CRIMINALIZATION AND DEINDUSTRIALIZATION

BY STUDENT

African-Americans and Latinxs have been targets of the American justice system for decades. As a result of racism, as well as colorism, Black and Brown people have struggled with misrepresentation and stereotypes. Unfortunately, White Americans use these racial stereotypes to further perpetuate Whiteness in America. Stereotypes of being lazy and criminals labeled Black and Brown individuals, making social mobility difficult. The label “lazy” gives the impression that African-Americans and Latinxs do not want to work, and prefer to live in poverty. In reality, Black and Brown individuals want to find jobs, but the American institution is designed to benefit White people, making it very difficult for people of color to get jobs. This can be seen through deindustrialization in the 1980s in the United States. The process of deindustrialization resulted in the loss of jobs for many low income families, especially those of color. This further continues the cycle of poverty within African-Americans and Latinxs communities, causing a generational curse. From this, I pose the question “What is the correlation between deindustrialization and criminalization? 

Many African-Americans and Latinxs people traveled North during the Great Migration. This was a means of opportunity because factories were built in multiple cities. In cities such as New York and Chicago, this meant an increase of employment (“Great Migration”, 2010).  When deindustrialization was implemented, many African-Americans and Latinxs lost their factory jobs. Deindustrialization negatively impacted low income communities because people of low income communities were the main ones working in the factories. Usually these lower income communities consist of African-Americans and Latinxs. With job loss, on top of a lack of resources, sometimes people in these communities feel as if they do not have any choice but to result in illegal activities to support themselves and their families. I believe many of these crimes are results of the situations that society puts people of color in. Being that the government neglects these communities, African-Americans and Latinxs people feel as if they have no other choice but to commit certain crimes to survive. I personally believe this legacy of poverty and mistreatment of people of color is not something of the past; it is evident today. 

There is a difference between the perception of crime within white communities versus African-Americans and Latinxs. Because of the intense criminalization of African-Americans and Latinxs, it is believed that they commit more crimes than white people. I personally negate that claim. It is not that Black and Hispanics commit more crime than white people; it is that white people get away with crimes because of White privileged (“Myths about Black Crime Rates”, 2017). Community policing perpetuates the idea that people of color commit more crime, because they are basically in the communities not to help better the area, but to arrest individuals. People of color are at a disadvantage when it comes to the justice system because the criminal justice system views them as animals. Consequently, the concept of “writing crime into race and place” was perpetuated. This can be seen through Americans and Latinxs youth being sentenced as adults or being labeled as thugs, whereas white youth are labeled as youth when they commit crimes. This leads me to the question, “Why don’t police see people of color worth enough to give them the proper resources and proper protecting that they need”? 

Sources:

“White Supremacists' Favorite Myths about Black Crime Rates Take Another Hit from BJS Study.” Southern Poverty Law Center, www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/10/23/white-supremacists-favorite-myths-about-black-crime-rates-take-another-hit-bjs-study.

History.com Editors. (2010, March 4). Great Migration. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration