Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Modern Day Slavery

       According to "thinkprogress.com", African-Americans are 30% more likely to be imprisoned than whites for the same crime. 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in America, we have more blacks incarcerated in prison than there were slaves in 1850 America. I am not saying that African Americans who commit crimes should be exonerated. However, I am saying that the war on drugs in America has unfairly targeted poor black communities for many years. The situation reminds me of the Jim Crow laws of the early 1900's in various ways. First, African-Americans were being unfairly targeted for being a race that was stereotypically "abnormal". The war on drugs has unfairly targeted African Americans, because stereotypically African-Americans are drug dealers and users. However, statistics tell us that white teenagers use cocaine and heroin at seven times the rate of black teenagers, and use crack at eight times the rate. I'm not trying to create a battleground between whites and blacks. I'm simply stating that the Drug enforcement agency should not target specific races or communities. "All men are created equal" has been a part of the American creed since the founding of this country. The progress of equality in America has transcended far beyond where it began and that makes me proud to be an American. No nation will ever be perfect, and 14th, 15th, and 16th amendment proves that America made strides towards true equality. If America continues to put the people first and continue to modernize ideals, this country will forever remain the land of opportunity and prosperity.

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/09/23/criminal-injustice-the-percentage-of-african-americans-in-prison/

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you. You can even through in Hispanics into this agreement because just like African Americans there chance of being arrested is 5 times more likely. I think that the DEC should open their eyes a little bit more and crack down on other communities such as the middle class white community. I am not trying to make this a white vs. Black thing. I believe our country is working on this and hopefully it will get better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with you i feel they should communicate more and stop all this stereo typing.If a black man and white man does the same crime they should be convicted the same time in jail just like the Treyvon Martin case now if black man killed a white boy he would of went to jail soon as the could put him away and might of got the death penalty nobody or nation will be perfect the just need to look more into it. Everybody is created equal this is not a black vs white thing but it does need to get fix

    ReplyDelete