American Racial Discrimination Analysis

“One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” are the concluding words of the American pledge of allegiance, yet the reality of achieving justice for all remains elusive. Since the inception of the United States, political leaders have often interpreted the word “all” with a narrow lens, excluding vast segments of the population. While some argue that racism has significantly diminished since the civil rights movements of the 1960s, Ava DuVernay’s documentary "13th" reveals a different reality, highlighting the persistent systemic racism that people of color continue to face.

The unlawful persecution of minorities has been a dark thread running through American history since the abolition of slavery.

The legacy of discriminatory laws from the past continues to cast a long shadow over modern life and perpetuate racial injustices. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, formally abolished slavery, heralding a new beginning for African Americans. However, the promise of freedom was quickly undermined by socio-economic constraints and systemic barriers. Former slaves, often uneducated and possessing no skills beyond what they had been forced to do on plantations, found themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty. With no real options, many remained on plantations, working for "slave wages" that barely covered their basic needs. The exploitative system ensured that any wages earned were quickly consumed by rents charged by the same landowners, making economic independence a distant dream.

From Slavery to Incarceration

The 13th Amendment's loophole, which allowed for slavery as punishment for a crime, paved the way for the widespread criminalization of African Americans. Minor infractions, such as loitering and vagrancy, were used as pretexts to arrest and exploit people of color, effectively creating a new form of bondage through mass incarceration. This legal tactic was a precursor to the systemic racial profiling and biased law enforcement practices that continue to disproportionately affect African American communities today.

Even after the formal end of slavery, Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws to further disenfranchise African Americans, stripping them of basic rights and enforcing segregation across all aspects of life. The “separate but equal” doctrine was a thinly veiled justification for racial discrimination, as public facilities for African Americans were grossly inferior to those for whites. This institutionalized inequality sparked a wave of civil rights protests. Despite the often violent backlash from authorities and white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, these protests were critical in galvanizing the fight for equality. The brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 became a rallying point, awakening the nation to the horrors of racial violence and the urgent need for change.

The War on Drugs and Systemic Racism

As the civil rights movement gained momentum, new challenges emerged. In 1969, President Nixon declared a "war on drugs," ostensibly to combat drug abuse but in reality, to target African Americans and anti-war activists. Nixon's administration strategically associated African Americans with heroin and hippies with marijuana, using these stereotypes to justify harsh drug laws that disproportionately affected people of color. This policy marked the beginning of a punitive approach to drug-related offenses, prioritizing criminalization over treatment and rehabilitation.

The crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s further exacerbated racial disparities in the criminal justice system. While powdered cocaine, favored by affluent whites, resulted in relatively lenient penalties, possession of crack cocaine—prevalent in impoverished African American communities—led to severe mandatory minimum sentences. The 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between the two forms of cocaine underscored the racial bias inherent in drug enforcement policies and fueled the mass incarceration of minorities.

Legacy of Injustice

Throughout the years, legislative measures such as the 1994 Crime Bill under President Clinton have continued to perpetuate racial inequities. Although intended to curb crime, the bill’s mandatory minimums and "three strikes" laws disproportionately impacted communities of color, leading to unjustly long sentences for minor offenses. Recognizing the detrimental effects of these policies, Clinton later acknowledged the mistakes made, yet the damage had been done.

In contemporary America, the remnants of these discriminatory laws persist, manifesting in cases like the Central Park Five, Trayvon Martin, and Oscar Grant, where racial bias and miscarriages of justice reveal the ongoing struggle against systemic racism. Despite the progress made since the civil rights era, racism remains a deeply entrenched issue, requiring continued advocacy and reform to truly realize the promise of liberty and justice for all.

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