Race And Ethnicity In America White Paper

PAGES
4
WORDS
1259
Cite

¶ … Judeo-Christian perspective, there are two forms of law, the law of government and the law of God. Government plays a role in the daily lives of most people. From how to drive a car to what can be bought and sold, the government aims to protect the general public from domestic and foreign problems. Whether or not that means the wellbeing of all or the wellbeing of some is left to interpretation. God according to Christianity, passed down guidelines to help humanity flourish and grow. The Ten Commandments is just one of several instances when humans witnessed the law of God. Yet in today's society, amidst a multicultural backdrop, the law of God has been overshadowed by the law of government. And the law of government is not one that instills good principles among the public, but rather seems to favor punishing those that do not fit the idea of 'American'. Race and ethnicity have been issues within America for centuries. From racial profiling to disproportionate representation of blacks in the prison and court system, America has had to deal with recurring problems of race and ethnicity in law enforcement. "Race and ethnicity are only buzzwords that people use when they talk about multiculturalism. After all, neither race nor ethnicity determines a person's values, attitudes, or behavior. Just as there is no uniquely identifiable 'white culture' in American society" (Schmalleger, 2007, p. 27). While there is no uniquely identifiable 'black culture' in American society, there are still many law enforcement agencies that racially profile and identify specific cultural traits to black people, reneging the concept of a diverse and tolerant modern society.

If one were to examine Biblical text, one would see that after God established law post-flood (Genesis 9:6), such guidelines were meant to maintain order and civility, and...

...

The law of God has two main elements of human nature as its basis. The first is humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). The second is, humans were granted ability to exercise rationality and judgment. Rationality is a way humans attempt to make sense of the unknown. However, rationality dissipates when improper judgment is exercised.
In government, from police officers to judges, there is a constant attempt to rationalize and judge what is right and wrong or whether something a person did constitutes punishment or not. Within a multicultural society, this can at times be clouded by preconceived notions and stereotypes that could lead to improper action against a target population. That target population is and has been blacks. Blacks have experienced increase incarceration and arrests than whites in America.

Such improper action stems from cases ruled over by United States Supreme Court. Through the lens of individual rights vs. public order, the Supreme Court passed laws that favor the increased incarceration of blacks in America to 'protect' the American public (i.e. Hobbs Act). "The U.S. Supreme Court is very powerful and its decisions have far-reaching consequences" (Schmalleger, 2007, p. 21). Taylor v. United States for example, allows law enforcement to keep criminals (mainly minorities) in federal prison cells for longer periods than in the past (Pane & Rocco, 2014). Blacks already face a high recidivism rate due to racial profiling and increased police presence in areas blacks live and frequent. To have the American government work towards keeping blacks longer in prison continually supports the idea that there is injustice in law enforcement.

In a 2016 article on human rights and anti-discrimination laws, the American government has tried in vain to protect…

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Carter, P. L., Skiba, R., Arredondo, M. I., & Pollock, M. (2017). You Can't Fix What You Don't Look At. Urban Education, 52(2), 207-235. doi:10.1177/0042085916660350

Dupont, P. (2016). Human Rights and Substantive Equality in the Adjudication of Ethnic Practices. Nordic Journal of Human Rights, 34(4), 289-313. doi:10.1080/18918131.2016.1243881

Pane, D. M., & Rocco, T. S. (2014). School-to-Prison Pipeline Revisited / Looking to the Future. Transforming the School-to-Prison Pipeline, 301-310. doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-449-9_18

Schmalleger, F. (2007). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the twenty-frist century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.


Cite this Document:

"Race And Ethnicity In America" (2017, January 19) Retrieved April 20, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/race-and-ethnicity-in-america-2164013

"Race And Ethnicity In America" 19 January 2017. Web.20 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/race-and-ethnicity-in-america-2164013>

"Race And Ethnicity In America", 19 January 2017, Accessed.20 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/race-and-ethnicity-in-america-2164013

Related Documents

And there are always a few racists in any town. But I believe we have a great, open, accepting community. We entertain tourists from all over the planet, and many of them are from ethnic cultures different from ours. They say they feel welcomed here. Q: What use does the community foundation make of the local AM station KMHS-AM? M: I'm glad you asked. We have learning programs for parents and

The predominating media sentiment according to Ransby was that of 'blaming the victim,' or blaming the impoverished residents for being insufficiently prepared for the disaster. Ransby suggests that the fortitude shown by residents, even in the absence of aid, was often considerable, considering their meager resources. Residents were blamed for their poverty, rather than sympathized with. Ransby's essay made me think critically about the coverage of the event I witnessed:

The determining factor seems to be the religion of the person or group in question as those who claimed to be Christian were granted the classification of "white." This ignorant and racially-based determination continues to plague the American psyche and Americans still seem to classify anyone who is Muslim as "non-white." The fact that the two responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings were immediately classified as non-white simply because

Race and Ethnicity Multiculturalism Grade Course What is multiculturalism? Multiculturalism is an ideology which is defined in different ways following in the varying paradigms of one's culture and knowledge. However, it is generally explained as a system of beliefs which recognizes and appreciated diversity of groups in a society or in any organization. In t his regard, it also acknowledge these difference particularly the socio-cultural disparity thereby stressing upon its impact in a culture

Black people have to work as hired household help or as farm labor while white people own the economic resources of production. Gordimer's mother had a black maid and it is likely that this made her sensitive to the inequality between the two communities (Gordimer et al. 1990). On the other hand, What it's Like to be a Black Girl explores the psychological pressure and turmoil that a young black

Race and poverty are closely connected in the U.S. And this is primarily owed to the fact that racism is still strong in the civilized world. Racism in this country goes back during the late eighteenth century when the 1790 Naturalization Act provided any European immigrant with the right to become a U.S. citizen while other nations were prevented from becoming citizens and ended up having to work in low