Race, mistrust, and policing: the intended consequences of linking blackness to criminality

The Intended Consequences of Linking Criminality to Blackness. The hubris of the Civil Rights movement has been its ability to draw attention to the humanity of black lives; most salient has been the ability of the movement to shift traditions of institutionalized racism persistently devaluing and reducing the lives of Blacks. There are institutions that have remained particularly resistant to radicalization in spite of the call for liberation and equity; in this skein; other like minded movements have blossomed in the steed of the Civil Rights movement in order to facilitate a response to the violence perpetrated against black men and women. It is suggested unchecked abuse of coercive power by police is a stratagem of oppression of black’s lives that is utilized by the state and an attempt to reinvigorate and further Jim Crow laws.

Like most American cities facing rapid growth Riverbend City is challenged by the complexities of crime, however in attempt to find solutions the city has linked criminality to blackness. It is hypothesized this racial bias is not an incidental consequence but rather a purposeful action of the policing organizational model. An examination of arrest trends across the country would eradicate suggestions of coincidence. A research study investigating the source of Black-White differences was conducted by examining drug arrests made across 78 neighborhoods in St. Louis between 2009–2013 (Gatson, 2019). The results of that study lend support to the racially discriminative policing perspective (Gatson, 2019).

Research supports and upholds that neighborhood composition significantly shapes drug enforcement practices; this would include net of «neighbor-hood-level violent and property crime rates, drug-related calls for service by citizens, and socioeconomic disadvantage» (Gatson, 2019). Findings revealed officers specifically racially profile individuals whose race is incongruent with the neighborhood demographics (Gatson, 2019).

Blacks are overrepresented within the criminal justice organizational model, despite representing a small percentage of the American population at 13 percent (Gatson, 2019). Research has been able to provide some explanation for the disparities in punishment, and largely attributes the inequities to Blacks having higher rates of violent offending (Gatson, 2019). This rationale would not explain the disparate arrests for non violent offenses, which are «the majority of the nation’s crimes» (Gatson, 2019). The procedural inequity continues to make obvious distinctions in terms of drug offenses and arrests. Data reveals blacks are no more likely to than whites to use or sell drugs, in fact «in some cases there is greater involvement for whites» (Gatson, 2019). Research supports this information as the opioid and heroin epidemic involves majority white users (Gatson, 2019). The theoretical background provide by some scholars for this disparity in arrests has been attributed to differential policing scrutiny and racially discriminatory policing (Gatson, 2019).

Societal Responses to Mistrust. Across the United States, cities are facing a public health crisis of racism as more Blacks are killed as a result fatal interaction of with police officers. This racialized violence has birthed a grass roots social movement demanding responses from the criminal justice organizational model and a reshaping of the societal lens which links Blacks to criminality. However, the movement known as the Black Lives Matter movement has been criticized as being too confrontational and divisive (Clayton, 2018). This criticism can be argued as further oppressive and a linkage of Blacks to criminality by compartmentalizing the collective Black responses to violence as confrontational or angry. This arguably is a white hegemonic manipulation of Black narratives by reducing natural responses to inequity as «confronta-tional».

It is proposed that racially biased interactions with police are increased after negative events with police, such as police shootings by a Black suspect (Legewie, 2016). A study designed to examine this theory revealed substantial- ly increased use of force by police against blacks after the fatal shooting of two police in New York City; however the use of force against whites and Hispanics remained unchanged. (Legewie, 2016). Aside from the importance for the debate on racial profiling and police use of force, this research reveals a general set of processes where events create intergroup conflict, foreground stereotypes, and trigger discriminatory responses (Legewie, 2016).

A suggested approach is to not reexamine the criminal justice system, but rather to examine statistical information on racial disparities (Hetey & Eberhardt, 2018). The rationale of this approach is to find an opportunity to justify and rationalize those disparities found within the system (Hetey & Eberhardt, 2018). The specific goal of the article was to spur future research and redirect the paradoxical and unintended effects of creating awareness of racial disparities. Researchers propose strategies for effectively examining and presenting this information which include, offer context;

Spatial Distancing: Protection from Blackness. Researchers provide the fundamental issue is the essential functioning policing and it’s positioning the United States as needing protection from blackness. It is suggested the criminal justice model has chosen to protect non blacks through spatial containment of blacks or the ghettozation of black communities (Logan & Oakely, 2017). This spatial delineation is a bitter reduction in the lives of blacks particularly after the triumphs of the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s; however given a report that emerged in the 1960’s regarding the plurality of race relations in the United States, the criminal justice organizational model has not been responsive to race inequities but given the evidence, remains at the root of race injustices within the country.

The rapidly changing media landscape has changed how society receives news and in this skein processes events. Racialized violence is not a whisper in southern trees and backwoods but now is transmitted quickly in the time it takes to click a mouse over a hyperlink and public attention is now made aware of a version of racialized violence; «systemic police brutality and repeated killings of unarmed Black and Brown men by police» (Logan & Oake-ly, 2017). The information is now widely broadcast and shared over a plethora of platforms;

The issues of racialized violence and policing in America are not new phenomena but are a part of the American historical fabric. Researchers provide that responses are also deeply entrenched in American history and draw a comparative analysis between the evolution of modern black liberation movements and those of past. What is most poignant about the Black Lives Matter movement is that is addressing issues that were to have been resolved by its predecessor, the Civil Rights Movement in a «Post Racial» America.

The Civil Rights Movement. An examination of the two movements draws the researcher to examine what societal conditions are being challenged;

accordingly, «A social movement may be understood as a group of persons organized in a sustained, self-conscious challenge to an existing system and its values or power relationships» (Clayton, 2018). Therefore it is imperative to examine and gain an intellectual understanding of the systemic challenges that are being resisted. The continuous struggle for human rights extends to the demand for non-violent interactions with police, «Many see Black Lives Matter as the new civil rights movement. That movement, from 1954 to 1965, demanded basic equality for African Americans in the 20th century. Black Lives Matter has focused on police abuse of African Americans» (Clayton, 2018).

Conclusion. It is highlight systems of institutional racism in order to radicalize organizational culture and affect the behaviors that are normalized within those institutions. Specifically police officers are better educated to be within organizations. Furthermore it is posited the criminal justice model must be reflective of its own culpability in reducing Blacks lives. The restructuring of the policing model must move beyond diversity training, it must be a realignment of values and discontinuation of practices that are fundamentally meant to oppress Blacks in America.