African American Social Justice and Civil Rights Questions
Chapter on "Color of Justice"
Directions:.Please answer the following questions for pages 109-139 in complete answers (paragraph format) written under each question. Please type the paper, double spaced, 12 inch Times New Roman font, and two to three pages
1. Compare and contrast the McClesky v. Kemp, Armstrong v. United States and the Purkett v. Elm cases. Explain the outcome of the cases, write three similarities and three differences in the cases.
2. Explain why racial bias is most acute at the point of entry into the system? What does this mean for the African American and Hispanic youth?
3. American Apartheid by Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton explains why poor black communities are easy targets for the police. Why are they targets?
4. What is the significance of the term "The Occupation?"
5. Explain the results of the 2002 team of researchers at the University of Washington that tested the study of drug law enforcement in Seattle.
6. What are your thoughts on the "Supreme Court's ruling in the Lyons case on the police use of the deadly chokehold? How does this case compare to the Eric Garner's case?
(The New York Police Department has banned, for more than two decades, the use of chokeholds, which it defines broadly to include any police maneuver that puts "any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.")
7. In New Jersey, the data showed that only 15 percent of all drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike were racial minorities, yet 42 percent of all stops and 73 percent of all arrests were of black motorists. The Maryland studies produced similar results. Pedestrian stops have also been the subject of study and controversy. An example is the shooting of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant. Do you believe that the disproportionate imprisonment of people of color was, in part, a product of racial profiling ? Why or why not?
8. What are your thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision to close the courthouse doors to claims of racial bias at every stage of the criminal justice process, from stops and searches to plea bargaining and sentencing? Give your reasons and evidence from the chapter supporting your answer.