Introduction To Sociology: Criminalization Of Young People of Color

Introduction to Sociology
Criminalization of young people of color
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Institution
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The presumption that everyone is innocent till proven guilty is a maxim of law that is accepted in a democratic space.  While there are higher rates of crimes in some neighborhoods where people of color live, they are also more likely to be highly criminalized. For instance, when crack cocaine ravaged the predominantly black neighborhoods in the 80’s and 90’s there were various tough on crime policies. The result is that many went to prison, but recently there has been an opioid epidemic including heroin abuse ravaging some areas primarily resided by white people. Now people want to change drug laws, the media has even tried framing this an issue of pharmaceutical firms trying to profit from opioids, and it is as though the individuals affected are blameless unlike the people of color it is s not surprising that even mass media frames   the issue of criminality to be disproportionately affecting young people of color, especially backs and Latina. The criminalization young people of color affect how they are treated and respond to the criminal justice system.             The conception of race is more rigid in the U.S. compared to Latin American countries, where people with African ancestry are the majority, but many are not considered black (Omi, and Winant 1994:5). The society determines the importance and place of different racial groups through the interaction of economic, political social forces. Typically, when we meet people we place them into different racial categories depending on their appearance, skin color and complexion. While there are those who are racially ambiguous, they to ay identify with specific racial groups. President Obama has been considered black, even gas he is biracial and grew up with his white maternal relatives. Williams (2009) pointed out even President Obama had  a subtle relationship with the black middle class who tend to be conformist and more conservative in their views and outlook on life. While Williams singles out professionals who are rich and their perception of being Black in America, this is a different angle to the dominant theme that rich black people are either athletes, sportsmen or celebrities.  Even the media largely ignores the presence of the upper middle class black people who are neither sports figures nor entertainers (Williams 2009). As such, the way people are portrayed and represented influence perception, and even social groups may exclude fellow black people based on class, income and education levels. Just like power, money and politics can be used to exclude people of color in participating in certain events, so do the black elite people try to maintain exclusive clubs and organizations where members are carefully vetted. How does media portrayal affect how the young people of color are viewed by the wider society and their treatment by the criminal justice agents? How it is that in schools the young people of color are more likely to be reported to the juvenile courts for misdemeanors (Hirschfield and Celinska 2011: 2). Criminalization seeks to control social g...