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EO
Prof. P
English II
November 10, 2015
"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"
For centuries,[comma after introductory material] there have been incidents of
prejudice and unfairness towards African Americans and their human civil rights; [Start
a new sentence.]rights which have been violated by some laws, like the obsolete Jim
Crow Laws, or laws that are enforced improperly by those who are in law enforcement.
Racism on the basis of skin color was and is still prevalent in these[Improper word
choice] United States. Laws in the past, such as the outdated Jim Crow Laws,
discriminated against African Americans, just as the Stop and Frisk law enforced in many
states today discriminates against blacks and leads to instances[missing word] police
brutality.
The U.S. Constitution states that "all men are created equal," but that was not the
case in [missing word] Jim Crow period.[Mention when this time period was.] The
majority of black people in that time got mistreated and chased. There was separation of
blacks from whites. In the ethics of Jim Crow [punctuation needed]Richard Wright
mentions “We moved from Arkansas to Mississippi. Here we had the good fortune not to
live close to white neighborhoods. There were black churches and black preachers; there
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were black schools and black teachers; black groceries and black clerks.” (Richard
Wright, pg.161). This shows that the Jim Crow laws were made to keep blacks far from
white people. The whites required black folks to segregate themselves from white public
areas and other places that black people weren’t allowed. The public areas that blacks
were separated from whites were transportation, schools, restaurants and restrooms. Only
white people were allowed to vote in election but not Negros.[Rearrange the order of
this sentence.] Things were very segregated in the Jim Crow Laws period between both
races since there were no equal rights in humanity.
[Compare and contrast the Jim Crow and Stop and Frisk laws.]The Stop and
Frisk law can be defined as a strict rule that by any circumstances a police officer has the
absolute authority to search any person that may be or seems under suspicion. This strict
law has led to a controversy of why police officer respond different depending on the
person’s ethnicity. It has been huge problem in society as a law since many police
officers have target more then any other race; African Americans. This has led to the
belief that [commas for necessary pauses in the sentence]since there are more crimes
committed by African American ethnicity law enforcement are under further suspicion of
those who are African Americans than those who are Caucasians.
For example in an article[Mention the specific name of the article] about the
Stop and Frisk law there is a statement that in order for an officer to stop an individual
and search them, the police officer will need a logical explanation for detaining them and
conducting an investigation. Therefore a person has to commit a crime or an illegal action
in order for an investigation to take place. This is also part of the Fourth Amendment
rights in the Constitution. The majority of police officers have failed to follow the rules
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of the Stop and Frisk law, which have produced controversy in most African Americans
since they are at the highest percentage rate of most detained and searched individuals
than any other race.[Consider giving a specific example of an instance when police
officers failed to follow these rules.]
In the essay of “The Ethics of Living” the main character Richard Wright had a
difficult time like any other black person throughout [Improper word choice] racial
discrimination. His experiences can relate in a way on how police officers persecute
African Americans when they are under suspicion. Police officers are often more
doubtful of an African American compared to other race. Which creates a debate on why,
police officers often arrest Negros more than other ethnicities.
The U.S. Bill of Rights in the Fourth Amendment states “The right of the people
to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized,” (U.S. Bill rights). This shows that is a violation of the
Fourth Amendment when an officer does not have a reasonable suspicion or probable
cause to detain someone unless they have been either seen committing a crime or
suspected of misconduct. Therefore[comma after transitional statement] it gives black
people the right to walk away from law enforcement officials at any period during
questioning if they haven’t committed any crime. Police officers are not allowed to
persecute and stop random black people for questioning based on their skin color or
ethnicity. In a study conducted on law enforcement officers it was found that there are
more restrains and frisks on Negros compared to those who are Caucasians.[Don’t
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repeat details] In the study[Be specific about what study you are referring to.] it was
mentioned that around 82% of the searches made were African Americans compared
which Caucasians were only 10% investigated. (
)
This issue of the Stop and Frisk Law has a correlation on the story “The Ethics of
Living by Jim Crow”. “Richard is in a white neighborhood after dark, and therefore he is
stopped by a policeman as they search him and find nothing incriminating so, they
discharge him and give a warning of not repeating his behavior over.” (The Ethics of
Living by Jim Crow).[Explain this correlation more in your own words.]
In a report it was mentioned that in the year 2011 law enforcement officers
stopped individuals in NY for suspicion. [Mention where all statistics come from.]This
issue has an increase of about 500 percent growth from the year 2000. Most of those
people that were detained by police that year were blameless of any criminal action. The
people stopped were also African Americans, which proves police officers are at higher
suspicion of Negros then white people. (
)
There is a high rate on[wrong preposition choice] police brutally which is that
officers are using excessive force against blacks and ending up killing them instead of
investigating the situation first. There was a police brutality that was listed as one of the
worst cases in a real life on police violence. The victim was a man named Abner Louima.
He is an African American who was a target by a Caucasian police officer and was
sexually and physical hurt. The officer mention that by mistake he thought Louima had
punched him in the head. The police persecuted and grabbed Louima then took him to a
bathroom which there the officer shoved a broomstick in the victim and put it on his face
then committed another malicious action. The officer that committed this brutality and
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racial discrimination admitted in court that all he wanted to do is cause an embarrassment
to Louima. The police made an excuse that after someone supposedly punched him in the
head then he thought Louima was the one who did it and ended up persecuting him. (The
Abner Louima Case, 10 Years Later)
Racial discrimination is[Stay in the past tense] been looked as how different
races can mistreat others as because of color, and social status. Racial discrimination has
been seen over the years and to affect African Americans the most.[Rearrange the order
of this sentence] The question is always going to be why, is that racial discrimination
hasn’t improved at all over time. This racial behavior has been part of The Stop and frisk
law and police brutality that some police officers have made violently and unnecessary
moves.[This is too repetitive. Give some different examples instead of repeating the
same thing.]
In[Does this quote start here?] "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow," when Richard
had another job in a porter at clothing store. Richard's white boss and the son of the boss
took advantage and hit a black female for not paying the rent that was owned.”(Richard
Wright, pg.164). This example shows a similar event, as when the officer shoved a stick
on Abner Louimas’s[apostrophe for ownership] face, which shows racial discrimination
that some whites have on black people. This is similar to how Richard Wrights[spelling]
was also constantly picked on because of his skin color[punctuation needed] therefore
was mistreated because of segregation of whites and blacks. White people violated many
of black people’s[apostrophe for ownership] civil rights.
Racism is an action that is described as a negative response towards certain
humans, which is based on skin tone and other contributing factor that judges and
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characterizes the individual. The Stop and Frisk Law affects African Americans then
most races as shown in the case of Abner Louima just as other similar incidents that have
happen as seen on the daily news.[This is too much summary. Give more specific
examples!]
The Jim Crow laws have been a great example of the differences among
differences in whites and blacks, which separated them; in public places just as the Stop
and Frisk Law also cause controversy on the rate among blacks that get stopped. That has
led to police brutality.[Fragment] Segregation has always existed till today this issue is
still being done but in the ways that shows[subject/verb agreement] up more when a
police gets confronted with a colored person. The solution to the problems between
blacks and whites will only improve in society when each of us will learn to collaborate
and treat each other with understandable and equal rights. As[spelling] one time there
was[missing word] famous person that wrote an inspiring quote that expressed equal
rights for every person no matter skin color, class status and other judgmental things as
the quote said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character”. (Martin Luther King)[page number?]
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Works Cited
Brown, O., J.R. (2013). The New York City stop-and- frisk law: America's war against
black males rages on. Western Journal of Black Studies, 37(4), 258-271.
"Stop and Frisk to Police Brutality." Interview by Ken Thompson. VIN News, 2
Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. .
Wright, Richard. "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch." The
Ethics of Living Jim Crow: By Richard Wright. New York: Viking, 1937. N.
page. American Stuff: Work from the Federal. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.