“Race, Crime, and Justice: The Continuing American Dilemma” by Steven E. Barkan

After reading “Race, Crime, and Justice: The Continuing American Dilemma” by Steven E. Barkan I can finally say that people of color are not being paranoid when they say they feel like targets in this country. Barkan wrote about the racial flaws in our criminal justice system and what would seem like justice to some to others it’s a life of freedom and potential coming to a halt for no other reason than the color of their skin. However, the criminal justice system is not the only system flawed with color prioritization, we also have the media to contribute to the narrative.

To summarize my understanding of this very informative book, throughout the different levels of the criminal justice system in the United States of America people of color are targeted, mistreated, and sentenced heavier than their white fellow Americans. Even through the people of color the ones who are treated the worst are the African Americans. Barkan laid out reasons for this stating that part of it was from how the system began through the Jim Crow racism era keeping African Americans “in their place” (pg. 93). Now, we have read how African Americans make the greater scale in imprisonment rates, homicide victim rates, and face the harsh racial bias. Though Latinos also face high rates, they are not higher than those of the African American demographic. Barkan also made it a point to tell the possibilities that this may be happening to the African American communities like low education, low pay, low employment availability, or their neighborhoods being associated more with hot spots than neighborhoods with white well-maintained people. If you push people to their limit do not expect them to lay down and die, these African Americans like anyone else in their shoes go to earn a living for their families in the only ways they can, unfortunately some must turn to criminal behavior to be able to support their families and their needs. The media that’s shown throughout the country will picture a desperate African American mother as a thief, bad example, and “ghetto” if she were to steal food for her children, but that same media would portray a white mother just the same as someone desperately in need and go as far as opening a donation account for her. This type of media coverage helps keep the narrative that African Americans are the problem in this country and that everything they get is well deserved, especially when there is a white victim in the mix.

For most people of color, we are well aware that the justice system perceives us differently, and though my white fellow Americans say that we are “paranoid,” and easily “influenced” by what we hear on social media they simply don’t understand our perspectives. Though one of the most important things I learned and I don’t believe many people understand is where law enforcement begins, and up until I read chapter five “Race and Policing,” I had no idea that at that time law enforcement was known as slave patrollers. Now knowing that fact everything starts to make sense. Since the beginning people of color have served this country as its targets and scapegoats. According to page 93, this unfortunate era was known as the Jim Crow racism where keeping the African Americans oppressed was the goal and that happened before the 1970s and 80s. Though it may seem like a lifetime ago, many of the people born into this era are alive, young, and healthy and passing down what they were taught, unfortunately racism being part of it.

Another important thing I learned from this book was that even the convictions given out by jury’s carry a form of bias. We can expect inequality from law enforcement who we are used to being seen as a threat and bias towards African Americans and other people of color, however, seeing such bias be shown by a group of people that are supposed to be impartial, honest, and clear headed is a shock. In chapter six on pages 123-125, we are made aware that once again African Americans have the most convictions overturned. I think for the African American community this is especially important to note, because this at least gives hope that when one of them is innocent and are wrongfully convicted there is hope for overturning it and having them released.

The last thing that stood out to me in this book was the last chapter, which is a chapter left to inspire hope, determination, equality, and love for our neighbors. History has given us a guideline of actions to take against inequality and racism in this country and though it is not easy it must be done. This is especially important to know, especially during this time where many Latinos and recently Native Americans are targeted by a different force of law enforcement. Chapter 7 should make us all reflect on the history we have learned in this book which is something we are not taught in our early years of education. There is much that can be done within the communities to help each other and that is the love of the neighbors through community prevention, developmental prevention and especially reforming the criminal justice system. Helping families be close and united without the stress of hunger and bills crime itself would reduce and making African Americans and other people of color feel safe around the police it would take care of the rest.

In conclusion, I cannot pretend that I absorbed every ounce of information Barkan laid out for us. What I can do, however, is take in the knowledge that we are not all treated fairly and given the same chances. People love to say that we all have the same 24 hours in a day, but truly that is farther from the truth and African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans experience a different type of 24 hours in fear for their lives and freedom. Barkan gave us many quotes and references throughout his book, yet to me there was one that particularly summed up this book and that was a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. that says “every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” Putting together all the statistics that we saw throughout this book and the book itself is a step towards reforming the criminal justice system calling out the behavior of those sworn to protect us, sworn to be honest, and sworn to give judgment with nothing else but with the evidence acquired in front of them.