facts like this, such as, “Blacks commit more crimes,” these responses are just not valid. The reason so many Blacks are in prison goes all the way back to the country’s roots; this is a systemic problem. America was made by and for White men. One new piece of information that stuck out to me in the transcribed version of the assigned podcast by Demby (2020) was the doctrine of qualified immunity. This judicial doctrine basically “means that government officials like police officers can only be held accountable in civil court for violating a person’s rights if those rights are “clearly established” in already-existing case law” (Demby, 2020, para. 3). This is one direct example that proves how violence against Blacks can be “okay legally” (Demby, 2020, para. 9).

America loves the phrase “pull yourself up your bootstraps,” however, this doesn't work when problems are systemic. Due to an almost built-in bias due to history, Blacks and people of color are at a large disadvantage and tend to be left behind. Blacks typically live in lower income communities with less academic opportunities, worse healthcare, and higher crime rates. There’s a misconception concerning Blacks and opportunities because many people, specifically Whites, aren’t educated. Many Black people are trying their best to live the American dream, however, that’s difficult when Whites are priority in this country. This is seen in the way Whites are picked over Blacks in the workforce and health care is framed around White anatomy.

The above issue has tremendous impacts on colored families and individuals. One of the biggest impacts is the lack of Black parents in the home. This is due to the unfortunate amount of Blacks unjustly thrown into prison. This has huge mental impacts on the families and the individual. It is exhausting to live in a country that seems to be working against you. Intersectionality also plays an important role in this conversation. In Steinmetz’ article with Crenshaw (2020), Crenshaw explains intersectionality is “the way people’s social identities can overlap” (para. 1). For example, Black women have to fight the battle of racism and sexism.

The best solution to this problem right now is educating ourselves. Crenshaw (2020) states, “We’ve got to be open to looking at all of the ways our systems reproduce these inequalities, and that includes the privileges as well as the harms” (para. 8). Cultural courses and real life conversations are a great place to start; the more educated we are, the more equipped we will be to really begin tackling these issues.

References

Demby, G. (2020, July 8). An immune system. NPR. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/876212065/an-immune-system 

Steinmetz, K. (2020, February 20). Kimberlé Crenshaw on what intersectionality means today. Time. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://time.com/5786710/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality/?fbclid=IwAR0IGNlVhGdbLbQ8rgXtKGnEPdTxTsx1_nMK_9iicqy_U0ybaRP_L3Bp8z0