Civil Rights and Criminal Justice

Civil Rights

• Definition: Rights of individuals to political and social freedom and equality under the law.

Civil Rights Movement

• Timeframe: Primarily during the 1950s–1960s.
• Aim: To end racial discrimination and segregation in the U.S.; to achieve equal rights for African Americans.

Key Concepts

Convict Leasing

• Definition: Post-Civil War practice of leasing prisoners, often Black individuals, to private businesses as forced labor.
• Significance: Viewed as a continuation of slavery.

Counterterrorism

• Definition: Policies, strategies, and military actions aimed at preventing and combating terrorism.

Decriminalization

• Definition: Reducing or eliminating criminal penalties for certain actions, such as drug possession, but not fully legalizing them.

Domestic Surveillance

• Definition: Monitoring by the government on its own citizens; methods include wiretaps and data collection.

Drones (RPVs - Remotely Piloted Vehicles)

• Use: Unmanned aircraft utilized mainly for military surveillance and targeted attacks.

Enhanced Interrogation

• Definition: Controversial interrogation methods (e.g., waterboarding) viewed as forms of torture, mainly used during the War on Terror.

Extralegal Airstrike

• Definition: Targeted attacks by aircraft or drones without legal approval, often breaching laws.

Extraordinary Rendition

• Definition: Secret transfer of terrorism suspects for detention and interrogation, often violating due process.

Indigence

• Definition: Extreme poverty that prevents meeting basic needs; a factor in mass incarceration issues.

Institutionalized/Systemic Racism

• Definition: Policies and practices in social or political institutions that sustain racial inequalities.

Historical Context

Jim Crow

• Definition: System of laws enforcing racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, mainly from late 1800s to 1960s.

Mass Incarceration

• Definition: Significant rise in incarceration numbers in the U.S. since the 1980s, affecting racial minorities disproportionately.

Michelle Alexander

• Work: "The New Jim Crow" argues the criminal justice system serves as a contemporary racial control mechanism.

New Jim Crow

• Definition: Modern mass incarceration seen as a continuation of racial oppression paralleling Jim Crow laws.

Private Prisons

• Definition: Prisons run by private companies criticized for prioritizing profits over inmate welfare.

Racial Caste

• Definition: Social structure where race defines social status and access to resources.

Retail Reform

• Definition: Limited, specific criminal justice reforms versus systemic change.

Separate but Equal

• Legal Reference: Established by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896); allowed segregation if facilities were "equal"; overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Slavery

• Definition: System of legally owning people, depriving them of freedoms—historical context for racism.

Top Secret America

• Definition: Describes the vast post-9/11 U.S. national security apparatus, including surveillance practices.

Unequal Sentencing

• Definition: Disparities in punishment based on race, class, or geography rather than the crime's severity.

Amendments & Key Acts

• 13th Amendment: Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime (ratified in 1865).
• 14th Amendment: Guarantees citizenship rights and equal protection under the law (ratified in 1868).
• Patriot Act: Enacted post-9/11 to enhance surveillance and detention capabilities (2001).
• Voting Rights Act (1965): Prohibits racial discrimination in voting, addresses barriers that hinder African American voting.

Discriminatory Voting Barriers

• Grandfather Clause: Restriction exempting descendants of pre-1867 voters, primarily disenfranchising African Americans.
• Literacy Tests: Tests used to assess literacy often designed to disenfranchise Blacks.
• Property Tests: Required ownership to vote, thereby disenfranchising poorer populations.

War on Drugs

• Definition: Policies initiated to criminalize drug use, disproportionately affecting minorities and contributing to mass incarceration.

Key Organizations

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Advocates for individual rights and liberties as per the U.S. Constitution.

Key Figures

• Dana Priest: Journalist revealing the secretive national security state post-9/11.
• George W. Bush: U.S. President 2001–2009; involved in the War on Terror and implementation of enhanced interrogation methods.
• Madeleine K. Albright: First female Secretary of State; contributed to counterterrorism policies.
• Barack Obama: First African American President; faced critique regarding ongoing mass incarceration.
• Bill Clinton: Signed the 1994 Crime Bill, which intensified mass incarceration.
• Bryan Stevenson: Civil rights lawyer advocating for justice reform.
• Donald Trump: Criticized for racially charged rhetoric and enforcement policies.
• Richard Nixon: Laid groundwork for mass incarceration through "law and order" tactics.
• Ronald Reagan: Furthered Nixon’s drug policies, exacerbating incarceration rates.

Key Ideas and Themes

• Civil Rights Movement: Contextualized as pivotal in highlighting the ongoing struggles against racial inequality.
• Convict Leasing: Demonstrates the historic exploitation of Black individuals in labor after abolition.
• New Jim Crow Concept: Positions modern mass incarceration as a mechanism of racial control akin to Jim Crow laws.