Final Project: Mixing Justice

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Racism refers to the belief that a person’s social, cultural or ancestral affiliation determines their traits and capacities in agreed upon ways. This belief results in racial prejudices and discrimination of certain ethnic or racial groups. White supremacy is a racist ideology that views white culture as superior to all other cultures because it is written from the perspective of whites with power. The concept of race was largely created by European colonialists who categorized people based on their physical differences and imposed existing beliefs of superiority onto those differences, which are often minor. These categorizations were then used to justify slavery, colonialism and genocide.

Race and racism have been an everlasting and always relevant topic. Racism is a complex cultural and historical phenomenon, one that has influenced everything from law to religion to economics to art as well as countless other aspects of life in various ways. The United States is still all too often attached with racially motivated violence arising from events such as the Civil War, slavery or Jim Crow laws among other examples. Justice has been similarly impacted by racism and it’s not just black Americans who are affected by problems such as mass incarceration, sentencing disparity or poverty that disproportionately affect people of color (Back & Solomos, 2013). More recently racial justice has become a political tool used primarily by those on the left who fight for social change while seeking to dismantle the prison industrial complex (Back & Solomos, 2013). The basis of many of these views lies in the history and current discourse surrounding race, specifically white supremacy.

In a class discussion at my school, Ricola Hall, a student asked “When can we stop talking about race?” It is this sort of question that disregard the very real issues that still affect many people today. Although we like to think that we are living in an “equal” society the truth remains that many problems stem from racism even though it has taken on new forms. To deny those flaws or make excuses for them is not only ignorant but it also holds us back from achieving true justice.

The concept of race and racism has evolved with time as dominant groups reinterpreted their own beliefs as well as those of other groups. The concept of race is socially constructed and its meaning is continuously evolving. In the United States, the status quo has largely been maintained by following the belief that white men are superior to all others and their dominance requires prejudice of certain ethnic groups. Racism has played a role in many historical and current events such as the Civil War, Jim Crow laws, immigration policies, mass incarceration, and sentencing disparity among numerous others. There is a strong correlation between race and incarceration (Lavalley & Johnson, 2020).

There have been various cases of racial discrimination against Black Americans throughout history. The most notable examples include the Reconstruction era, when Black Americans were treated as second class citizens and denied equal rights; Jim Crow laws, which legalized the systematic segregation of Blacks; slavery, which carried with it extreme racial prejudice and discrimination; lynchings, which killed thousands of Black people during the 1920’s and 30’s; white supremacist terrorism such as the murders of Emmett Till or Martin Luther King Jr.; and even more recently racial profiling during stop-and-frisk operations by police or unfair sentences resulting in mass incarceration (Lavalley & Johnson, 2020).

Racism has also influenced domestic policies. Policies such as mass incarceration have resulted in over two million people being imprisoned since 1980s. During the past thirty years over 50% of the increase in U.S. population under age 30 has been composed of people of color, primarily Black and Brown people. The United States spends over 7 times more per capita on incarceration than countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada and Denmark despite having one-sixth as many incarcerated people (Lavalley & Johnson, 2020). A large number of racial disparities exist throughout society due to racism, which are usually justified by the words “it’s because Blacks are Black” or “Blacks commit crime more often than Whites”.

Tupac Shakur in his song, “Changes” describes the situation very well.

“So when I’m downtown and I see all the brothers hanging from trees

A hundred times before, it only makes me cry harder, harder.”

This is a reference to lynchings, in which African-Americans were hung from trees as a method to punish them for crimes they never committed. These lynchings were often public and thousands of people attended them. Lynching was designed to keep Black people in check by instilling fear of harm into those who would attempt to stand up for their rights or challenge the status quo. It is this same fear that has led to mass incarceration of people of color.

The song, “Fu*ck the Police” by NWA also describes the injustices that plague many young people of color. Although these injustices are not new, others are still happening. Willie Lynch, a slave owner and an American doctor who lived in the 18th century, was known for his experiments on the bodies of enslaved Black Americans conducted in an attempt to prove that African-Americans were inferior and further justify slavery. Even though the evidence he used to make his claims turned out to be flawed and there is some evidence linking him with racism, he still believed that Black people had genetic traits that made them less intelligent and therefore they were less likely to succeed or become wealthy (Lavalley & Johnson, 2020).

Redemption Song by Bob Marley illustrates racial injustices in the United States of America. The lyrics are about a man who suffers from unfair treatment because he is Black, and in that suffering he learns what it means to be human. Despite this song’s popularity, society still has its ugly side and injustices have plagued all races in America for centuries. The album ‘Rock the Boat’ speaks to the issue of race with gritty realism about old time Southern justice in a new time period where racism is prevalent, but not as blatantly obvious as years past.

The song, Alright by Kendrick Lamar also describes injustices of this nature. He talks about the moral conundrum that has been a challenge for mankind since their beginning. The issue of injustice is ever present and Kendrick Lamar’s song manages to place it in a modern context where forces of greed, jealousy and hatred take control to do unjust things.

United States of America is known as one of the most racist nations in the world. This country has had slavery since its founding in 1776, when white people received all the land and black people did all the work without rights or compensation (Williams, 1999). This is demonstrated today; black people have less rights than whites in every aspect of society: education, justice, employment rates and wealth are lower for blacks than whites.

Don’t Shoot by The Game also describe the level of injustices that occur in the United States. He talks about the paradoxical nature of people being convicted for drug possession even though they have never actually used any drugs. His voice is a story of injustice, as we all do wrong things sometimes, but we can always redeem ourselves if we admit it and stop doing them. Injustice is alive and well in America whether it’s in the form of historical injustices or because it is still prevalent today, with mass incarceration and police brutality on blacks at an alarming rate. Racism has been a prominent feature throughout American history and continues to be present in this country today; this is demonstrated by differences in just about every aspect of life: education, income, and health care (Todorov & Porter, 2020).

Another song, “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke also demonstrates injustices that continue to exist today with police brutality, racial profiling and systemic racism. The song begins with:

“And there’s a darker side to the story

We play our part in the show

But I’m beginning to see my time has come

There’s a change gonna come.”  Sam Cooke goes on to describe how unfair it is that he has been treated unjustly because of the color of his skin. He depicts an image of life where injustice exists in all its various forms throughout human history. This includes slavery, the Holocaust and AIDS and other diseases carried by Black people.

In conclusion, race and racism is a complex cultural and historical phenomenon that is constantly evolving, and the academic study of race is a highly nuanced field. And yet, the most dominant culture in North America remains deeply obsessed with skin pigmentation and physical features- more specifically, white supremacy. This obsession has led to heavy historical impacts on minority communities in North America as well as around the world.” Racial discrimination among black American has been demonstrated through various songs and poems, as well as literature, that contradict the mainstream view of “black inferiority” and “white superiority.”

References

Back, L., & Solomos, J. (2013). Theories of race and racism: A reader. Routledge.

Lavalley, R., & Johnson, K. R. (2020). Occupation, injustice, and anti-Black racism in the United States of America. Journal of Occupational Science, 1-13.

Todorov, T., & Porter, C. (2020). Race and racism. In Theories of race and racism (pp. 68-74). Routledge.

Williams, D. R. (1999). Race, socioeconomic status, and health the added effects of racism and discrimination. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896(1), 173-188.