The question of racism is frequently discussed in American society. It is based on the evaluation of multiple situations when people are badly or unfairly treated just because of the color of their skin or their nationality. Being defined as a democratic country with a number of freedoms and high social justice, the United States remains a place where racial inequality turns out to be not a personal but global problem.
Many authors and researchers contribute to the discussion of this issue, and the work by Claudia Rankine Citizen: An American Lyric is on the list of the most powerful and rather educative books. Her description and analysis of the stop-and-frisk program prove that African Americans have many reasons to be concerned about their position in American society. Though today many improvements and clarifications are made to remove racist violence and police brutality in relation to African Americans, as well as the representatives of other nations, in the United States, such authors like Rankine aim at defining doubtful situations and cases and prove that American society cannot get rid of this problem but continues searching for new excuses and explanations.
The readers of Rankine’s book can be divided into three groups: those who agree with her statements and approaches and support the necessity to change something, those who cannot understand the author’s obsession with racial issues as they do not regard it as a problem, and those who stay indifferent to the chosen themes. Unfortunately, if people are free to develop their attitudes to literary works, poetry, or brochures, it is hard to neglect the facts and statistical data that reveal the truth. For example, Rankine says that millions of people continue living with their bodies being “trapped in a racial imaginary, trapped in disbelief – code for being black in America” (89).
This information is true, but it may not cause the necessary reaction as the fact that millions of citizens are stopped and frisked regularly with more than 80% being African Americans or Hispanics may (Goel et al. 366). Unfortunately, people believe that racial inequality is the core of this stop-and-frisk concern. However, the truth is that race cannot be a problem. The problem is based on the attitudes the police and other legal forces develop and support.
During the last several decades, the American government has taken several steps to reduce crimes and decrease the number of unfair arrests. The stop-and-frisk program is a well-known tactic in terms of which the police authority gets the right to identify and search people for a weapon or other suspicious details (Finger). On the one hand, this practice is characterized by a number of positive aspects, including the possibility to predict crimes or protect citizens. On the other hand, the investigations show that racial minorities are still the targets of such stops (Finger). In addition, the detection of weapons is usually not the primary goal of the police stops (Goel et al. 388).
A number of alternative motives and explanations may be given not to support the victims or ask for forgiveness but to make excuses and prove police correctness. “And you are not the guy and still you fit the description because there is only one guy who is always the guy fitting the description” (Rankine 246). Though the word “race” is not used in this text, the context of this message turns out to be rather clear.
Almost all African American families cannot neglect the day when parents have to inform their children about the peculiarities of their skin color and the demands their society can impose on them. Even if a Black person does not do anything terrible but is just in the wrong place at the wrong time, the consequences may be dramatic. Multiple examples can be used to prove this terrible fatality, like those of James Craig Anderson, who was beaten to death by White teenagers, Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by officers, or Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a man who was acquitted on self-defense grounds. People want to hope that the color of skin can no longer be the reason for inequality, unfair treatment, arrests, and death.
American prejudice is a harsh thing that changes many lives in a short period of time. Today, those policies and programs that are used to protect people and promote justice can lead to multiple conflicts, trials, and even deaths. “As an abuse of authority and power, agents of social control express police brutality through physical, emotional, or legal exploitation of those under their control” (Gallagher and Lippard 951).
In other words, the police have extreme power over people and can use different methods to gain control, check for weapons or other dangerous things, and achieve the desired results. Rankine does not introduce the police as a purely negative or positive tool to promote justice. The author wants to underline that the situation does not change with time, even if some mistakes have already been recognized and corrected. “Each time it begins in the same way, it doesn’t begin the same way, each time it begins it’s the same” (Rankine 251). The police cannot learn from their mistakes. They just do not find it is necessary. Their task is to keep order and safety.
The stop-and-frisk program can work in the United States. Still, it does not work effectively in regard to all ethnic groups. The Latino and Black people are frequently hunted by the police in comparison to the people who have white skin. As soon as the representatives of two different ethnicities try to prove their rights and dignity, the stop-and-frisk policy gives a clear answer with evident examples and statistics, supporting the idea of institutional racism. In addition, psychological and emotional damage occurs. “You know this is wrong. This is not what it looks like. You need to be quiet. This is wrong. You need to close your mouth now” (Rankine 254).
Black people have to find excuses for their decisions, words, and actions all the time they have to deal with police. They may do nothing wrong but feel guilty just because they know that the police may consider them as such. This behavior and attitudes are wrong. However, their effects are impressive as one day a black person can do something wrong and really bad not because they want to, but because some people expect this to be done.
In general, Rankine, as well as other authors chosen for this paper, helps to realize that racial inequality is not only a personal problem for some groups of people. It is a global issue the scope of which is hard to define. There is a thought that as soon as a problem is defined and explained, its solution can be offered. Regrettably, this method can hardly be applied to the solution of the racial inequality problem. Millions of people are aware of it regardless of their geographical location or social status. They know that African Americans gain special and usually unfair treatment from the police and the government. Though the government and society have enough time, knowledge, and power to make this problem evident, they cannot do something to find a solution.
Works Cited
Finger, Lutz. “Racial Injustice in NYC Revealed by Data.” Forbes. 2016. Web.
Gallagher, Charles A., and Cameron D. Lippard, editors. Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. Vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, 2014.
Goel, Sharad, et al. “Precinct or Prejudice? Understanding Racial Disparities in New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk Policy.” The Annals of Applied Statistics, vol. 10, no. 1, 2016, pp. 365-394.
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014. Web.