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April 13, 2010

Race & Justice News

Feature Story

Facilitating Productive Communications on Racial Justice

The Opportunity Agenda has released a memo entitled "Ten Lessons for Talking About Racial Equity in the Age of Obama" that outlines key principles for facilitating discussions about racial equity. While many Americans have been reluctant to acknowledge the continued existence of racial inequities, especially given the historic election of President Obama, there is substantial evidence that documents the continuing influence of racial bias and injustice. 

Among other recommendations, The Opportunity Agenda suggests leading discussions with a focus on shared values, emphasizing how taking strides to reduce racial inequities is for the common good of all, and linking racial justice solutions with efforts to expand opportunities.  Specifically, the organization asserts that focusing on unequal outcomes often reinforces stereotypes. Instead, it supports documenting the barriers to equal opportunity using evidence and facts as a more effective approach. For example, rather than discussing the income gap between blacks and whites, a more constructive strategy may be to cite a study that found that white applicants with criminal records are more likely to receive a callback from prospective employers than African Americans without a criminal record (Pager, 2003).

Click here to view the full memo.

Spotlight on Research

NYC Blacks Most Likely To Get Stopped, Questioned and Frisked by Police

Researchers at the Center on Race, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice have recently analyzed New York City Police Department (NYPD) data on stop and frisk trends. The findings in "Stop, Question & Frisk Policing Practices In New York City: A Primer" indicate that in 2009 African Americans and Hispanics combined were stopped at a rate that was 9 times higher than whites, with Asians being the least likely to be stopped. Blacks and Hispanics made up nearly 85% of stops in 2009 although they account for only 24% and 27% of the citywide population respectively. This supports findings such as those from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California report that finds that blacks are nearly three times more likely to be stopped by the police than whites. 

The John Jay research also shows that once stopped, 57% of blacks and 56% of Hispanics are frisked compared to 42% of whites. Similarly, only 18% of whites compared to 25% of blacks and 24% of Hispanics endure some type of physical force such as being forced to the ground, having a weapon drawn on them, or subjected to batons and/or pepper spray. Ironically, although whites were less likely to be arrested they were more likely to have contraband, a knife, or other non-firearm weapons than their African-American and Latino counterparts. Click here to access the full report.

Media Attention May Help Reduce Racial Profiling

A recent study on racial profiling finds that public scrutiny from the media contributes to reducing racial profiling practices in routine traffic stops. Researchers have assessed the impact of public attention on changing police officers' patterns when searching black and white drivers.  The results of the study indicate that racial disparities are significantly reduced when media coverage puts pronounced pressure on police organizations and when change in leadership occurs.

Warren, Patricia and Amy Farrell.  2009.  "The Environmental Context of Racial Profiling."  The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.  Vol. 623.

How Many Tickets You Get May Be Determined By  More Than Just Your Driving

Findings from a study focusing on traffic citation practices by the police indicate that neighborhood characteristics may influence how many tickets a person receives if stopped.  Factors such as the neighborhood income level, percentage of the neighborhood that are ethnic minorities, and the neighborhood crime rate increase the likelihood that drivers will receive more than one citation. Specifically, an increased number of citations were likely to be given in poorer neighborhoods with higher percentages of black and Hispanic residents. Moreover, the study indicates that these practices have a spill-over effect that extends to neighboring areas.  

Ingram, Jason.  2010.  "The Effect of Neighborhood Characteristics on Traffic Citation Practices of the Police."  Police Quarterly.  Vol. 10(4): 371-393. 

Featured Book

"Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire" by Robert Perkinson

In this thought-provoking analysis, Perkinson provides a historical account tracing what he describes as Texas' various failed approaches to crime control. He helps us to understand how racism and politics, rather than crime control has been at the heart of governing prisons. Simply put, Perkinson argues that America has moved from "the age of slavery to the age of incarceration," which continues to plague our society today. The state of Texas incarcerates more people than Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands combined. Currently, there are approximately 2.4 million persons incarcerated in the U.S. and our nation spends $212 billion a year on law enforcement, courts and prisons combined. Between 1965 and 2000 the number of prisoners in the U.S. increased over 600 percent; in Texas the increase in incarcerations was twice that. However, despite its level of spending and high incarceration rate, Texans still have a crime rate that is 24% higher than the national average.

According to Perkinson, race and slavery are the forces that shaped the Texas penal system. At its inception, the Texas prison system was reserved for whites and was never intended for free blacks or slaves-their punishment was death. Nevertheless, the abolition of slavery in 1865 left a class of black people who had little more than a fragile sense of freedom and Texas politicians desperate to maintain power over their former slaves. In fact, from 1865 to 1874 Texas led the nation in railroad construction, largely accomplished with convict labor. While most states had penal expenses, Texas made over $300,000 in profits by the 1880s.    

Following the Civil Rights Movement's advances in providing equal protection under the law and desegregation came tougher drug policies, and crackdowns on crime that consciously or not, made African Americans a target. Since that period, the disparity between black and white incarceration rates has nearly doubled and remains a problem that plagues us today. Visit www.texastough.com.

The Sentencing Project will participate in a discussion about the book in New York this week. Click here to view invitation or RSVP.

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