This document discusses racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system. It notes that while people of color make up 30% of the population, they account for 60% of prisoners. The disproportionate incarceration of minorities is evidence of racial discrimination. Sociological analysis shows this issue stems from unequal distribution of resources along racial lines, with whites controlling power over blacks. Specific examples show discrimination in school punishments, where black students receive harsher penalties for similar offenses as white students. Further research is needed to fully understand the roots and impacts of racial injustice in the justice system.

1. Running head: ASSIGNMENT
1
ASSIGNMENT
6
Assignment
Name
Institution
Introduction
Sociology entails the study of human social behavior and their
origin, development, organizations and institutions. This means
that the subject is crucial as it uses various methods of
empirical investigation and critical analysis that develops a
body of knowledge regarding human social actions, social
structures and roles. The project reflects how a mother of three
young black boys often thinks of their futures in relation to
today’s society. That is at least one of them is expected to go to
prison at some point in their lifetime, the mother is so
saddened. According to the bureau of Justice Statistics, one in
three black men in America will spend time in jail in their

2. lifetime. On the other hand, color people make up 30% percent
of the United State’ population and accounts for sixty percent of
imprisoned characters. The disparity in social justice and
characters deter that racial discrimination has a role in justice
system across the world (Alexander, 2010). That is, the
disproportionate rates of incarceration in communities of color
are a direct reflection of racial disparities in the criminal justice
system in the United States. Since 1780, the discipline has seen
great transformation. In this discourse, we are going to discuss
racial disparity in the justice system in the U.S.
Sociology and social injustice
The case is a social case and it fits in the field of sociology
since the disparities is directly brought about by race.
Positivism principles deter that one should conduct sociology in
broad and the same manner as natural science. An emphasis
regarding empiricism and scientific means is sought to enhance
a tested foundation for sociological research, which is based on
supposition that the only authentic knowledge, and that
knowledge can only arrive by positive affirmation through
scientific methodology. The term has no longer its meaning
since there are fewer than twelve distinction epistemologies that
reflect positivism. Anti-positivism on the other hand entails
reactions against social empiricism that opposes positivism
regarding it as uncritical, and determinism. Applerouth & Edles
(2008) argues that positivism case is mechanistic. The black
community is being discriminated by the white community in
the United States because of its race. This is being exhibited
inequality exhibited by the criminal justice system. It does
make sense that the minority community in the nation will make
up the majority number of people in prisons. There must be
something wrong, which is eventually leading to this. Either,
the blacks are being unfairly arrested and sentenced, or the
whites are being favored during sentencing, thus getting simple
penalties (Alexander, 2010). It can also be assumed that the
resources are unevenly distributed, whereby the blacks are
unable to get them in order to sustain themselves. This

3. eventually leads them to crime, thus ending up in prison. This
conforms to the conflict theory, which says that the society is
composed of groups fighting for the limited resources. In the
end, the community with more resources also acquires power,
which it uses to control those with little resources. In this case,
the white community has a lot of resources, hence power, thus
using it to control the blacks, who have very little resources.
This has in turn led to the whites being more favored than
blacks are.
According to social injustice case in the U.S, variety of
positivism remains irrelevant and dominant since sociology
today refers to positivism as instrumental positivism. The nature
of social facts is replaced by methodology clarity means that are
valid. In the new social world, human being seems to follow a
concept that is traceable from the traditional world. People tend
to link their behaviors to those that were followed in the past.
Positivism is synonymous with quantitative research, and so
only resembles older positivism in practice. Since it carries no
explicit philosophical commitment, its practitioners may not
belong to any particular school of thought. A black person
“nigga” is seemed to be more anti-American compared to the
whites. According to the latest reporting, black people are
among the most active generation in the economy of the U.S.
despite their personal outlook. The president who whites regard
as incumbent is black too; I hope the concept will change at a
point.
The racial report deters that black students are easily suspended
or given harsh punishments for doing simple mistakes
(Alexander, 2010). This is unlike their white counterparts, who
receive weak penalties. For instance, when a black student fails
to complete his or her assignments, she is usually awarded zero
grades. This is not usually the case with the white students, as
they have more time to finish the assignments. A good example
can be traced in 2006 where two students from different races
happened to fight. The white student seriously injured the black
student since he was older than he was. When the incident got

4. to the school administration, the black boy was suspended for a
month, despite being injured. The white student on the other
hand was required to come with his parent the following day.
The black student had been blamed for starting the war by the
school administration, despite witnesses from their class saying
the white student was the one who had started it. In this
situation, the school administrators acted according to the social
phenomenology theory, as they made their decisions based on
the students’ races rather than the situation at hand (Haralambos
& Holborn, 2011).
Racial decimation has its roots since slavery days and social
concept has changed its meaning. Since the days of slavery and
slave trade in the United States, the blacks that they would be
viewed in equal terms with the whites. However, things have
not turned out that way, as blacks find themselves being
discriminated, but in an indirect way (Nelson, 2011). This
discrimination has mainly been experienced in the criminal
justice system, whereby there are many blacks in prisons. This
has in turn affected the blacks, who feel discriminated thus
developing resentment towards the authority. This eventually
leads them into crime, thus ending up in prison.
Conclusion
Traditionally, the subject employed social stratification, social
class, social mobility, religion, secularization, law and
deviance. This means that all spheres of human activities are
determined by social structure and individual agency. According
to the justice system in America, racial disparity seems to rule.
The whites created the justice oppressive system when they
used black community in slavery moments (Haralambos &
Holborn, 2011). The blacks used to work in their farms and had
limited freedom. As the case ceased, the whites in time has the
mentality that black people have no say in the system especially
from the conservative community. This means that sociology
has transformed and focuses on health medical, military and
penal institution. Technology has also led to expansion of
sociology; the internet has changed social activities in the

5. development of scientific knowledge. Qualitative and
quantitative attributes has changed. Linguistic and cultural
interaction notably in mid-twentieth changed interpretative,
hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of
society (Alexander, 2010). Since 1780, the discipline has seen
great transformation. In this discourse, we are going to discuss
racial disparity in the justice system in the U.S.
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in
the age of colorblindness. 4th Edition, New York: New Press.
Appelrouth, S. & Edles, L. (2008). Classical and Contemporary
Sociological theory: Text and readings. 3rd Edition, Los
Angeles, California: Pine Forge Press.
Haralambos, J. & Holborn, T (2011). Sociology: Themes and
perspectives. 6th Edition, New York: Collins Educational.
Running head: SOCIOLOGY ROUGH DRAFT
1
Sociology rough draft
Introduction to Sociology
Name Ivy Cypress
Date 03/01/2014
Instructor Name: Dr. Mary Kay Svedberg
Introduction
As a godmother of 3 young black boys I often think of
their futures and that in today’s society at least one of them is
expected to go to prison at some point in their life brings me to
tears. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in
three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime.

6. While people of color make up about 30 percent of the
United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those
imprisoned. The disproportionate rates of incarceration in
communities of color are a direct reflection of racial disparities
in the criminal justice system in the United States.
Body
Part 1
· This issue fits into the field of sociology, as it is about the
disparities brought about by race. The black community is being
discriminated by the white community in the United States
because of its race. This is being exhibited inequality exhibited
by the criminal justice system. It does make sense that the
minority community in the nation will make up the majority
number of people in prisons. There must be something wrong,
which is eventually leading to this. Either, the blacks are being
unfairly arrested and sentenced, or the whites are being favored
during sentencing, thus getting simple penalties (Alexander,
2010). It can also be assumed that the resources are unevenly
distributed, whereby the blacks are unable to get them in order
to sustain themselves. This eventually leads them to crime, thus
ending up in prison. This conforms to the conflict theory which
says that the society is composed of groups fighting for the
limited resources. In the end, the community with more
resources also acquires power, which it uses to control those
with little resources. In this case, the white community has a lot
of resources, hence power, thus using it to control the blacks,
who have very little resources. This has in turn led to the whites
being more favored than blacks.
· This discriminationis manifested in various forms. For
example, in schools, black students are easily suspended or
given harsh punishments for doing simple mistakes. This is
unlike their white counterparts, who receive weak penalties. For
instance, when a black student fails to complete his or her
assignments, she is usually awarded zero grade. This is not

7. usually the case with the white students, as they are usually
given more time to finish the assignments. In 2006, two
students happened to fight while in school. One was black while
the other one was white. The white student ended up injuring
badly the black student as he was older than him. When the
incident got to the school administration, the black boy was
suspended for 1 month, despite being injured. The white student
on the other hand was only told to come with his parent the
following day. The black student had been blamed for starting
the war by the school administration, despite witnesses from
their class saying the white student was the one who had started
it. In this situation, the school administrators acted according to
the social phenomenology theory, as they made their decisions
based on the students’ races rather than the situation at hand.
Part 2
· There are various things regarding this issue that are known,
whereas others are not known. One of the things that is known
is that there is discrimination in the criminal justice systems in
the United States. It is not possible for people from one race to
make over 60% of prisoners in a nation that have all races in a
fair criminal justice system. This is based on statistical
revelations that 1 out of 3 black men eventually ends up in
prison. This shows that almost 40% of blacks end in prison. It is
also known that blacks usually get longer sentences once
convicted, than their white counterparts even if their crimes are
the same. However, there are some things that are still unknown
pertaining to this issue. One of the unknown things is why
blacks usually get longer sentences compared to the white
convicts. A study needs to be conducted to tell us why the
judges come up with such decisions, and why they think that
blacks are more dangerous to the society than the whites
(Applerouth&Edles, 2008).
· We still do not know why we have a lot of blacks in the
United States prisons. Besides this, we still do not know why
the blacks learn that they are discriminated against their color at

8. an early age. These questions need answers, which will lead to
the solution of the puzzle that has been disturbing American for
a very long time. This is based on the fact that slavery was
abolished, something that paved way for equity in the society.
We have to look for answers regarding the origin of these vices
in the American society. We also need to find out if indeed the
problem is with the system or the blacks themselves.
Part 3
· To tackle this issue, a sociological research needs to be done.
The research will have to be thorough in order to cover all
critical areas regarding this issue. The research will be able to
establish the reasons why school administrators give different
punishments to the white and black students. The research can
also enable the society know if indeed the white school
administrators are the ones to blame for the unfair punishments
of the black students. It will also establish the role that the
black students play in the harsh punishments they receive.
· The research will also come up with various findings
regarding the relationship between the criminal justice systems
and the blacks. It will find out the various reasons why the
blacks usually receive harsh punishments, and what they can do
to avoid it. Perhaps, it might also enable the society know the
attitude that the white judges towards the black convicts, and
assess if it has impact on the judgments they make. The social
inquiry might have several practical implications. For example,
the report might enable the judges to change their views on
black convicts. This might in turn lead to the reducing their
sentences. Besides this, the blacks might begin to awarded fair
punishments, thus reducing their number in prisons.
Conclusion
· After the abolishment of slavery and slave trade in the United
States, the blacks that they would be viewed in equal terms with
the whites. However, things have not turned out that way, as
blacks find themselves being discriminated, but in an indirect

9. way (Nelson, 2011). This discrimination has mainly been
experienced in the criminal justice system, whereby there are a
lot of blacks in prisons. This has in turn affected the blacks,
who feel discriminated thus developing resentment towards the
authority. This eventually leads them into crime, thus ending up
in prison.
References
Alexander, M. (2010).The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in
the age of colorblindness. New
York: New Press.
Appelrouth, S., &Edles, L. D. (2008).Classical and
contemporary sociological theory: Text and
readings. Los Angeles, Calif: Pine Forge Press.
Nelson, A. (2011). Body and soul: The Black Panther Party and
the fight against medical
discrimination.