In America, racial minorities and those living in poverty have been greatly affected by mass incarceration, police brutality, and numerous other social issues caused by an unjust criminal justice system. More specifically, many African Americans face tribulation on a large scale when involved with our nation’s criminal justice system. Today, African Americans are incarcerated more than 5 times the rate at which whites are incarcerated. This can be attributed to the systematic racism that is practiced in our courtrooms and by our police forces. In the 1970’s, President Nixon initiated a war on drugs in an attempt to control drug trafficking and usage. This “war on drugs” has affected the lives of many African Americans and has greatly contributed to the mass incarceration in this nation, causing a 500 percent increase in incarceration rates. The African American experience involves many obstacles due to discrimination in almost all aspects of life, but the obstacles set in place by our oppressive criminal justice system prove to be unavoidable and sometimes impossible to overcome, ruining the lives of individuals and their families. Some researchers believe that there is no trace of systematic racism or bias in the system. However, others believe that their findings lack empirical evidence and include methodological issues. Regardless, it is impossible to deny the presence of racism in our country, especially in the criminal justice system and courtrooms. While it is impossible to deny, it is possible to change through unity, perseverance in the face of adversity, and social reform.

Notably, some believe that the criminal justice system is not at fault for the many Black lives lost to police brutality and incarceration. Julian V. Roberts, a professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford, examines public opinion of the criminal justice system in several countries, including England and the United States, in his article titled, “Public Opinion, Crime, and Criminal Justice.” The author examines surveys across multiple countries to assess the public opinion. Roberts believes that the public opinion regarding the criminal justice system is wrong, and he expresses that criminal justice professionals and policy makers consider the public opinion to be “harsher than they are” (p. 99).  Roberts believes, “this survey of public attitudes toward criminal justice has revealed that the people in all four countries are frequently hostile toward their criminal justice systems” (p. 163). So, according to Roberts, there is a trend of an attitude of resistance towards criminal justice systems. However, this still does not explain the unfortunate statistics regarding incarceration and death of African Americans. A survey is not an adequate method for such a bold accusation. Public surveys involving convenience sampling, which involves any and all willing participants, have a tendency to include major methodological flaws. Another article titled, “Impact of Information about Sentencing Decisions on Public Attitudes toward the Criminal Justice System” by Michelle D. St Amand and Edward Zamble also reflects information obtained from self-reported surveys regarding public opinion of the criminal justice system and criminal sentencing. The authors imply that although most of their participants initially reported being dissatisfied with the “leniency” of the criminal justice system and court sentencing procedures, the participants also proposed lenient sentences for theoretical cases. This implies that the public opinion, and the opinion of St Amand and Zamble’s study participants, is unreliable due to a lack of knowledge and negative preconceptions regarding the system. The authors explain how  “Most opinion polls probe for broad band opinions with very general questions that fail to take into account the complexity of attitudes” (St Amand and Zamble 516). Therefore, their study fails to control for multiple variables and lacks empirical evidence to support their claims. Some researchers, like Roberts, St Amand, and Zamble, attribute the tension between the public and the law to the public’s attitude regarding the law, rather than the presence of systematic racism in our criminal justice system.

Nevertheless, the government’s unfair involvement in the life of many African Americans affects them, as well as their loved ones, on more levels than one. According to Ross L. Matsueda and Kevin Drakulich, a professor of sociology and a PhD student at the University of Washington respectively, African Americans face racism in many aspects of life. In their article, “Perceptions of Criminal Injustice, Symbolic Racism, and Racial Politics,” Matsueda and Drakulich explain that, “contemporary racism is covertly embedded in valued American institutions such as free markets and ideologies such as equal opportunity” (Matsueda and Drakulich 166). Lost opportunity is a product of poor education and poverty, which are products of mass incarceration. If the nation and its leaders focused on bettering our school systems and job economy, less African Americans would feel the need to resort to criminal activity in order to survive. However, since this is not the case, many young African American men turn down the wrong path instead of receiving the guidance and opportunities that their white counterparts receive in order to grow into successful and contributing members of society. Not only is racism embedded in America’s criminal justice system, it is also present in most social aspects for African Americans. Matsueda and Drakulich also discuss the public opinion of the African American experience and its power to initiate social reform. Easing racial tension in our criminal justice system has the potential to change the lives of many. The U.S. criminal justice system and one’s encounters with it and its law enforcement is seemingly sometimes related to race and socioeconomic status, and can cause lost opportunity for those involved now and the generations to come. However, the public opinion has the potential to spark reform in our government’s institutions.

Furthermore, Larry H. Spruill’s “Slave Patrols, ‘Packs of Negro Dogs’ and Policing Black Communities” gives insight as well as a historical perspective regarding  police practices in the United States. Spruill, professor of History at Morehouse College, compares present day policing to slavery by referencing recent incidents of police brutality (such as the Ferguson case and Micheal Brown’s death) and the use of canines in policing tactics dating back to the 17th century. Spruill states “the legal order sustained slavery, segregation, and discrimination for most of our nation’s history—and the fact that the police were bound to uphold that order—set a pattern for police behavior and attitudes toward minority communities that has persisted until the present day” (p. 43). Criminal injustice and systematic racism have been in place in this country for centuries. While it seems as though much has changed over the years, especially for the African American experience, fundamental issues still exist in our criminal justice system, courtrooms, and police forces. He reiterates: “through centuries of slavery, decades of segregation to the present, the black experience is rife with unresolved episodes of police violence. The nation has become accustomed to watching, condemning and taking limited measures to correct unjustified police violence in the black community” (Spruill 44). It is not just our law enforcement and prosecutors that should be held responsible for this racial issue. The whole population plays a role in this and, therefore, must also play a role in initiating change. Offering another historical perspective, Darnell F. Hawkins examines the works of other historical activists, such as W. E B. Du Bois. Hawkins states, “each work is explicit in its recognition of the fact that social inequality, race and class oppression, and discrimination within the criminal justice system greatly affect racial and ethnic differences in the rate of crime and punishment” (p. 29). Du Bois was a passionate activist during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He experienced and wrote about countless social issues that African Americans faced during that time, and he is still known for his works and activism today. Du Bois, along with others, acknowledged the continuing issue of race and crime post-abolition. Unfortunately, these historical issues still echo in the system today. Referring to such works could help raise awareness and spark change in the public opinion.

Similarly, in conjunction with historical evidence, racial disparities and incarceration statistics supplement the argument that systematic racism is alive and well in our criminal justice system. Jerome G. Miller, a juvenile justice reformer, believes that young African American males are at extreme risk for incarceration as a consequence of the racial bias present in the criminal justice system. Miller supports his argument with African Americans’ evidential consequences of America’s war on drugs. He states, “the practice of arresting massive numbers of minorities for petty public-order charges has a long tradition” (Miller 26). Mentioning the war on drugs as a motive for high arrest rates, Miller believes that American law enforcement has been keen on targeting minorities for many years. Miller also claims that after initial incarceration, the probability of African American men being incarcerated multiple times and for longer periods increases (p. 62). These unfortunate facts all point to the existence of racism in our criminal justice system. Similar to Jerome Miller, Michael Tonry, professor and American criminologist, discusses racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system. He uses statistics to support his claim that police arrest more African Americans for the same drug crimes that Whites commit (Tonry 54). He describes the historical and political influences that cause such racial disparities, including harsh policing. Tonry states, “When racial discrimination ceased to be legal, and later on, when White beliefs about Black inferiority substantially disappeared, Black Americans were poor, ill educated, and either unemployed or locked into menial unskilled jobs”(p. 9). So, although discrimination became illegal, African Americans still face major disparities. The author reiterates, “Blacks were long excluded by bias and discrimination from much tat was good in American life”(p. 9).  Due to painful historical institutions that oppressed African Americans for many years, some consequences remain still. For example, lost opportunity and poverty. Even though these historical and openly racist institutions and practices have ceased to exist, the criminal justice system continues to oppress minorities in other ways. In addition, Naomi Murakawa and Katherine Beckett, authors of an article titled “The Penology of Racial Innocence: The Erasure of Racism in the Study and Practice of Punishment,” believe that racism in courtrooms is difficult to define and prove. Murakawa and Beckett explain, “If one were to take seriously all the ways that racial power shapes criminal justice, it might initiate serious change” (p. 721). Proving and defining racial injustice in the system is the first step in initiating change. Much like the law itself, the authors also believe that the courts are innocent of racial discrimination or bias until proven otherwise (Murakawa and Beckett 695). Shining light on this issue as it appears in our criminal justice system could initiate a turn in the outcomes of trials involving minorities and therefore, initiate a turn in the public opinion. Acknowledgement and accountability of this extreme social issue could provoke change in a positive direction for the betterment of the whole population, especially for African Americans.

All in all, some researchers discredit the disadvantages and lost opportunities of the African American community to public opinion rather than the criminal justice system itself. However, this does not account for the lives lost to police violence, nor does it justify the lack of empirical evidence behind such findings. Other researchers have shamelessly shed light on racism and the social problems that racism creates in this country. Regardless, it is impossible to deny the presence of racism in our country, especially in the criminal justice system and courtrooms. While it is impossible to deny, it is possible to change through unity, perseverance in the face of adversity, and social reform.
