Race Relations in America

In 2016, award-winning director Ava DuVernay wrote and directed the movie 13th. The documentary explores the various ways that race has been utilized to punish individuals, particularly Black Americans. Slavery was formerly used to imprison the black community, a tactic that is still being used today through mass imprisonment. According to President Barack Obama’s recorded remarks, 25% of the world’s convicts are housed in the United States (DuVernay). The working majority, in particular, treats the unemployed Black American as a prisoner.

The task of putting diverse legal provisions into effect falls on the court system. The main constituents are judges and jurors, who rely on facts presented to pass a guilty or not guilty judgement. In the film it is clear that, the mass number of people convicted in the system are Black Americans. It is for this reason that I feel the justice system has been part and parcel of the problem. The unemployed Black teen if arrested is treated with unfairness as the juror or judges have been found to be racially biased.

The other factor that has to be put into consideration is the increased number of Black people incarcerated. The main reason for constructing prisons has been to keep crime offenders away from the public. The justice system in America has been designed to imprison small time offenders, which in turn provides labor in prisons. The businesses around a prison tend to benefit by hiring cheap labor from prison. In my opinion, I feel that race has been a contributing factor in convicting more black teenagers. Over the years, crime rates have reduced although prisons are still full.

The public is tasked with responsibility of keeping various arms of government in check. The juror for instance plays a huge role in determining if a person is guilty or not based on evidence presented. It is at this point that it becomes clear that, race is used as a basis when making judgments. The number of white people convicted is low compared to blacks who are convicted in the system. The public in my opinion has failed to advocate for equal representation of black folks. It is important for the public to play its role of advocating for equal representation of all people.

Various leaders have been playing their role by amending various laws to reduce the number of people in prisons. Powerful corporations have however backed some influential politicians in order to maintain the prison system. Leaders in this case have failed in their mandate to protect all people, regardless of race which is wrong (DuVernay). Corporations depend on prisons to supply cheap labor, which in turn affects other people’s lives. America in my opinion has failed to eradicate slavery completely by incarcerating more Black Americans. It is important for various people to take responsibility in a bid to reduce the number of people incarcerated.

The Central Park Five

The central Park Five is a film produced in 2012 by award winning director Ken Burns, based on a case that occurred at Central Park. The Central Park Five is based on five black and Latino teenagers, accused of raping a jogger at Central Park. The five teenagers were wrongly convicted for various reasons, chief among them race. The five were convicted by the courts based on their race (Daily News). The court system failed to protect the teenagers from unlawful incarceration.

The juror in this case played a huge role in formulating the guilty judgement passed to the teenagers. The case is regarded as the most publicized case in the 80s, given the coverage it received from media houses. In my opinion I feel that, the juror in the case was swayed while making a judgment based on stories presented by the media. The juror should be at the fore front in passing correct judgement. The media presented the five as criminals’ event before they were convicted. This is a clear indication of failure by the courts when upholding justice.

The police in a nation are tasked with the responsibility of protecting the masses in case of a crime. In this case, the police were supposed to conduct investigations on the actual offender of the crime (Daily News). The five teenagers were however incarcerated based on circumstantial evidence, which was a violation of their rights. In my opinion, I feel that the various organs of government have racial discrimination. The various organs are supposed to be impartial of all activities that occur around them. The media played a key role in pushing for a guilty verdict amongst the affected parties.

In the end I feel that, racial discrimination has been a major factor in increasing the number of convicted black and Latino folks. It is important to note that, various organs charged with protecting citizens have been compromised. The courts are supposed to be impartial when administering justice a fact that was ignored. The media on the other hand played a huge role in pushing the guilty verdict by portraying the suspects as guilty. Racial discrimination is menace that has affected all aspects of life and ways to combat it should be embraced.

Work cited

Daily News. The Central Park Five. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five (Accessed 5th June 2017)

DuVernay, Ava. 13TH .2017. Retrieved from http://www.avaduvernay.com/13th/ (Accessed 5th June 2017)