Racial Discrimination and the Legal System Essay Example

Although education for people of color has improved over the last century, fair treatment in the legal system is an issue that should be addressed. The Civil Rights Movement worked to fix this issue of inequality by forming protests and petitions to change the unjust laws. The movement focused on fair treatment in the legal system, education, separate but equal policies, and equitable worth in society. Many leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. worked to improve these topics and addressed most issues. As a result, education for black people has grown significantly, while fair treatment in the legal system has grown very little.

A good education for people of color, Black students especially, has always been a problem receiving within the community. However, over the last 50 years, S.A.T scores for black students have risen almost 54 points higher than before. “On the Scholastic Aptitude Test (S.A.T), the scores of African-American students climbed 54 points between 1976 and 1994, while those of white students remained stable” (Unequal Opportunity). Research has also proven that black students have a higher success rate when being taught by Black teachers. “Research has shown that black students who are taught by black teachers are more likely to graduate from high school and to enroll in college compared to their peers who are taught by non-Black teachers” (Strategies to Support). Finally, a study concludes that although the black/white test scores have a large gap, it has decreased over two decades.

 As research has shown, the education rate for black students has grown substantially over the last few decades. Although it has seen some growth, some areas of education are still not as good.

Many may argue that education for black students has not grown as much as it seems. As this may be somewhat true, the school system has grown tremendously after the desegregation of schools. “On average, children were in desegregated schools for five years, and each additional year that a black child was exposed to education in a desegregated school increased the probability of graduating by between 1.3 and 2.9 percent” (Long-term Effects). Education for black students has improved steadily over time as humanity evolved as a whole. However, unlike education, fair treatment in the legal system has had the least amount of improvement. 

Racism in the U.S. has largely impacted how the legal and justice systems function. As an example, African Americans are 5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white people. “African Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at five times the rate of whites. Black men face disproportionately harsh incarceration experiences as compared with prisoners of other races” (Racial disparities). Research has also shown that minorities were more likely to be pulled over than their white counterparts. “13,566 officer-initiated traffic stops in a Midwestern city revealed that minority drivers were stopped at a higher rate than whites and were also searched for contraband at a higher rate than their white counterparts. Yet, officers were no more likely to find contraband on minority motorists than white motorists” (Reducing). Finally, a study shows that minorities charged with a felony are more likely to be arrested than white people. “A New York state study found that minorities charged with felonies were more likely to be detained than whites. The researchers concluded that 10 percent of minorities detained in New York City and 33 percent in other parts of the state would have been released prior to arraignment if minorities were detained at the rate of comparably situated whites” (Reducing). Even with how little the legal system has grown, it still has made minor improvements to allow a fair court.

Some people argue that the legal system has improved. This is proven to be untrue as research shows that Latino boys are more likely to be sentenced to prison than white boys. “One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to be sentenced to prison, compared to 1 out 6 Latino boys; one out of 17 white boys”  (Reducing).  As research has shown, the legal system has had very little change and continues to be discriminatory towards people of color. 

As shown, education for black people has grown significantly, while fair treatment in the legal system has grown very little. Research has shown that education has been more accepting and allowing towards black people than the legal system has been. While evidence can be found to support the idea that they still have their flaws, both have grown (even if the growth wasn’t significant.)