Evolution of Racism

After the American Civil War, America entered a period of Reconstruction in attempt to reunite the polarized sides of the nation. During the Reconstruction Era, between 1865 and 1877, inequalities about slavery were readdressed and so were disputes between the north and the south which resurfaced. Even after Reconstruction, racism continues to be a significant part of American society and government. Although since Reconstruction laws have been created and adapted to minimize racial disparity, black people are still a target of violence and inequality which had directly led to today’s mass incarceration, perpetuating white supremacy. Beginning at the end of the 20th century, racism became embedded in laws and practice, less explicit and more implicit.

Because of America’s outward racism until the end of the 20th century, black people could be brutalized in more direct and public manners; there was much less of a need to put black people through the criminal justice system. Before the turn of the 20th century, black people were openly discriminated against- especially in the south. Homer Plessy was a young black man in Louisiana who practiced civil disobedience by refusing to move from the “whites only” section on the train. He was arrested and offered release if he could pay a $500 bond. In order to allow him to have a trial and to speak on behalf of marginalized groups, the Comite des Citoyens provided the $500 leading to a court hearing. The Plessy V Ferguson case ended up legalizing segregation as long as public services were “separate but equal.” The ruling also allowed states to determine their own ways of segregating citizens. During the 1890s in New Orleans, Louisiana, segregation was promoted, black people received much lower salaries than their white counterparts, and black children had fewer educational resources-there wasn’t even a high school for black students to attend. During this time, racism was explicitly promoted, causing implicit racism- such as mass incarceration- to be less of a necessity.

Racism wasn’t just riddled throughout government services and systems but also throughout powerful, white people. There was a common phenomenon which white men created: black men could not resist the urge to rape delicate, white women. Oftentimes, when a white woman had a consensual affair with a black man, her white husband and his friends would lynch the black man. The lynching of black men by white men was common- especially since the government did not punish such behavior. In this time, there was much less of a need for mass incarceration because the government allowed white people to punish black people however they desired; people could be outwardly racist.

Furthermore, in 1898, journalist Alex Manly published an article about how white women actually gave consent to these black “rapists.” As a result, there was extreme pushback from the white community which led them to burn down his printing press. This is another instance of white men determining the punishment for black people without fear of getting reprimanded by the government.

The trend of white people publically brutalizing black citizens continued into the 20th century. In 1919 in Chicago, there were invisible color lines which people were generally aware of. One day, a few young, black boys were swimming in the lake when they accidentally crossed over the line. White men started to attack these young boys by throwing rocks at them, ultimately hitting Euegene who ended up drowning. Eugene’s friends sought help from police officers in order to ensure justice was served and the men who killed Euegene would be punished. However, a white police officer Daniel Callahan refused to help the boys and prohibited any other officer from offering their assistance. The white men who murdered Eugene and harmed his friends were openly protected by the government- a clear indication of the police officers’ outward racism. The 1919 riots rose as a result of the disputes between white and black communities over Eugene’s death. A thousand black homes were burned down and many black people were killed- another case of white civilians harming black people without getting in trouble with the law. During these times, white people were allowed to freely brutalize black people with the support of the government. Instead of incarcerating black people or giving them a fair trial, white men would lynch them or cause harm to their lives in other ways. White people’s ability to treat black people however they desired allowed for white supremacy and black suppression to perpetuate.

At the turn of the 20th century, America couldn’t be as outwardly racist because there was no longer enough support for that, so in order to maintain white supremacy, racism became prominent throughout the criminal justice system, stripping black people of rights and freedom through the development of mass incarceration.

At the end of the 20th century, laws were adapted and created in order to reintegrate marginalized groups into society- specifically black people. The 1964 Civil Rights Act banned segregation in public accommodation, provided equal employment opportunities regardless of race, and allowed district attorneys to bring suit against cases of descrimination. With this act, people of color who did not have the means to hire an attorney could still have justice be served on their behalf for cases of descrimination. In other words, white people would not be let off so easily for the mistreatment of black people.

As society became more accepting of and provided more opportunities for marginalized groups, white people had to find a new way to maintain their racism and white supremacy: mass incarceration. As Michelle Alexander says in her book The New Jim Crow “nothing has contributed more to...mass incarceration of people of color in the United States than the War on Drugs.” (60). The War on Drugs was initiated by the Nixon administration as a way to subtly target and attack black communities. As an effort of the War on Drugs, police officers would stop and search people who they perceived as dangerous in terms of drug possession- an inherently and implicitly racist practice.

The Terry V Ohio case ruled that search and seizure for drugs did not violate the fourth amendment, protection against unwarranted search, if the officer had reason for suspicion. However, these reasons for suspicion became so vague that anybody could be stopped on the street for simply walking home- especially young black men. Through the practice of search and seizure, the government was able to incarcerate disproportionately more black people than white people. The government sent the message that mass incarceration was for the safety of humanity, but as they targeted black communities, their implicit racism became clear.

Aside from search and seizure, the government was able to target black people and communities through the crack epidemic. There was a much harsher punishment for people found with crack as opposed to those found with cocaine. Because of its inexpensiveness, crack was found amongst black communities whereas cocaine, being more expensive, was found prominent amongst wealthy, white people. The government claimed that crack was more dangerous and therefore required harsher punishment, but, in actuality, they are the same level of danger. The government was implicitly targeting black communities and covering up their racism with the idea that crack was more dangerous.

Black people became victims of the War on Drugs which has led to their mass incarceration, stripping them of rights and freedom. As said by Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow, black people are “banished to a political space not unlike Jim Crow...where they could be denied the right to vote.” (58). At the turn of the 20th century, two million people found themselves behind bars, prisoners under white supremacy. When, if ever, people were released from incarceration, they were denied the right to vote- now only five states still uphold this law. Incarceration was and still is a way for the government to be implicitly racist and suppress the power and voices of black communities.

Kalief Browder was only 16 when he entered the criminal justice system. He was initially put on a five year probation in the Bronx for hijacking a truck with his friend. One day when he was walking home from a party at night, he was stopped by the police as a possible suspect for the theft of a white man’s backpack. Even though the man who accused Browder changed his story in terms of when and where the incident took place, the police still took Browder into custody. While in jail, his family was unable to pay his bond- 80 to 90 percent of people from the Bronx are unable to do so. Without a bond, they wouldn’t release Browder and he was placed at Rikers without a trial or legitimate evidence of theft. Bonds are another way for the government to be implicitly racist as bonds truly only benefit wealthy, typically white, people.

Furthermore, Browder spent three years at Rikers Island, 14 months of which were spent in solitary confinement. As just a teenager, he lived at one of the most dangerous prisons with murderers and men much older than him. After extensive advocacy on his behalf from well known people such as Jay-Z, Browder was released. But he was never the same. When he came home, he suffered severe mental health problems and struggled to find a place in society. He eventually commited suicide. The government, unjustly, stripped a young black man of his youth for a crime he did not commit. Stop and seizure has led to the mass incarceration of black people at a disportionate rate compared to their white counterparts.

Even though racism is, generally, outwardly frowned upon, the government continues to instill racist tendencies throughout society with the use of mass incarceration. Black people are oppressed today similarly to how they were hundreds of years ago; the suppression is more so in the form of mass incarceration rather than the outward killing of black people.