What, if any, is the causal relationship between race and inequality? What, if any, is the causal relationship between the “Jenna 6” and racism? What, if any, is the causal relationship between media portrayal of blacks and America’s beliefs about black male teenagers? What if any is the causal relationship between race and social beliefs?
I am the author of this blog and although I may try to detach myself from bias, due to my personal experiences that may not be completely possible. I am a black male teenager living in America. I attended a diverse but predominantly black high school. Now I attend a diverse but predominantly white university. In all my years i have heard about, and even experienced instances of racial discrimination. My goal is figure out why "races" discriminate against each other.
The purpose of my blog is for me to go on an intellectual journey, to somehow understand why there is still so much racial tension in America when we are living in the year 2007. This is America; we are supposed to be one of the most democratic nations in the world and the land of equal opportunity. Yet there seems to be tension among citizens of different “races.” I don’t just mean “white” on “black” tension. I admit there are other forms of racial discrimination; however this is the topic that I choose to highlight in my blog. I feel like America has come a long way in fair treatment among “races” Although I feel like there is still a long way to go. I believe that a lack of understanding of cultural differences is the cause of racial tension in America. If people would just take the time to understand each other’s differences and go against social beliefs, then people would be more willing to accept one another.
For those of you who don’t know what the “Jenna 6 “is, it is the name given to an incident in Jenna, Louisiana involving “6” black male teenagers. Race relations in Jenna were already unstable, and a couple of inciting incidents kept building up until racial tension reached a climax. The first incident involved a black student who asked the principal of his high school if he could sit under a tree that normally only white people sat under. The principal didn’t object, so the boy and a couple of his friends sat under the tree. The next day there were three nooses hanging from the same tree in the school colors. This brought about angry feelings from the blacks because they viewed this action as a threat. The principal just dismissed the incident as a “prank.” There were other inciting incidents after this that led to the climax when a fight broke out between black students and a white student. The white student received injuries, however none where life threatening. The black students faced attempted murder charges and could spend up to twenty years in prison. The ironic thing is that one of the black kids of the “Jenna 6” was involved in a fight prior to this incident where he was the victim and a white kid busted a glass bottle over the black kids head. However, there were no criminal charges brought against the white kid. The District Attorney in Jenna seems to be administering two different forms of justice; one for the blacks and one for the whites. Is the democratic government of America going to allow this to happen? Is it fair in any circumstance to have a double standard? What, if any, is the causal relationship between race and equal treatment of the law?
3 comments:
I do indeed agree with many things you have posted here. In multiple aspects, we see eye to eye. Not that I am a black male teenager, or do we share in common backgrounds, or at least according to the high schools we came from. But instead, we both are confused by the racism still demonstrated and even supported in our nation. I especially agree with your statement, "If people would just take the time to understand each other’s differences..." To quote Orlando Patterson in a NY Times article, and a sociology professor, " Black Americans, a mere 13 percent of the population, constitute half of this country’s prisoners. A tenth of all black men between ages 20 and 35 are in jail or prison; blacks are incarcerated at over eight times the white rate." Now, I understand these are factoids with few if any actual implications, but such facts are a bit "attention-getting." I do think America is a nation that boasts a society of many different races, it is one of many reasons the nation is in my opinion so great. Though the task will be and has been a long one, one day we will obtain equality, both socially and factually. Such "factoids" are statements made of the past, at this very second they are shifting, increasing, decreasing, and changing. It is our job, as the "upcoming and now" generation to be determined to make this nation the place that it has the potential to be. People's decisions and lifestyles are one thing, they are voluntary, but race is certainly something that is not. People can obtain help for addictions or other problems, but race is not a problem, if anything it is something to be celebrated. I believe that 'all men were created equal,' and I would insert women into that creation as well. I look forward to following your post, and to hopefully seeing your ideas for remedying the racism problem that seems to plague our nation.
I totally agree with you. Racism still exists, and every human being can admit to it. Of course people try to cover it up, like they do most of their wrongdoings, but we all know that it really goes down. When I heard about the Jena act in Louisiana I was infuriated. How could a principal admit to not suspending a white student for hitting a black student, but suspend a black student for hitting a white student? How could the court justify jailing a student when he was obviously tempted, and let the other student go free? Why does their city act like it was not a racial act, but still cut down the tree that all of the chaos started under? RACISM!!! This is sensitive issue, but needs to be expressed.
I have always attended prominently white schools with students who ranged from the middle class to very wealthy high class. At first, this was difficult for me because I myself am Hispanic. I can recall in 5th grade receiving an award along with two black kids for "minority representation" in the school. In a sense, this was ironic because the school did have a rather sufficient Asian population.
I agree that racism in the U.S. is a big issue, but not the most major. Yes, there are people out there who are racist bigots. But for every racist bigot that I meet, I meet about 30 other people who are caring and accepting of racial differences.
As for Jenna Six, while I do believe the case was handled in the most absurd manor possible; I believe this was an isolated situation. Although each person has reservations about certain races, I hope that they have the moral compass to not sentence a person merely on the basis of race but on facts. All these beliefs though are based off of my personal experiences. Have you ever been treated harshly because of your race? Has anyone ever criminalize you merely because you were black?
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