Pre-Reading Week 13

In my opinion, the connections between race and crime are all based on racial profiling. African Americans and other minorities have always been seen as more likely to become criminals. There has been a a great racial divide since slavery began, making white the superior race and every other race ranking somewhere below them on the social totem pole and this has carried on to society today. We can see this great divide in the incarceration rates. As shown in a bar graph by Prison Policy, the incarceration rates of white people compared to black people were more than quadruple the numbers. Minorities are more likely to become victims of racial profiling then white people are. But I don't believe that the incarceration rates are just solely based on racial profiling and racism. I, myself, am mixed. Japanese, Black, and White. So growing up I have been able to see the different environments that each race grows up in, the type of behavior the engage in, and how they choose to live their lives. Unfortunately enough all of my cousins on the black side of my family are either involved with drugs, selling drugs, involved with some type of gang, or has been to jail multiple times, as well as all being high school drop outs. But when they were arrested, they were not arrested "just because" there was definitely probably cause behind these arrests for one reason or another and I would definitely have to say that the main reason for the great racial divide in incarceration would have to do with environment. My father (who is African American) grew up in East Oakland, his mother was a prostitute, and his father was nowhere to be found. Soon he started dealing drugs and getting involved with the wrong people. While I was growing up he was constantly in jail. But one day he decided to change his environment. He moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, remarried, and now he owns his own business and has left his old ways behind. His brother on the other hand was the same way, and is still the same way, living in the same environment. I believe that it is more environment than anything because I do have other Family members that are African American, yet grew up in the suburbs as opposed to the projects who have grown up to live very fulfilling lives, becoming lawyers, doctors, and professional dancers.


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