Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Crime in the Media Fall 2020

For today’s generation race and crime is a common topic to discuss. For many years African Americans have been the least dominant race when compared to other races. African Americans, for centuries, have endured inequality that has caused black people to feel less welcomed in today’s society. Dating back to the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans had to fight for voting rights, to end segregation, better education, and many other essential needs that should have been granted to them due to being a citizen of America. Many crime-related problems within today’s society deal with race. Race is constantly considered especially when dealing with the justice system. Prosecutors, judges, and other law officials often share common goals when trying to keep blacks oppressed. Typically, prosecutors have the most important job because they make most of the decisions that will determine the criminal proceedings of the accused. When moving through the justice system African Americans face biased decisions, harsher sentences, coerced pleas, and incompetent public defenders. Public defenders are relied upon to protect their clients to the fullest potential yet African American cases get disregarded which at that point leaves little to no time on accurately being able to defend. The many flaws in the justice system allow for maltreatment towards African Americans from society as a whole. The black community has become accustomed to dealing with daily occurrences of racial discrimination. Ava DuVernay created a documentary film known as 13th highlights how racial inequality causes the nation to disproportionately fill prisons with blacks.  

13th is a documentary film created by Ava DuVernay and released on October seventh, 2016. Throughout the documentary, Ava DuVernay explores the effects that mass incarceration has on African Americans by giving a deeper understanding of how blacks are negatively affected by other influences within their community. The film opens with a message from Barack Obama stating, “the US had 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.”. Ava DuVernay connects her central point of the documentary by looking deep into slavery times and comparing it to the mass incarceration of today’s time. DuVernay discusses the south which during that time was presumed to be dominantly racist. The south would criminalize many blacks for minor offenses. Given most blacks not being monetarily successful, they were then compelled to work if they could not afford to pay fines which are known as convict leasing. Convict leasing was created to criminalize more behavior. DuVernay then goes on to discuss the rate of imprisonment rising dramatically in the United States despite the rate of crime declining since the late 20th century. Ava DuVernay believes president Donald Trump being elected into office has heightened the fear of crime due to his outspoken nature on other races. To help the increase of incarceration many private prison contractors fulfilled the demands of arrest and sentences. In addition to mass incarnation, the documentary explores the American Legislative Exchange Council’s role in supporting the prison-industrial complex. Minorities that live in poverty dominated communities contribute to the fears of being subjected to police brutality. Ava DuVernay expresses her concern about police brutality being a major fatality for blacks. DuVernay concludes the film with graphic videos of African Americans being gruesomely shot by law officials. 

Ava DuVernay’s 13th presents viewers with a deeper understanding of some of the obstacles African Americans face daily. The racial injustices that blacks have become accustomed to are unfortunate. Throughout DuVernay’s film, she was able to explain why mass incarceration is mostly dominant for blacks. Ava DuVernay’s film connects back to class content by talking about how blacks are represented in court. They often receive cash bail which causes a negative effect than a positive one. Many blacks that are discussed throughout the film live in poverty hence not having the financial ability to pay for bail. If in the event a person cannot afford bail they are placed under arrest until trial, causes an increase in mass incarcerations. As stated in Not A Crime To Be Poor, “ In the course of a year, about 45,000 people are jailed there solely because they cannot afford bail. On any given day, 1,500 people have been there for over a year without a trial.” (Edelman 50). Edelman makes a connection between those who cannot afford bail and the effects it may cause. Sitting in jail without a trial for over a year should be unacceptable. Many are separated from their families and jobs, typically over insufficient chargers. Cash bails also provide bias to trial by some African Americans receiving excessive bails which violates their eighth amendment. According to Brennan Center.org, also mentioned in the cash bail powerpoint, “Black and Latino’s men assessed higher bail amounts than white men for similar crimes by 35 and 19 percent on average, respectively.” These statistics show how racially biased judges can be when determining bail amounts for different races. Typically, whites will receive a lesser bail for the same crime committed by other races who will receive an excessive bail amount. Cash bail being presented is another way to keep blacks oppressed and incarcerated. 

Implicit bias can apply to the mass incarceration of African Americans. In the documentary 13th, Ava DuVernay mentions the crime rate being declined however incarceration rates continue to rise. Many people within society stereotype blacks into one category in which all are violent and subjectable to committing a crime. With this, numerous law authorities continually harass blacks causing an uncomfortable inclination ending with an arrest made off the suspicion that they are committing a crime-related act. Implicit bias is the basic explanation for stereotyping in the justice system. As Russel-Brown (2018) states, “Implicit bias has emerged as the go-to explanation for racial discrimination and racial bias within the justice system. Accounting for it, some argue, will help eliminate the racial ills of the criminal justice system.” (p. 137). When any law official is implicitly biased toward a defendant it causes a blinding effect on decision making. Implicit bias is another adding factor to many blacks being incarcerated. When a prosecutor, judge, or police stereotype an African American, their chances of having true justice gets reduced. 

Overall, the 13th documentary is highly recommended when trying to understand how mass incarceration affects blacks worldwide. Ava DuVernay accurately shows the many flaws within society and the criminal justice system. African Americans are still enslaved by being imprisoned for insufficient reasons. Mass incarnation affects the black community by having those separated from their loved ones and jobs. The many let downs from the criminal justice system make it hard for the black community to feel connected to others. Hirschi’s social bond theory argues an individual who has strong attachments to society is less likely to involve themselves in deviant behavior. Hence showing another failed attempt from society to decrease the possibilities of crimes being committed. The documentary 13th  presented the world with many ways to improve the racial injustices by providing ways to end mass incarceration, showing that all blacks are not the same, and highlighting the wrongdoings many African Americans encounter. Racial injustices within the criminal justice system can simply end by others that stereotype all blacks in one category a change of heart. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system has not come close to fixing its many flaws, however, with the black community working as one to change it, nothing is impossible. 

References 

Ava Duvernay & Jason Moran. (2016) 13TH . USA

How Cash Bail Works. (2019, December 10). Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-cash-bail-works

Edelman, P. (2017). Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America. New York, NY: The New Press.

Russel- Brown, K. (2018). Making Implicit Bias Explicit. In A. J. Davis, Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment (pp. 135-160). New York, NY: Vintage Books.