We all have biases. Unfortunately, sometimes our biases distract us from what is right. In the recent  past, there have been several criminal cases in which justice was disrupted due to law enforcement’s bias against or towards a certain group of people. Whether it’s racial profiling by law enforcement or stereotypes held by the jury, bias can turn the entire justice process inside out. Racial bias affects criminal cases to the extent that the criminals often get turned into victims.

Professor Jerry Kang from UCLA calls them “schemas”. He goes on to explain that we often associate these schemas to larger ideas. When our mind categorizes simple things into larger concepts, and we associate them with larger ideas. “Automatically, we categorize individuals by age, gender, race, and role. Once the individual is mapped into that category, specific meanings associated with that category are immediately activated and influence our interaction with that individual”. This means that when we have an experience or simply learn about a category of people, our minds automatically influence our judgement.

In 1989, there was a case in New York City that sparked a lot of controversy in America. The case involved 5 African-American/Hispanic teenagers that were convicted of raping an upper class white woman, Trisha Meili- the “Central Park jogger”. On April 19, 1989, Trisha was attacked and severely beaten. The 5 young men convicted at the time were: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise. Once the police got the the crime scene, they bought them in for questioning. The boys were giving little to no information that can give the detectives a lead. The detectives told the boys that all they needed to do was give a story, confess and they can go home. Each of them did thinking that it was it. The prosecutors and detectives used the confession tapes to convict. However, 13 years later the real rapist, Matias Reyes admitted to the crime.

The two main prosecutors in the case were Elizabeth Lederer and Linda Fairstein. The detectives investigating the case were Det. Humberto Arroyo and Carlos Gonzalez. When the boys were brought in for questioning, they were intensely, almost violently questioned. Such treatment led the boys to essentially confess.  It is understandable that a detective trying to solve a case, will get inpatient and upset, but it is unacceptable to carry it as far as the did. The detectives split the boys up and tricked them into admitting to a crime they didn’t commit just to get a confession. The details of the five boys’ stories didn’t match what was found at the crime scene, but these inconsistencies were ignored. Elizabeth Lederer , the lead prosecutor didn’t even bother to put the boys on the stand.

The documentary, “Central Park Five”, was released in 2012. It focused particularly on the differing stories of the boys. . The prosecutors, police, and jurors involved didn’t choose to participate in the film. Identifying the bias of the law enforcement agendas is obvious. specifically wasn’t hard at all. Implicit bias is the certain stereotypes that affect our decisions, and understandings. Implicit bias is being studied in the judicial decision making. This means making a decision based on your current understanding or even stereotypes that we are familiar with.  During conviction, all the boys went to juvenile detention centers except for Korey. He was the eldest and was sent to Riker’s Island. This was simply unfair being that just because he was 16, he was sent to an adult facility. This is age discrimination, treating someone less favorably because of their age.  Racism was and still is an issue today in many ways but it is only discussed when something like this happens. When the racial bias of law enforcement is publicized. When a rape case of an upper class white woman hits the air, all of a sudden everyone is interested. Sometimes, the subjects of the case determine whether the case will be covered as severely or publicized. Example, the previous rape recently in New York that got little to none because the attacker and the victim were of the same racial background. A test of our “justice” system. Donald Trump contributed to the storm by saying, “You better believe that I hate the people that took this girl and raped her brutally. You better believe it.” Not only did he openly voice his opinion, but he added it in 4 local newspapers saying that the death penalty should be brought back. Would Donald Trump care and have commented if this woman were to be found in an alley or in Harlem? Wasn’t hard to find either. A woman, the same night of the jogger attack, was rapped and thrown off a four-story building. Sure, teenagers have a reputation to always be under some sort of mischief, but African American teenagers? Guilty without question; but it wouldn’t be fair at all to bring the death penalty into play without even testing DNA and hearing their statements. In the documentary, there was a connection to Emmett Till. Young black males, white woman as victim. Harsh punishments. The racial bias was obvious to this point that a connection can even be made! Emmett Till’s punishment doesn’t fairly compare to a prison sentence but at a minor extent, they are similar. Justice wasn’t served in either case.

The goal of the prosecutors were clearly to put these boys in jail. To punish them for a crime that they knew that they didn’t commit. There was no evidence. The DNA from the crime scene didn’t match any of the boys. When Trisha woke up from a coma, she was not able to recall anything from that night of the attack. A white journalist says that it was a good thing. Maybe because she could have sent these boys home.  ⅗ of the boys family’s were able to afford to bail them out. Raymond and Korey remained imprisoned. The truth still hadn’t come out yet. Social psychologist, Saul Kassin stated that once we form a strong belief that someone is guilty of a crime, all the details that can prove us wrong, we tend to ignore them. This proves that original goal of the prosecutors. Once they associate “guilty” with these young men, it was impossible for them to steer off and let them walk. Can perhaps their bias be against African-Americans? I think it is safe to conclude that this was a racial hate crime.

The bias within this whole case is clear. Little to nothing was fair. Terrorizing and pressuring these young teens to admit to a crime they didn’t commit. Sending Korey to an adult facility! Adding extra time to Raymond’s sentence when caught with a drug charge just because he was apart of this case prior. It seems that some people are comfortable with their bias within society, that is, if we identify it. Implicit bias, is not limited in the judicial system and it must be something that the system is comfortable with. Sometimes it is a bad thing but it becomes a personal thing because then we’d sit around and judge everyone because of their bias but if they are fine with it, who are we to judge because we have blind spots of our own. My personal bias attracted me to analyse this case. My reaction watching the documentary was like many, “Wow, that’s unfair!” and “What kind of “justice” system do we live in?” but my reaction may be different of someone not within my “category”. I am a African-American teenager. The subjects of this crime were African-Americans. We are within the same “category” so my understanding and sympathy may be stronger than an “outsider” who might not understand but I have a connection with the boys that the “outsider” wouldn’t. The way I viewed the case is okay being different than someone else.

Citations:

1. Gove, Tracey G. "Police Chief Magazine." Police Chief Magazine. N.p., Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch>.

2. "Central Park Five." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five#trial2>.

3. Central Park Five. Dir. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. Perf. Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, and Yusef Salaam. 2012. Netflix.

4. Press, The Associated. "Woman Is Raped and Thrown From a Roof." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 May 1989. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/04/nyregion/woman-is-raped-and-thrown-from-a-roof.html>.

5. "Age Discrimination." Age Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm>.

Jonas Bromley

1/22/14

Bias In Police Force

When making arrests police officers in the United States are unfairly biased towards minority races. During 1995-1997 in Maryland, there was a court mandate for a poll to be taken on interstate ninety five, counting the number of african american drivers pulled over versus the amount of white drivers pulled over. Only twelve point seven percent of drivers on the road were african american and sixty percent of the drivers pulled over were african american. This means that even though the ratio of black to white drivers was almost nine to one, even though three fifths of the drivers pulled over were black. This shows how biased american police officers are. There are many more cases in our society that demonstrate the same results.

In the documentary Central Park Five, five teenagers, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson,  Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise,  ranging in ages from fourteen to sixteen were out in Central Park one night with a bunch of friends. These five teens were with a group of people who were harassing pedestrians and beating up random people. These five are only guilty of these crimes by association. On the same night a jogger got brutally raped while jogging in central park. The police arrested a bunch of the teens who were out that night including the five who this documentary is about. They made a bunch of the teens say that certain people had committed these crimes just because the police wanted people to blame. These five teens were forced by the police to turn themselves and each other in, giving false testimonies. When telling these testimonies they were told to put themselves in the scene to make it more believable. They were told by the police that they were just going to be witnesses, but they were convicted and put on trial.

This case and trial were all over the news, but strangely enough a rape case that had happened just before this one had had gotten next to no publicity. In this case a woman was raped and then thrown off the roof of a building! The reason that this case had almost no publicity was that, one reporter speculated, both the victim and the perpetrator were of the same race. So in a city where there was, on average, three murders a day why did this case get so much publicity? The reason the Central Park Five case got so much publicity was because the victim was a white, upperclass, investor, and the rapists were lower class African American and Latino teenagers. This case was completely about race and not actually about the person who had been abused and raped, or the teens who had been wrongly accused and convicted.

In an article on Pbs four people involved in Santa Clara County’s justice system talk about racial unfairness in the judicial system District Attorney Kurt Kumli talks about the differences in treatment between races. He gives a hypothetical example of two teens, from different backgrounds who have committed the same crime. One of the teens is white, upper class and has a mom that doesn’t work. The family says, “I will always be at home and watch him, we will provide for all of the services that he needs, we will make sure he goes to a personal counselor.”  and the judge then says, “Sounds good to me. I will take advantage of these resources. It will not drain on the system. You are out of custody.” You take another teen who does not come from a privileged family, and cannot provide all of these services. These circumstances create the racial disparity. This is a good example of what can happen in cases when there are differences in economic class.

In an article entitled New ACLU Report Finds Overwhelming Racial Bias in Marijuana Arrests, the ACLU report states that in counties with racial disparities people of color are thirty times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than whites. These disparities were apparent 10 years ago but are much more pronounced now. Ezekiel Edwards, a member of the ACLU states that, "The war on marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color." Ezekiel also states that, "State and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against Black people and communities, needlessly ensnaring hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at tremendous human and financial cost." This shows that people think that the government tries to target people of color for some arrests. Which can not be true. This makes things worse because if people believe something is a certain way then they will act on it.

According to another study by the ACLU in Oakland, California: seventy three point five percent of arrests made by the police between 2006 and 2012 are arresting African American boys when they only make up twenty nine point three percent of the population. Also the Oakland School Police Department, over the last two years, has arrested 85 students. Seventy three percent of students arrested were black. None of the students arrested were white. These statistics prove that there is racial bias in arrests in the United States. These arrests are also harmful to the communities they are conducted in because if a person is falsely arrested or arrested for something they should not be arrested for then if it happens to them again it is a longer sentence. Furthermore it will make it harder to find work and get into colleges in the future.

When making arrests police officers in the U.S. are negatively biased towards minority races. Racial bias in the U.S. makes it harder for many people in this country to proceed with their everyday lives. It also contributes to the countries already crowded prisons and wastes the time and money of everybody. Furthermore it could spiral upwards because police officers who are biased towards minorities have more of a reason to be when they see the numbers in jails. This could make them arrest more minorities for unfair reasons which would make higher numbers of minorities in jails and the whole thing would keep going.

Felix d’Hermillon

Skateboarding Bias Essay

A bias is made against skateboarders today, from past events, planting the thought in people’s mind that skateboarding is for trouble makers. There has always been a bias against skateboarders. There are many different kinds of people all over the globe that have a bias against skateboarding. Police, Security Guards, and many more.

They have been known for being troublemakers. Skateboarding was first invented in the 1950’s. Surfer’s wanted to explore their possibilities. The surfers decided to take it to the streets. “Concrete Surfing” a.k.a “Skateboarding”. The surfers made the board out of taking roller skate wheels and putting them onto a wooden box and riding it through the streets. Skateboarding got its bad name from Dogtown and the Z-boys. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, skateboarder’s used to break into backyard pools. They would shred these pools illegally knowing full well what they were doing. They weren’t thinking clearly but that doesn’t mean that all skater’s are trouble makers from today and from back then as well.

There are many laws against skateboarding all over the world. Love park is one of the most famous skate spots on the east coast. Love park is skated everyday by skateboarders all over, but sadly it is illegal. Skaters are ticketed with a $300 fine and then they have their boards taken. People have been arrested if they aren’t a minor.  It is not only a monument in artwork standards, but a monument in skateboarding. In this quote, skaters are protesting to keep love park open to skaters(when it was closed down in 2002). “Before LOVE was officially closed in late April 2002 for the redesign, skateboarders and others organized a protest on April 22, 2002. Dozens of skaters and supporters flooded the park for one last session together before police came and dispersed the skaters and the session. However, before the protest was over, skateboarders and their advocates made numerous statements to the media. Some noted the sad loss of this great skate spot, others pointed out that the loss of skateboarding at LOVE is a scar on the attractiveness and accessibility of Philadelphia to a younger generation” says UHistory.org. This quote is stating clearly that skaters are feeling the loss. They clearly stated to the media that they are feeling neglected. I don’t believe having that last skate session was he most helpful way of convincing the city to allow it but I do think that it helps the community hear about the banning of skateboarding at Love and I think it did spread the word to help support the community of skaters.

Another example of skateboarding being known as thugs is that it is out lawed in San Francisco, California. In the City of San Francisco, Police officers are allowed to arrest skateboarders for skating on Public Property. When I say public property, I mean streets, ledges plazas, parking lots, or anything else you can think of. Police officers will always arrest you if you are riding a skateboard in San Francisco, they will depending on what ever mood they are in, so if you are skating through the streets of San Francisco and a Police officer stops you to give you a warning, don’t provoke him because he can arrest you if you set him off.

Skater’s should be awarded for the amount of effort that they put in. Most skater’s aren’t causing trouble while doing so. At least people are doing something. For kids, at least they are doing something instead of drugs or any other bad thing you can think of. And for older people skating, at least they aren’t just sitting around not doing anything. They are being active and thats all that matters. Much of today’s modern architecture is perfectly made for skateboarders. Skater’s have searched for these architecturally advanced spots.

All around the world, there is tons of police brutality with skaters. All over youtube there are videos. In baltimore there was an instance where a group of skateboarders were skating at the inner harbor. Police officer, Salvator Rivieri, stopped these kids and started verbally harassing them about skateboarding there. Then, the police officer man-handled a 14 year old skateboarder Eric Bush. Officer Rivieri grabs the minor around the neck and throws him on the ground.

There are a lot of parents that are really supportive of their kids. There are professional skateboarders all over the world that all have had supportive parents to help them get somewhere. Their parents helped them achieve their goal of making a living out of skateboarding. And its not only skateboarding, there are filmer's that make a living out of it by simply doing what they love. Torey Pudwill is a professional Skateboarder that rides for Plan B skateboards, DVS shoes, Bones Bearings, venture trucks and has even made his own line of Grip tape for the skateboards just from the help of his parents. “My dad or mom would drive us here (Skatelab Skatepark) after school almost everyday, get our homework done, or not, and just skate”. Another Skater is Nyjah Huston is 19 years old. He has been a professional skater since he was 11 years old. He was in the X-games at the age of 11.“My dad was really controlling and he did want me to skate every single day. I would say he did it in a little bit of a strict way which probably wasn't necessary because, bottom line I loved skateboarding and thats all I wanted to do anyway.” Later on in the same interview he says “If he did happen to call me anytime soon, i would completely accept him because I am thankful for the way he raised me, even thug it was very strict, it was what got me to where I am right now.”

A lot of upperclassmen think that Skateboarding is reckless and a waste of time. They believe

As you have seen, Skater’s are considered bad boy’s. This is a false term. Skater’s have been named this when it is completely the opposite. Skater’s are artist’s. They have a talent. They search out spot’s and are being creative. It is the people surrounding skater’s that attach this false baggage to them. From having a shitty day at work, the law enforcer’s make our’s worse. The butterfly effect. Some skater’s might be thugs, or “gangbangers” but to say that the all of skater’s fits that description is simply ignorant and demoralizing.

“I’m a blue collar worker, I’m not like the rest of the people on our street or neighborhood. The people here, they know I’m a blue collar, so they ask for signs to be put up, forbidding my work truck to be in a spot, in front of my house from 6 am to 6 pm, but they don’t come up to me and say I’m the problem. This sign ‘just appears,’ but it’s a sign saying my job isn’t ‘good enough’. It’s frustrating.” Says my father to me as we discuss our living situation. My father constantly talks about his job, and compares it to the neighbors’, so I thought it’d be interesting to find out where he stands on biases in his life.

Biases are everywhere, and we can’t escape them whether we want to or not. They are apart of our system involving culture, it’s as if they “run the world.” Biases are influenced by advertisements, propaganda in advertising that we see, and most importantly, how we are raised to be, to who we’re supposed to become. Our personal biases form blind spots, meaning areas that we just don’t truly know, and haven’t really experienced. Biases aren’t strictly negative, they can also have a positive influence in one’s life. In my life, I know I have biases that are both negative and positive. It’s interesting, though, to see how your own family deals with biases, you think you’d be similar.. Talking to my father about biases, he seemed to have a different opinion as to whether or not if he actually had them.

As I was interviewing my dad, I asked, “Do you think you have any biases in any aspect of your life?” His reply was simple, “Sure I do, but I try to not. That’s a tough question. I try to give everybody an equal/even break. But inevitably I judge people.” When I asked what he may have thought some of those biases may be, he was very adamant in telling me that he didn’t think he was biased towards one certain person/people over another. Whether it be somebody of a different race, or religious type. My father did state he was biased against politicians or any executive that use their office for self gain. Now, most people, in their eyes, would agree with what my father said. But what I found through my father’s answer about not being biased against any one person compared to the race IAT that I had him take was very different.

The first trial my father took was inconclusive, due to not reading the directions carefully. As he took it a second time, I found his answers a little surprising: Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for European American compared to African American. My dad has a very kind heart, and his opinion on not being judgemental towards any group or person wasn’t surprising, so when his result for the IAT was strong, I found it shocking. Now, maybe his fingers slipped, or maybe there were some other complications while taking the test, but having a preference to one race, European American or African American, is generally seen in most peoples’ racial IAT results.

In Joseph Goebbels speech, he stated, “History proves that the greatest world movements have always developed when their leaders knew how to unify their followers under a short, clear theme…Christ’s goal was clear and simple: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’...The idea... is applied to every aspect of daily life and becomes the guide for all human activity.” What Goebbels means is that when there is a clear goal, or theme that is simple and short, people are likely to follow. This following becomes huge, so huge in fact it can create a chain reaction that can have lasting effects, such as a guide for how people live day to day. My father follows this statement, simply because he did state he tries to see everybody equally. As my dad follows this statement, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” it affects him in everyday life, just like Goebbels said. When my father goes to work, drives, meets new people, and does whatever his day to day life involves, he approaches every opportunity with a human being with the intention to accept them, and embrace them as if they are just like him. What almost all humans would like to think of themselves as is being neutral, with no preference for  European American and African American, or any race. However, this isn’t usually the case. As Christ’s statement affects a lot of people in this world, and they practice this, it does not mean it’s 100% effective. It is shown that many people, at least in America, have a preference more towards European American, rather than African American. We don’t want that, but it’s facing up to the often hidden truth that scares us the most.

As I asked my father, “How do your results make you feel compared to what you actually think about yourself?” His reply was one of skepticism, and he didn’t like to think that his preference to European American over African American was strong. “I want to know how they get this conclusion, it doesn’t seem like it’s very accurate,” my father said out loud, still examining his results. He seemed a little disturbed, as I showed him and explained to him the process in which they get the conclusion. I think he still believes he looks at everyone with an equal eye, whether he thinks the test is accurate or not. Now, I believe if we were to take the race IAT again, his results may be different. I even took the race IAT twice, and once was a moderate preference for European American, and the other time was a strong preference.

The sprinkle of water with the warmth of the sun washed away the dirt on his skin. The dirt of the mud from practice. Football games were always a battle ground. A field filled with large men running and shoving each other to the ground. Nothing laid in the head besides the idea of victory and looking good in front of others that stand before them. Being the man in the game. Being the man in everything. Its all that he had trained for, to be the best man, to be the strong man, to be a man. Now, he stood six feet, two inches tall, a three hundred pound moving body of muscle. He looks perfect. People thinks he is perfect. He is perfect.

His face placed under the shower head, he closes his eyes. There was a feeling of impending interest. Something he couldn’t deny but tried to. He needed explanations for these feelings or he felt that these emotions needed a cure. There was no way he could just walk out of that room and ignore all these feelings. Being a young adult now, he thought he knew himself. But now confusion took over his whole existence. He knew people that had these feeling and came out to the world with them. He never understood those people. He had made remarks in public and laughed about those people.

There was a specific time he remembered. It was during a party in his high school years. One of his friend, a popular boy like him, came out of the closet. Everyone in the school seemed to be talking about him. Before he came out of the closet, all the other boys in the school wanted to be his friends. They just thought he was so cool. However, the next day when the news of his sexuality came out, things took a big turn. Opening his eyes to try not to think any further. The reflection of himself through the white tiles stared back at him.

Slowly, he inhaled the air and exhaled his emotions, twice. Looking straight into the reflection of his eyes, he started to speak.

“James? I’m with you. I’m sorry... I’m sorry I was with those guys laughing. I, this critic, this shameless, this monster, am sorry. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t know anything back then, I didn’t know myself. Call me nameless, I don’t deserve an identity for what I’ve said and done before. The guys I hanged out with, they were horrible, they will probably never learn to become someone as strong and awesome as you… No one understood about the type of life you lived during that time. No one! Their brains, my brain, were all sized down to a piece of nail, when it came to your situation. Yes, the earth was created for an atmosphere where every man could stand freely. But I’m sorry we made you cripple in fear.”

As his frustration built, dark clouds grew bigger above him. His thoughts balled up a feeling of uncertainty. He could not stop these thoughts from rolling through him.

“Urghhh! Why do I feel this way? Man!” He thought to himself. Am I gay?  

The mist of the boiling water fogged up the mirror, the windows, the whole room, as he stood under the showering water, thinking.

“All those dirty looks, the scowling faces, the whispers of cutting words behind his back. Man! What were we all thinking?” The faint memory came back. He thought about how James’s friends and his best friends talked behind his back, including himself. He wasn’t James’s best buddy from the beginning, he knew that. However, they did consider each other as friends back when James didn’t announce he was gay and back when this infuriated, this nameless, this thought to be crazy person tried to figure out a part of himself.

There was a day which he clearly still remembered. It was about two days after James had said to everyone that he was gay. The news was fresh and it was the number one mostly talked about topic. Justin, one of James’s friend, started the conversation. “Its so hard to believe James is gay. I never would’ve expected it from a dude like him. Its weird, he’s weird. It just doesn’t suit him at all.” Every member in the circle jumped to say what they had to say. They all had their own remarks. Just knowing that James was gay, they categorized him. They put him down in the back of their head. They put him down in the back of their head just like this monster, this nameless person did.

A couple weeks after the hot topic news, James had made new friends. It seemed that he had gathered himself with people that understood him. Although that was true, there was a speck of feeling where James was still not fully accepted into that new society, nameless felt it in his guts and he still remembers that feeling. This specific, unpleasant feeling is what dreads him.

The hurtful intended rumors he had spreaded with the judgemental words were his pass. They were based off of his thoughts in the pass. The pass where he was a different person, or thought he was a different person at least. Now, it’s going to be a new story.

“My name is Robert Hardrick.”

Media and society have a lot of news reports and people usually believe them. Sometimes people do not have any proof if someone is guilty or not, but they still think they are. Whatever people in the media say, on television or even on the radio people believe it. It looks like what is happening it should be true in the world, but it does not always have to be true. The media encourages to be biased by judging people without knowing their life background, and also discriminates against people by assaulting them of doing something without any proof.  

In the documentary, “The Central Park Five”, people give their opinion about this case where a woman that was jogging was murdered and raped. There were also problems in society as well. According to historian, Craig Steven Wilder, "We were a city coming out of a series of crises and an enormous economic crisis. A school system that was in collapse; Political institutions that seemed to be failing the people  and not meeting their needs; Old, fashionable, beautiful, noble neighborhoods falling apart." People in New York City could see how their economy changed. Their school system and institutions changed for worse, and people did not get things they need. In other words everything started to fall apart. It was not a good thing because people did not care after a while what was happening around, if they already got used to it. Whenever we do not get our needs things change. People need to feel safe in their city and have something that is important to live.

Adults were not just the only ones that could be involved in the crime, teenagers could also have to do with it, but it all started when crack came to the city. According to Koch, "In about '84, crack came to New York City and that increased crime. No questions about it." After crack came to New York City people realized that crime was increasing. After using crack people’s mind change. They started to become angry and they could not control it because of the drugs.

Usually people can not stop themselves because the drug is kind of controlling them. Websites show what percent of people used crack back then versus now. According to a website about using drugs, “According to government surveys, eight percent of high school seniors reported using cocaine at least once during their lifetime. This is markedly lower than the peak of 17 percent for the senior class of 1985.” Now, people do not use crack as much as they did in 1985. It is actually a big difference. In ‘84 people used a lot of crack and that is why there was more crime. Most of teenagers used it, which shows how this affected their society, and also how their school systems changed.

After crack was in the city a lot of things changed. People were blamed for crime, and other things too. According to Wilder, "Most of the homicides were young, poor, working class black and brown kids. And the dominant social message was no one cared if you lived or died.” People believed that black and brown kids were the ones that were guilty, even though there was no proof. "When the crack wars happen, all of a sudden teenagers have lots of cash and guns. ... We were supposed to be afraid. It would have been irrational not to be afraid. But the people who suffered most with the rise of criminality, guns wars, drug wars, were actually the people we blamed." Crack was not a good thing for New York City. It made it look bad and people started to do things they never did before. It was really easy for people to change if they saw others use crack, especially teenagers. Teenagers are the ones that will have an impact on the future. If they use crack for a certain time, younger kids will follow them and use crack too. This is not what we want our future to be. We want our society to be safe.

When it comes to race discrimination there are a lot of people starting arguments, and all of society is kind of divides into different parts. They call each other names, and then blame each other for crime. According to Calvin Butts, "As far as I'm concerned, in the late eighties in New York City, the black community was under assault. "The most endangered species in America," that was a popular phrase, was the young black man." In the late eighties people mostly blamed  African American people for crime. They called them ‘the most endangered species in America’. I do not think people should call each other names because this is how everything starts. They blame each other and after that race discrimination starts, and people flight. This is not how our society should look like. We should respect each other. We can not just blame someone without any proof.

Back then there was a lot of murders  According to Jim Dwyer, "In those days, there were probably 6 murders a day." People did not pay attention to all of them, but this one was different.” Because back then they blamed African Americans for doing any crime, they assaulted black community for crime cases. They accused them because they were in a park at that time. They did not have any evidence that showed police they did it. They made them believe by saying the truth what happened that day, and then they will go home. They actually thought if they say the truth they will go home, but that did not happen. They actually were blamed for it and stayed in jail for a good few years. After they went through other papers and DNA they found a person who actually did it. He said he did it and after that happened, people wish they knew that before they made five other men blamed.

According to the news report called International Business Times, “In 2003, Richardson, Santana and McCray filed a lawsuit against the City of New York for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and emotional distress, 27east.com said.” What media did back then was judging people, and discriminate them especially African Americans after crack came. It was not right to do that because everyone has rights, and just because crack came to New York people should not judge them. Also on the other website, news report they talked about after they came out of the jail, “On Facebook and Twitter, where Salaam said he communicated with the four men he still refers to as his "co-defendants" and with other friends on Friday, several expressed surprise, joy and something else. He said that some, including individuals who do not live in New York City, closed their tweets, retweets and Facebook posts with the words, "John Liu for Mayor." After the whole case finished a lot of people were happy. Their families believed them they are not guilty. People on different kinds of websites posted things about that case. Rumors start like that. People post things online and then change words around and it is totally different, then a statement was said before.

None of us wants media to change things around and make a different statement about us. We all should respect each other and not blame people around us without any proof. Everyone is different and just because something came to a city like crack back then, does not mean all African American community needs to be assaulted. Americans could use crack too and be guilty for crime too. There should be no discrimination around the world because it causes wars and fights. We all want our city and world to be safe, and feel safe.

Sources:

1. Documentary “The Central Park Five”

2. "Cocaine and Crack Facts." And Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/cocaine-and-crack-facts>

3. "Central Park Five." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five>

4. "Central Park Five Lawsuit: New York City Mayor-Elect Bill De Blasio 

Agrees To Settle Decade-Long Case Over Wrongful Convictions." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.ibtimes.com/central-park-five-lawsuit-new-york-city

mayor-elect- bill-de-blasio-agrees-settle-decade-long-case>

5. Ross, Janell. "John Liu Urges Central Park Five Settlement, Becoming First New York City Elected Official To Do So." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.