Sociology Final Draft 3-5 pages

Sociology rough draft

Introduction to Sociology

Name Ivy Cypress

Date 03/01/2014

Instructor Name: Dr. Mary Kay Svedberg

Introduction

         As a godmother of 3 young black boys I often think of their futures and that in today’s society at least one of them is expected to go to prison at some point in their life brings me to tears.  According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. 

         While people of color make up about 30 percent of the United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned.  The disproportionate rates of incarceration in communities of color are a direct reflection of racial disparities in the criminal justice system in the United States.

Body

Part 1

· This issue fits into the field of sociology, as it is about the disparities brought about by race. The black community is being discriminated by the white community in the United States because of its race. This is being exhibited inequality exhibited by the criminal justice system. It does make sense that the minority community in the nation will make up the majority number of people in prisons. There must be something wrong, which is eventually leading to this. Either, the blacks are being unfairly arrested and sentenced, or the whites are being favored during sentencing, thus getting simple penalties (Alexander, 2010). It can also be assumed that the resources are unevenly distributed, whereby the blacks are unable to get them in order to sustain themselves. This eventually leads them to crime, thus ending up in prison. This conforms to the conflict theory which says that the society is composed of groups fighting for the limited resources. In the end, the community with more resources also acquires power, which it uses to control those with little resources. In this case, the white community has a lot of resources, hence power, thus using it to control the blacks, who have very little resources. This has in turn led to the whites being more favored than blacks.

· This discriminationis manifested in various forms. For example, in schools, black students are easily suspended or given harsh punishments for doing simple mistakes. This is unlike their white counterparts, who receive weak penalties. For instance, when a black student fails to complete his or her assignments, she is usually awarded zero grade. This is not usually the case with the white students, as they are usually given more time to finish the assignments. In 2006, two students happened to fight while in school. One was black while the other one was white. The white student ended up injuring badly the black student as he was older than him. When the incident got to the school administration, the black boy was suspended for 1 month, despite being injured. The white student on the other hand was only told to come with his parent the following day. The black student had been blamed for starting the war by the school administration, despite witnesses from their class saying the white student was the one who had started it. In this situation, the school administrators acted according to the social phenomenology theory, as they made their decisions based on the students’ races rather than the situation at hand.

Part 2

· There are various things regarding this issue that are known, whereas others are not known. One of the things that is known is that there is discrimination in the criminal justice systems in the United States. It is not possible for people from one race to make over 60% of prisoners in a nation that have all races in a fair criminal justice system. This is based on statistical revelations that 1 out of 3 black men eventually ends up in prison. This shows that almost 40% of blacks end in prison. It is also known that blacks usually get longer sentences once convicted, than their white counterparts even if their crimes are the same. However, there are some things that are still unknown pertaining to this issue. One of the unknown things is why blacks usually get longer sentences compared to the white convicts. A study needs to be conducted to tell us why the judges come up with such decisions, and why they think that blacks are more dangerous to the society than the whites (Applerouth&Edles, 2008).

· We still do not know why we have a lot of blacks in the United States prisons. Besides this, we still do not know why the blacks learn that they are discriminated against their color at an early age. These questions need answers, which will lead to the solution of the puzzle that has been disturbing American for a very long time. This is based on the fact that slavery was abolished, something that paved way for equity in the society. We have to look for answers regarding the origin of these vices in the American society. We also need to find out if indeed the problem is with the system or the blacks themselves.

Part 3

· To tackle this issue, a sociological research needs to be done. The research will have to be thorough in order to cover all critical areas regarding this issue. The research will be able to establish the reasons why school administrators give different punishments to the white and black students. The research can also enable the society know if indeed the white school administrators are the ones to blame for the unfair punishments of the black students. It will also establish the role that the black students play in the harsh punishments they receive.

· The research will also come up with various findings regarding the relationship between the criminal justice systems and the blacks. It will find out the various reasons why the blacks usually receive harsh punishments, and what they can do to avoid it. Perhaps, it might also enable the society know the attitude that the white judges towards the black convicts, and assess if it has impact on the judgments they make. The social inquiry might have several practical implications. For example, the report might enable the judges to change their views on black convicts. This might in turn lead to the reducing their sentences. Besides this, the blacks might begin to awarded fair punishments, thus reducing their number in prisons.

Conclusion

· After the abolishment of slavery and slave trade in the United States, the blacks that they would be viewed in equal terms with the whites. However, things have not turned out that way, as blacks find themselves being discriminated, but in an indirect way (Nelson, 2011). This discrimination has mainly been experienced in the criminal justice system, whereby there are a lot of blacks in prisons. This has in turn affected the blacks, who feel discriminated thus developing resentment towards the authority. This eventually leads them into crime, thus ending up in prison.

References

Alexander, M. (2010).The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: New Press.

Appelrouth, S., &Edles, L. D. (2008).Classical and contemporary sociological theory: Text and readings. Los Angeles, Calif: Pine Forge Press.

Nelson, A. (2011). Body and soul: The Black Panther Party and the fight against medical discrimination.