Race and crime FINAL

New York Draft Riots 1863  

An unaccounted number of African-Americans were killed in the streets by blue-collar workers. Initially resentful of the military draft, they later directed their anger at blacks with whom they competed for jobs.  

Greenbook

A book that guided safe places for black people who visit the South  

What is race?

A social political construct

What is the Constitution?  

A social contract

What is the FBI? 

Federal Bureau of Investigation - The primary federal law enforcement agency in the U.S., responsible for investigating violations of federal law and collecting national crime data (including the UCR).  

UCR

Uniform Crime Reports - collected by the FBI and provide national crime data based on police reports, which are not valid.

DNA  

deoxyribonucleic acid - genetic material used in forensic investigations to identify individuals.  

CODIS 

Combined DNA Index System – An FBI-managed database that stores DNA profiles.  

NCVS

National Crime Victimization Survey - the primary U.S. source for data on nonfatal, personal, and household crimes.

ACLU

American Civil Liberties Union – An organization that protects individuals' civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.

SPLC

Southern Poverty Law Center - A nonprofit organization set up to fight against hate and discrimination through education and litigation. Monitors hate groups and provides legal assistance to victims of discrimination.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Founded in 1909.

Minority vs. POC

Minority has a negative connotation and is seen as a term of oppression. 

Urban

Refers to communities of color.

Manumission

The act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. 

4^th Amendment

Protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants based on probable cause.

^5th Amendment

protects individuals from being treated unfairly by the government in the criminal justice process. It includes the right to... 

• remain silent (protection against self-incrimination) 

• protection against double jeopardy (being tried twice for the same crime) 

• the right to due process of law. It also requires the government to provide just compensation if private property is taken for public use.

^6th Amendment

Guarantees the rights of individuals accused of a crime. This amendment is especially important for ensuring fairness in criminal trials. 

• speedy and public trial 

• an impartial jury 

• to be informed of the charges  

• to confront witnesses 

• the right to legal counsel  

8th Amendment

no excessive bail

14th Amendment

One's right to due process

Emmett Till

 

In 1955, A 14-year-old black male was beaten, shot in the head, one eye was gouged out, and he was flung into the river with a 70-pound engine attached to his neck with barbed wire for "reckless eyeballing" a White woman.  

Treaty of Ghent

Ended the war of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain, and the international slave trade. 

Fugitive Slave Act

Laws (1793, 1850) made to ensure runaway slaves were returned to their owners, reinforcing slavery.

Slave Patrols 

Groups in the South that controlled and enforced laws against enslaved people, checking passes, and capturing runaways. 

Black Codes 

Laws that were enforced in the South after the Civil War that eliminated the rights of freed slaves, to control their labor, and maintain racial segregation. 

Lynchings:

David Garland's take: is a political act to reinforce white supremacy, act to control and intimidate Black communities, and to send the public message to "know your place". 
*extrajudicial is what the question will have.

Origins of Lynching (Willie Lynch)

One of the most horrendous slave owners, known for putting the fear of God in any slave and would psychologically tear them apart.

Convict Lease System

Allowed incarcerated individuals (mostly Black men) to be leased to private companies for labor. This system continued racial exploitation after slavery was abolished. 

Buccal Swab  

A method of collecting DNA by swabbing the inside of a person’s cheek. 

Ethnicity

Refers to cultural traits like language and traditions that define a group, different from race. 

Tyranny of the majority

Occurs when the majority group uses its power to create laws or policies that oppress the minority. 

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was destined to expand westward, justified violence, land theft, and the killings of Indigenous peoples.

Trail Of Tears

The forced relocation of Native American tribes during the 1830s. Thousands slaughtered as a result of government policies rooted in Manifest Destiny. 

MAAFA

A Swahili term meaning “great tragedy” and refers to the long-term impact of slavery and oppression on African people. 

Chattel Slavery

A system in which enslaved people were literally treated as animals, and weren't allowed access to education. 

“Dapetomania”

A fake mental illness created by Dr. Samuel Cartwright, claiming enslaved people who tried to escape were mentally ill. It was used to justify slavery through pseudoscience. 

Nat Turner

He was an enslaved African American who ran a rebellion against slave owners (60 white people died) he believed God chose him to free his people, this lead to harsher laws against enslaved people.

Bass Reeves

First Black deputy U.S. Marshall to serve west of the Mississippi River.(know for the inspiration of the Lone Ranger, unfortunately later played by a white man.)

Immigration Act of 1924

It set quotas for each group of immigrants and limited the number of immigrants that would be allowed to enter the U.S. (Targeting Italians)

Chinese Exclusion Act

When Chinese immigrants were banned from entering the U.S. and prevented Chinese immigrants already in the US from becoming citizens. 

Relocation Centers

After Pearl Harbor, many Japanese people were incarcerated in these centers because the U.S. thought the people would be loyal to Japan. They were basically a type of concentration camp.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

The case that put in place the “separate but equal” doctrine which allowed segregation throughout America.

Brown vs. Board of Education

A Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the “separate but equal” doctrine.   

(Chicago School)

Argued that it's not Classical or Positivist, but a product of sociological environments, and is ground zero for understanding Urban crime.

Cesare Lombroso(Positivist School)

The father of criminology, brought up the theory of being “born criminal” and explained how it's in our DNA. 

Cesare Beccaria (Classical School)

Argued that committing a crime is a rational, free-will choice.

Enrico Ferri

He was a student of Lombroso and had the same ideology as the Chicago School.

Strain Anomie Theory

Robert Merton invented it.  A theory that if one has economic strain, it's likely the main cause for one to commit a crime. (*doesn't apply to white collar workers).

General strain theory

Robert Agnew invented it. His idea was broader, People can turn to crime due to various stresses, like losing something good (a loved one) or facing bad situations (like abuse), not just because they can.

Dylann Roof and the (Mother Emanuel Church)

This case was very disturbing because when he was in custody, the police took him to get Burger King after he shot and killed 9 people.

The Bracero Program

Brought Mexicans to America for agricultural work during WWII due to a lack of workers. When America didn’t need them anymore, they were sent away.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Told Columbus to use Africans as slaves instead of any other race.

One-drop rule

Any drop of African blood made you African, but it did not work the other way around.

KKK

Ku Klux Klan - a white supremacist organization inflicting violent hate on newly freed slaves, created by 6 Confederate veterans after the Civil War

What is the statute of limitations for murder?

There is no statute of limitations 

(Gradations of crime) Part one offence vs. Part two offence:

Part one is a Felony and Part two is a misdemeanor.

What was the militarization of policing: War On Drugs

War On Drugs

The Bell Curve by Charles Murray and Richard Hernstein

It was a book talking about intelligence and class structure in America, explaining why African Americans were inferior.

The Patriot Act

Put in place after the 9/11 2001 terrorist attack because there was so much fear that it could happen again. Aimed to detain people who “looked like a terrorist,” AKA Middle Eastern people. 

Differential Association Theory

Created by Edwin Sutherland, which states that deviant behavior is learned through social interaction, not inherited.  

ex.) gangs

Labeling Theory

The influences between the positive and negative perspectives on an individual's behavior by others. For example, constantly being praised vs. being dehumanized or being talked down to.

Dog Whistle Term

A coded language used to appear harmless but in reality used identify or target other races in the media.

Collective Efficacy

When a community is able to maintain public order and reduce crime through mutual trust and social cohesion.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort when your beliefs and actions don't align.

Critical Race Theory

An analytical framework that examines the intersection of race, law, and social power. It provides that racism is not just an individual bias but a systemic issue embedded in legal and social structures.

W.E.B. Du Bois (Double Consciousness)

He co-founded the NAACP and was the first Black person to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard. 

Double Consciousness

a concept that describes the internal conflict African Americans experience when seeing themselves through both their own eyes and the prejudiced lens of white American society

Elijah Anderson

—> Codes of the Street: The informal set of violence-based rules set to survive in marginalized, segregated neighborhoods.

—> Cosmopolitan Canopy: The theory that people are more civil with each other when they gather and eat food together.

The difference between Domestic Violence and Interpersonal Victimization

DV can happen in any relationship, but IV can only happen between intimate partners.

The Clark Doll Experiment

Kenneth Clark and his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark, used Black and White dolls, black children were asked which doll they found to be prettier, and the majority preferred white dolls. (Brown v Board of Education)

Assimilation

When immigrants adopt customs of the society they live in to “fit in”. ex.) Ellis Island - White immigrants changed their last names to fit into society.

Genocide

The annihilation of an entire group of people.

Militarization of Police

the adoption of military-grade equipment, tactics, and culture by civilian law enforcement starting with the war on drugs

The Kerner Report

Concluded that riots were caused by systemic white racism, police brutality, and economic disparities. Concluded that the widespread U.S. riots of 1967 were caused by white racism, and were not a conspiracy.

CCA/CoreCivic

Corrections Corporation of America - a private prison company known for other brands heavily corrupting policies and the incarceration system for profit.

Joan Trumpauer

A civil rights activist who was part of the Freedom Riders who was arrested and confined for 2 months in maximum security.

Viola Liuzzo

A civil rights activist mother of 5 who was in the march for voting rights, on March 25th she was shot dead by 3 Klan members.

Intergenerational Trauma

History of events that have to do with your past generations, ex) When a little girl had an outfit on resembling striped P.J.s, her grandfather was in distress and made her feel his trauma.

Native American courts (Tribal Courts)

They only have jurisdiction when- 

• Both the victim and offender are Native.

• The crime occurs on the reservation

• The punishment is no more than a year in prison or more than $5,000 in fines.

Philosophy of Tribal Courts

They operate mainly on spirituality and oral customs. aiming to restore harmony, balance, and community relationships rather than solely punishing offenders.

Wickersham Report

(Herbert Hoover) Investigates widespread use of police brutality/costs of crime.

Who wrote the book “Born a Crime?”

Trevor Noah

Purpose of Bail

Money given by defendant to the court as a guarantee release.

Voir Dire Process

Process of selecting potential jurors

Peremptory challenges

A lawyer's right to remove a potential juror, no explanation needed. 

Jury Nullification

When a jury returns a non-guilty verdict, even if they believe the defendant is guilty.

Zootsuit Gangsters

Referring to young Latinos, both men and women who wore baggier suits with long coats.

Batson v. Kentucky

The Court ruled that prosecutors cannot use peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors solely on their race. 

Gideon v. Wainwright

All felony defendants have a right to counsel (6th Amendment) even in state courts.

Hernandez v. New York

Prosecutors can dismiss potential jurors for being bilingual.

Furman v Georgia 1972

A case in which the Court found that the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment in the case of an accidental burglary death.

Gregg v Georgia 1976

U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled the death penalty does not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Coker v Georgia

The Court ruled that sentencing rapists to death was cruel and unusual punishment.

McCleskey v Kemp

Established that statistical evidence of racial bias in death penalty sentencing is not enough to prove a constitutional violation (not a violation of 8th amen.)

Probation vs. Parole

Probation is an option instead of going to jail, whereas parole is usually given when a person is released and has already served time.

Rodney King

Victim of police brutality. 1992 Los Angeles Riots occurred. 

George Holliday

filmed the brutal beating of Rodney King.

People who represented O.J. Simpson

Johnnie Cochran, Barry Scheck, and Robert Kardashian.

Drug courts

These are systems set up to provide treatment/rehabilitation rather than just punishment. They were created because the drug-related cases were flooding the systems. 

Duel courts system

The State vs. Federal or Black vs. White

(Federal e.g., drug trafficking, cybercrimes, tax evasion, kidnapping, etc.)

(State e.g, DUI, corruption, human rights violations, etc.)