Monday, November 16, 2009
Convictions and Race
Research Day in the library. Post data about jail time and racial profiles from then and now. At the end of the hour, make sure to post summarized information about what you found, and include links in case your classmates would like more information. Don't forget to cite your sources -- MLA format!
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my bad, i posted this in august wilson by mistake
Convictions:
By the early 20th century, slavery had been abolished for over half a century, but the racial stereotypes and prejudices that went hand in hand with this morally reprehensible system did not go away overnight. Many white people, especially in the south, still felt that they were above black people in all aspects of society. This was evident in the "Jim Crow" laws as well as the unfair convictions of black people at the time.
Without Slavery, much of the cheap labor that was needed to run many businesses in the south was lost. This problem was solved by unfairly sending many african americans to jail under the pretense of them being criminals, and then using them to work under the guise of "chain gangs" or effectively slavery.
This act was perpetrated by the white lawmakers, as well as the police, juries, and judges, all of whom were white at this time. Any attempt to challenge these convictions were futile, as all people in power during this time were white and sympathetic to the cause of white supremacy.
Today, there is still a disparity between white and black convictions in the judicial system. According to studies done by the U.S. Bureau of Justice, a black man today has more than a 1 in 4 chance of going to jail, while a white man has a mere 1 in 23. Though we maintain the semblance of progress, underlying prejudice still plagues America today.
Danny and Wu. 5th period
P.S.
The website would not let us post our works consulted for some HTML reason. I will give it to you in class tomorow
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