Criminalization of blackness: Systemic racism and the reproduction of racial inequality in the US criminal justice system

Abstract

What is termed “mass incarceration” has fallen especially hard on black men in the US. Moreover, time and again, unarmed blacks are gunned down by law enforcement officials and civilians with the slightest of provocation. Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie, Freddie Gray made eye contact with police officers, and numerous other African Americans made sudden moves, reached for their car keys, or were seen playing with a toy gun. While their deaths receive considerable media attention, the author argues that, while tragic, they are just the most severe example of the enduring systematic criminalization of blackness. Using Joe R. Feagin’s theory of systemic racism, the author analyzes the hyper-criminalization of black men, women, and children over the long arc of US history.