Fixing Racial Disparity Essay -- Racism

The term minority encompasses African Americans and Hispanics that live in the United States. These special populations are often overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Although our laws designed to make life fair and equal for minorities, they still report unfair treatment and struggles that white Americans do not experience. Policy changes in areas of social prevention, arrest and incarceration, and discharge, such as implementing help groups for youth, reform of and creating trust in law enforcement, and strong exit programs, can lead to fair treatment and reduction of representation of minorities in the criminal justice system. When looking at social prevention, one issue that should be addressed is education problems in minority communities suggested by Horton (2002). Judge Mathis speaks about young African Americans turning to crime because they are uneducated and how a mentor who pushed him to go to school made a big difference in his life (Levister, 2010). According to Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law School Professor, after school and mentoring programs help keep young people out of trouble (Devarics, 2009). There should be policies to provide these programs to the youth. There should also be policies that provide funding to update or build new schools and ensure proper teaching methods in these communities. A recent lawsuit in Tangipahoa Parish, LA addressed this issue. It was presented as a desegregation suit but all the plaintiff wanted was equal education opportunities for the children in minority communities as are afforded children in neighboring white communities. This suit resulted in new schools, renovation of others, implementation of similar education programs, and fair access to extracurricular ac... ...al Profiling: What the Evidence Suggests. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 6(4), 87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Jan, T. (2009, July 20). Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from boston.com website: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html Levister, C. (2010, March 4). Judge Mathis reaches out with 'jail to judge' message. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from blackvoicenews.com website: http://www.blackvoicenews.com/news/44093-judge-mathis-reaches-out-with-jail-to- judge-message.html Toth, R. C., Crews, G. A., & Burton, C. E. (2008). In the margins: Special populations and American justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Walker, S., Spohn, C., & Delone, M. (2012). The color of justice race, ethnicity, and crime in America (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.