It is essential to see what the justice system is up to. Black people celebrated the end of slavery in America dates back to 1865. The era of enslavement had gone for more than centuries. The well-known myth of slavery, the myth of white supremacy, was premised on one of the most fantastical myths ever to exist in humankind. The trending white supremacy rendered the black race the lesser one. This belief systematically denied the fundamental rights of Black people that mainly included the right to vote, the right to own property, and the right to be treated equally by the justice system.
However, slavery ended, segregation and mass incarceration from the most integral institutions, such as schools, continued. Black unemployment is twice that of white unemployment. Besides, as things got better over time, there remained a vivid underbelly of racism that still leads to massive exclusion, marginalization, and menacing Black people in the United States. This is usually brought to the fore in the aftermath of the incidents of brutal police violence. People in America are aware of this gruesome reality.
Police identity in America was shaped by enforcing slavery laws like they hunted down the slave fugitives while turning a blind eye to the atrocities of white mobs. While in the modern form, it translates into a police culture where the members of the police force act more as warriors rather than guardians of the communities they serve (Howarth, n.d.). Thus, conflict management is subordinate to training for such a police force to tackle individuals without violence.
The inequities in the criminal justice system are deeply entrenched, premised in a culture of secrecy and self-protection in police departments. Like recently, officer Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by pressing his knee, also had about seventeen past complaints against him, but the media did not access those files. Consequently, police officers get reprimands that are often just wrist-slaps rather than deterrents against heinous future behavior.
In other words, it can be true to say that that system is set up to protect police officers rather than civilians. This reflects that it is not easy in America to hold police officers accountable for their actions. The major hindrance in disciplining cops is the presence of solid police unions. Such an impediment is not enough in bringing a police officer to a trial; there is an even more significant hurdle in holding a police officer accountable (Handa, 2020). The pain and suffering of Black Americans are uniquely palpable as they gingerly go about their daily lives. I am diametrically opposed to those who are hopeless in America’s ability to solve complex societal issues over time.
References
Handa, L. (2020). Racism, police violence, and mass incarceration: the legacies of slavery and segregation in the United States. LSE. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/humanrights/2020/08/12/racism-police-violence-and-mass-incarceration-the-legacies-of-slavery-and-segregation-in-the-united-states/
Howarth, E. (n.d.). Overrepresentation in criminal justice systems. LSE Undergraduate Political Review. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseupr/2018/01/25/overrepresentation-in-criminal-justice-systems/