Racial Inequity in USA: Need for Movement

In this day and age, you’d think that racism, bigotry, and other issues would be the hatchet that as buried, a long time ago, but, that isn’t the case. It seems as if tensions are still high, and the ugliness of discrimination still exists, and seems to some as if it at an all time high. Sure, we have things such as affirmative action, but, that even can be skirted around, so it isn’t a sure all that people will get hired fairly, especially in this poor economy. There are different aspects to this access, not only from an employment angle, but other angles, as well.

Police brutality seems to be the hot topic of late, for longer than what all of us are comfortable with. We hear it on the television, hear it on the radio, read it in the newspapers, and shows up in social media. Sometimes, it seems so blown out of proportion, or is this issue in that desperate need of awareness, to tackle it, head on? I’d love to get discussions rolling on this, aside from just saying that it is a huge problem, or to say it isn’t there. Real discussion that looks at the issues, and why (or why not) it is an issue. I will include links to my research, to make my points. I’d love to see yours, as well, whether it agrees or not with my stance, and explain your viewpoint, so we can understand where you are coming from. Thanks.

According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s article called The Color of Justice, there are numerous issues with our legal system. A statistic from Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis states that per capita, the likelihood of black people or Hispanics will face a higher incarceration rate than white people, despite the fact that people of color are minorities. Even taking into consideration of economics, minorities, especially black people, still are lagging in being able to find household sustaining jobs. But, please pay particular attention to the 2nd paragraph under the Arrest section. The positive note is that when we have a diverse group of people on a jury, the group as a whole seems to be able to get things done, which shows that a mutual respected situation can always make the situation better. It’s too bad we don’t necessarily apply this outside of the legal system.

An article from the Huffington Post talks about 18 Examples of Racism in the Criminal Legal System. Please keep in mind the statistics in each category, such as the fact that whites and blacks use drugs at similar rates, yet black people are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated, according to the FBI. The scariest stat, to me, is that “Over 65 percent of prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses are black”, and are 3 times higher to lose voting privileges. In a Republic/Democracy, where we like to brag that we live in a free country, it seems the definition of free country changes, depending on your demographics, that have more to do with your skin color, as opposed to economics or anything else.

Here are more articles that relate to this same issue of disparity. From US News, No, Justice is Not Colorblind. All of the statistics point to the fact that the darker your skin color, the more likely you are to be arrested, and please pay extra attention to the Gun Homicides by Strangers, and how they were seamed justifiable. I will leave you with this link from the National Institute of Corrections, with all of that information about Racial Disparities & Dynamics in the Criminal Justice System.

But, the disparity does not stop with the criminal justice system. It is saturated in society, in so many ways. The injustice includes victimology, healthcare access, and even during day to day living. Yet, so many seem to think that bringing up this information is only adding to the problem, when, if we are to proudly say we are a diverse set of American people of this country, we must address the racism issue, or, we are not a proud people.

Even for victims, support seems to be stacked against people of color, as well. About a year ago, I had a conversation on Twitter with a woman who had given various stats and education materials online, about how black women seem to be taken less seriously when they are a crime victim of domestic violence and/or sexual assault, and how even in support groups, they are not heard or understood as much as white counterparts. I had those saved, but lost the info when my computer crashed. Of course, if anyone is a part of the LGBTQ community, the situation could be compounded further, especially if there are ethnic issues on top of it.

Here is a research post published about Racial and Ethnic Disparity of Access to Health Insurance and Health Care, by The Kaiser Group. It talks about how minorities don’t have the means to get the quality health care they need. Another publication by Forbes talks about Why Health Care Is Different If You’re Black, Hispanic, Or Poor. Even more about the topic by the Prevention Research of the University of Michigan in the article African American History and Health Disparities. All of these articles talk about the fact that our dark skinned brothers and sisters on this planet cannot get the care they need for the health issues they experience, like white and Asians do. I read another article with a study on the situation by another big university that black people and often, Hispanic people, get less than useful healthcare, even when they access to it. So while an MRI can find different things, it won’t test for things like Sickle Cell Anemia or thyroid issues, yet, this is what they get, which is makes it low value.

This isn’t about white guilt, nor is this about “thinking” the system is somehow unfair. This is what I’ve read, plus more, and this is why I support the Black Lives Matter movement, because these disparities should never exist. At least, not in my mind. If these are incorrect, please enlighten me as to how it really is, because I honestly don’t know. I just know that this big pink elephant in the room needed to be addressed a long time ago. I leave you with these videos, on how this racial divide is permeated in our society, and it needs to stop.

Diane Sawyer: 1991 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xp...

Changing the way we see racism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrh...