This document is a capstone research paper examining racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. It explores why minority youth are disproportionately incarcerated compared to white youth. The paper analyzes historical context, relevant theories, and key contributing factors such as peers, community, education, family, poverty, and the impact of a judge's perceptions. Through a case study and literature review, the research aims to understand the overrepresentation of racial minorities in juvenile detention and how the system can help youth improve their life chances.

1. Race and Juvenile Delinquency
by
Dubien Tshimanga
SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY CAPSTONE
PRINCIPIA COLLEGE
APRIL 2015

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ABSTRACT
Throughout history, the struggle of minorities has been seen in many facets of life such as
in history, literature, music and film: Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi fought for the
right of unrepresented minorities. Books such as Too Kill a Mocking Bird spoke to the prejudices
of a community. Movies such as Roots illustrated the hardship of the slaves. From the Roman’s
persecution of Christians to today’s rap song lyrics about economic disparities the plight of the
minority has been fought for millennium.
This research examines the struggle of minorities within the juvenile justice system and
the differential rates of adjudication and length of sentencing between the white majority and the
black minority juvenile offenders. During the course of this research, additional insights were
gained from an internship at a youth correctional center as well as drawing on my own personal
experience as a refugee from Gabon. The findings of my research demonstrate that minority
offenders do receive harsher sentences than the whites, and that there are several factors
contributing to higher rates of juvenile delinquency among African Americans; primarily
education and community. To consider the struggle of minorities is important because it creates
awareness that the maltreatment of a minority group by the dominant majority often ends in
violence and destruction. If we can understand what cause the inequality better, then mankind
can live more peacefully and prosperously.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to have a mentor and a RC like Mr. Doug Brown and an advisor Dr. Jackie
Burns to help me write my capstone. Mr. Brown served as a facilitator helping to clarify the
process and helping to keep me on track with my writing. He was a life savior. Dr. Jackie Burns
helped me structure my capstone. She would share ideas on the topic encourage me and try to
explore deeper into the issues from a sociological perspective. To me Dr. Burns and Mr. Brown
were instrumental in helping me put my thoughts and experiences onto paper.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................................... iv
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................1
METHODS .....................................................................................................................................................3
Validity of Sources.....................................................................................................................................3
Key terms ..................................................................................................................................................5
Metacognitive of the research process ....................................................................................................8
HISTORICAL CONTEX/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND......................................................................................9
CASE STUDY................................................................................................................................................14
ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE.......................................................................................................................20
Peers .......................................................................................................................................................21
Community..............................................................................................................................................23
Education ................................................................................................................................................26
Family......................................................................................................................................................27
Poverty....................................................................................................................................................29
The effect of race in judges’ decision making in sentencing ..................................................................31
THEORETICAL CONTEXT/ANALYSIS............................................................................................................34
Ethnic Stratification.................................................................................................................................35
Minority Group .......................................................................................................................................35
Dominant Groups....................................................................................................................................36
Criminology Theories on economic marginalization, social exclusion, and crime .................................37
Strain Theory...........................................................................................................................................37
Social Disorganization Theory.................................................................................................................37
Power-conflict theories examining prejudice and discrimination..........................................................38
Differential Association Theory...............................................................................................................38
Ethnic Stratification.................................................................................................................................39
Minority Group ...................................................................................................................................39
Criminology.............................................................................................................................................43

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Strain Theory/Social Disorganization..................................................................................................43
Education ............................................................................................................................................43
Community..........................................................................................................................................45
Family..................................................................................................................................................48
Power-Conflict ........................................................................................................................................51
Prejudice and Discrimination..............................................................................................................51
Differential Association...........................................................................................................................52
CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................................54

6. 1
INTRODUCTION
This capstone research is an examination of the over representation of racial and ethnic
minorities in the juvenile justice system in the United States. In 2011, the black rate of juvenile
incarcerations for all crimes was “more than double the white rate” (OJJDP Statistical Briefing
Book). Why do minority youths differ from majority youths in juvenile incarcerations? How
does race impact a judge’s decision toward youth sentencing? What are the causes of
delinquency? How can the role of parenting prevent youths from being delinquent? Are there
differences between White and Black parental circumstances? Given that there are so many
minority youths incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, the question arises, “What is the role
of a juvenile detention center in helping youth improve their life chances as adults?”
There are several reasons why this topic is worthy of research:
 Without an awareness of the negative stereotypes of judges hold, certain minorities will
continue to be treated unfairly and face injustice (James Bell 2005).
 Although laws do not see color, a more diverse mix of judges may bring greater
understanding of the racism juveniles’ face in judicial system (Ulmer. T Jeffery;
Kurlychek. C Megan and Kramer. H John 2007).
 The high rate of juvenile incarceration of black youth has negative consequences that last
well into adult hood (Bell 2005).
 When juvenile offenders are released back into their same community that fostered
criminal behavior in the first place, their reform is unlikely (Gano Davis Jessica; Silvestre
Suero Facelys, and Glenn. W Jonathan 2013).

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 Detention centers need to work with communities to improve or create educational
opportunities that are viable options to criminal activity and to provide positive role
models for the youth (Roy Lotz; Eric. D Poole and Robert. M Regoli 1985).
Research findings on this topic suggest that there are several factors related to why blacks
are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. There are six factors that are related to rates
of juvenile offenses: peers, community, parents/family, poverty and low educational
performance and attainment. In addition, the role of judge’s perceptions of the juvenile offender
and their family is important in understanding varying rates in the type and length of sentencing.
Often judges sentence black youth offenders to detention centers with longer sentences believing
that the youth and their parents have no viable resources to improve their education or behavior.

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METHODS
Validity of Sources
Of the forty references used in this research 10 articles were most important to my topic.
Eight articles included eleven scholars who teach on the subject of juvenile justice at the
university level and two who work in the juvenile justice professional setting. The first of the
eleven academic scholars, Dr. Thomas Berndt, teaches at Purdue University in the department of
Psychological Sciences and focuses on juvenile delinquency. Dr. Berndt received his Ph.D in
1975 in the Institute of Child Development in the University of Minnesota and his B.A in 1971
Department of Psychology in Harvard University. (Dr. Thomas Berndt 1999). The second
scholar, William Julius Wilson, is an American sociologist who taught at the University of
Chicago from 1972 to 1996 before moving to Harvard University. Dr. Wilson’s research focuses
on inequality, race, ethnicity and immigration and urban poverty and the city (Harvard
University, 2015 Department of Sociology. http://sociology.fas.harvard.edu). The third scholar
Roy Lotz, teaches Criminal Justice at John Jay college, the fourth scholar Eric D. Poole is a
professor at Auburn University and investigates criminology and evaluation research and
juvenile justice, and the fifth scholar Robert M. Regoli, is a professor at the University of
Colorado, Boulder and teaches criminal justice studies. (Roy,1985). The sixth scholar Jeffrey
Reiman, is a professor of philosophy. His academic work emphasizes social and legal issues in
American society. “After receiving his PhD, he joined the American University faculty in 1970,
in the Center for the Administration of Justice (now called the Department of Justice, Law and
Society of the School of Public Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, 2014 American
University, Washington, DC. www.american.edu). The seventh scholar is Arthur J. Reynolds a
professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His main studies are on educational
interventions, early childhood development, evaluation research, prevention science, and school

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& family influences on development (University of Minnesota, 2014 Driven to Discover.
www.cehd.umn.edu ). The eighth scholar is Emily A. Mann who is an Associate Academic
Specialist at Northeastern University. She works in the department of Human Services and is an
Assistant Professor of Social Work at Bridgewater State College NAED Spencer Postdoctoral
Fellow at National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation.” (Emily Mann, 2014 from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org ). The ninth and tenth scholars Gano
Davis Jessica and Silvestre Suero Facelys, both teach at North Carolina Central. Professor Davis
and Professor Silvestre work in the Criminal Justice department. The final scholar Jonathan W.
Glenn teaches at Saint Augustine University. His research is based on variations of
disproportionate minority contact, gangs, social justice and school related juvenile crime.
The two professionals who work in juvenile facilities, are James Bell, Director of the W.
Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity in San Francisco since 2001
(James Bell 2005), and Jennifer Young, a graduate of Christopher Newport University. She also
is employed at Oblon Spivak as a Benefits Coordinator in Human Resources (Jennifer Young,
2008 Human Resources Generalist. www.linkedin.com ).
The research findings are based on scholarly books, case studies and organizational data
drawn from juvenile settings. A majority of the conclusions drawn by the academic scholars
used in this research were based on secondary data from various juvenile correction agencies and
organizations: The Coalition for Juvenile Justice, National Academy of Sciences Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP, and Community Research Associates. As
well as original field research such as the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), an investigation of
the scholastic achievement and social development of minority children growing up in high-
poverty neighborhoods ( Arthur J. Reynolds 1999).

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Looking at the trends in the kinds of evidence used, there are dimension or aspects of the
topic that have not been directly observed or overlooked that would be critical in understanding
the topic better and contribute to resolving the issue. Many scholars’ research findings are based
on aggregate analysis of secondary data on the cause and prevention of delinquency in general.
There is an absence of qualitative data, ethnographic narrative and personal conversations with
the offenders and judges. Moreover, my research did not include an examination of current best
practices in the community and within education. Both would be essential in understanding
causes and prevention of juvenile delinquency. In conclusion, this research focused primarily on
scholars who utilized aggregate level data and spoke broadly on the issues of causation and
prevention of delinquency. Case studies and ethnographic research on the topic was not included
in the initial scope of my research design. It would be critical to follow up on this preliminary
aggregate level research with case studies and ethnographies to grasp the real experience of the
African American juvenile delinquent. This would allow social science research to provide
specific examples of those youths, offenders and civil workers who have been affected by the
identified causes and preventions. This research allowed me to define the problem and its extent
in the United States but it has become clear to me that in order to solve this problem a case based
approach is the best approach.
Key terms
The key terms that are critical to understanding the research topic are:
Juvenile delinquency:
Juvenile delinquency is an illegal act committed by children under the age of eighteen
who are being punished for their acts. A scholar Matthew J. DeLisi defines juvenile

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delinquency to be the a “criminal and analogously deviant behavior committed by children
and adolescents under the legal age of adulthood.” In addition, he mentions that “in most of
the United states and in the federal courts system, persons under the age of 18 are considered
juveniles and their unlawful actions delinquencies.” Juvenile delinquency is punished
“depending on the severity of the offense.” DeLisi described those offenses to be criminal—
and by criminal he means “murder, homicide, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, armed
robbery, arson, and sexual molestation.”(Delisi 2014). This term is critical to understanding
my research topic because it identifies the age group of people who are categorized as
juvenile delinquent.
Family
A family is a group of people living together and has face ups and downs together. A
family is like a team where people support and love one another. In family, there are moment of
sadness, joy, rejection, hatred, and so on. Sociologist Jean Stockard recognizes that family
experiences include not only joy and companionship but also sadness, pain, and frustration. He
further elaborates on the characteristics and composition of family in modern society an observes
that “many children live with a parent and a stepparent, and many others are raised by single
parents. Many more couples than in the past live together without marriage and gay and lesbian
couples establish households and maintain committed, monogamous relationships, and many of
these households include natural or adopted children”(Stockard 1997). Jean concludes that
“these social changes, involving as they do perhaps the most basic unit in society, are profoundly
important and, to many people, profoundly disturbing.” This key term relates to my topic about
race and juvenile delinquency because most of my findings explain how family can either cause
or prevent youths from being delinquent. A family with no support and unstable income can

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lead youths to delinquency. However, a family with no stress, and positively minded will
prevent youths from delinquency.
Peers
Stockard (1997) defines peers as being a group of people with whom “we share common
interests and statuses—we learn social roles and develop our self-identities and through these
associations we may also learn about deviant behavior” (P. 140). This term is critical to
understanding my research topic because it explains the influence that a particular group can
have to influence individuals. My findings discuss a lot about how peers can either lead or
prevent adolescent delinquency. The group of people they surround themselves with influences
adolescents and if non-delinquent peers surround them, they will be more likely to have a
pleasant behavior and do well in their academics. However, if negative peers surround them,
they will be more likely to commit crimes that will lead them to prison.
Community
Looking at the community Stockard (1997) emphasizes how individuals and groups tend
to segregate themselves in neighborhoods who share similar characteristics, such as the same
phenotypes, gender, race and ethnicity. Stockard identified three structures that elaborate how
we tend to be attracted to communities of kind: social class status, age and family status, and
race-ethnicity (P. 166). This term relates to my topic because it identifies factors that influence
youths to commit crimes. Often juvenile crime is caused by their living and income status in a
poor community.

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Education
Stockard (1997) defines education as “the groups, organizations, norms, roles, and
statuses associated with a society’s transmission of knowledge and skills to its members. He
further explains how education relates to the community we are surrounded with. This term is
critical to understanding my topic because based on my findings, education is a reason to cause,
or prevent youths from delinquency. Adolescents who attend schools with low expectation of
student performance are more likely to drop out from those schools and become delinquent.
Metacognitive of the research process
My research on the causation and prevention of delinquency was primarily conducted
through EBSCOhost. I had to search for key terms such as juvenile delinquency; family and
delinquency; peers and delinquency; education and delinquency and community and
delinquency. However, it wasn’t easy to find these terms alone. I sought help from Mrs.
Chelsea Van Riper and Mrs. Edith, both librarian at Principia College who helped me organize
my references searches and locate books that discussed my topic on race and juvenile
delinquency.

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HISTORICAL CONTEX/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This social bias of one race (white) being considered superior to the other (blacks) has
existed since 1619 when the slaves were shipped from Africa to America to do slave work
(Slavery in America 2015). Through scientific constructs of race and phenotype, and the
assertion of the superior status of whites verses black slaves created a system that continues to
separate whites from black in contemporary society. For instance, the whites are perceived to be
superior, educated and talented, whereas the black are perceived to be uneducated, poor and
unskillful. Negative perceptions of black slaves lead to their complete segregation from white
society that included housing, education, transportation, and even bathrooms and water
fountains. The effects of segregation continue to exist today and are evident in our daily social
interactions.
Segregation is portrayed in movies, sports and religion. For instance, in Roots, a movie
based on a real life story of slavery, portrays the black race as uneducated, unclean and vulgar.
The movie is said to have accurately portrayed how African slaves were treated as less than
human beings. In the movie, their white counterparts called slaves derogatory names like
“nigger” and “negro” in order to dehumanize them. The slaves weren’t allowed to keep their
African names, and if a slave had forgotten his new name, he was punished. These are just a few
examples of how the whites attempted to subjugate the blacks by stripping them of their heritage
and identity (Roots 1997).
In sports, we have the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black African American to play
professional baseball in the 1960’s and 1970’s. During this time, baseball in the United States
was a white man’s sport and no black athletes were allowed to play baseball. Blacks were

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considered too unsophisticated for athletics. The image of blacks was to work in the field, not to
play on the field. Despite all the prevailing white biases, injustice and discrimination, Jackie
Robinson through his talent proved to the world that blacks are capable of contributing on a
white man’s team. Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier for other races. He also redefines
sport as an activity based on merit and not on skin color (Jackie Robinson, 2011 Biography).
A similar story that relates to Jackie Robison’s experience and portrays white supremacy
is the book, Remember the Titans. It is a story of the first employed black coach at T. C.
William High School in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1971 Herman Boone a past American high
school football coach was asked to coach a losing white football team. In that same year, the
black couldn’t coach teams because they were perceived as incompetent and unintelligent to do
so. Despite the racisms, injustice and discrimination, coach Herman Boon and his coaching
strategies, proved the world wrong by giving his team multiple championships and created the
perception that a black person cannot only coach a high school football team but also a college
and professional football team. His success in turning the team’s losing record into a
championship season was another example of how African Americans have overcome the white
prejudices that had historically limited the potential of capable blacks (Jeff Merron, 2015
Remember the Titans’).
White ignorance and prejudice played out in southern communities’ mindset in a
movement called the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Through fear and violence, they attempted to
repress the blacks and limit their social mobility. The KKK did not believe in equal pay,
education or employment for the blacks and even perpetuated beliefs that the African
American’s brain was smaller than the whites, and justified paternalistic domination. The
prejudices of the Ku Klux Klan reflected a larger cultural sentiment and contributed to the

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establishment of the Jim Crow laws which were created in 1965 to segregate people of color in
different social domains such as schools, public places, transportation, restrooms, restaurants and
even drinking fountains. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2015).
In education, the black and white students generally could not attend the same school. If
they did, they weren’t allowed to sit next to each other, and they were prohibited from taking the
same transportation to the same school. They provided separate transportation specifically for
blacks. Segregation in school started in 1896, the year the U.S Supreme Court established a law,
which segregated the public school for blacks and whites. Both races had their own schools and
were considered separate but equal. And in 1950, this segregation law was overturned by Brown
V. Board of Education which legislated that both races should attend the same schools. Even
though segregation was outlawed, segregation persisted in the actions and the attitudes of much
of the population (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009).
In public restrooms, there were signs that said “black” and “white” restrooms. Similar
signs were marked in restaurants and drinking fountains. The white people didn’t want to eat
next to black people. They didn’t want to share food with them or eat at the same restaurant. All
of these are examples of the inequality woven into the culture and mindset of Americans.
There have been several significant legislative actions to improve the status of blacks in
American society and to compensate them for the prejudice and discrimination reminiscent of
slavery. Segregation in public education was outlawed in 1954 with the Supreme Court decision
of Brown verses Public Education, discrimination in employment was outlawed in 1964 with the
Civil Right Act, signed by John F. Kennedy, former president of the United States. The Civil
Rights Act sought to remove employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and

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nationality. Another critical legal case was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Although blacks had
the right to vote, state and local government had found ways to create voting barriers to
minorities. One example was a literacy test which uneducated minorities often couldn’t pass.
Another example was offered voting balance only in English that prevented new immigrants
from voting.
In spite of the great gains made in restorative justice for blacks, white supremacy over the
black race continues to be evidenced in the historical examples of sports, education and
restaurants, and it is also evident in the internal cultural mindset of racial prejudice and
discrimination of individuals also. For example, there is a perception that if you are black, you
are poorer and probably less educated than your white counterparts. If this bias perception is
carried into the judicial system for example, a judge’s decision may be influenced toward
sentencing a black offender because of a perceived lower family’s status, income and
background than a white offender of the same crime. Although for the most part, these black
offenders may come from a poorer community and family background, why should that
influence a judge to give them to longer sentences in juvenile correctional facilities?
To understand this point more fully, we need to explore why most black people are poor
in general. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1863 with the Emancipation
Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. But the legislation did not and could not end the stereotypes,
distrust and bigotry of many of the white people especially in the south. Blacks were free but did
not have money to buy property or invest in business. Therefore they often had to lease land or
equipment or seeds from the white land lords or business owners. The terms of the lease were
often so severe that the black farmers did not have enough money to pay back their loans and
they went further and further into debt. These arrangements served only to keep black farmers

18. 13
poor and in debt and neighborhoods became segregated partly due to the income disparity. This
situation created a type of indentured servitude that kept blacks in poverty and limited their
opportunities to improve their status (Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation 1863).
In reviewing the history of restorative justice for blacks in the United States there has
been significant progress in the legal rights and civil status. From the1890’s when the southern
states started the Jim Crow Laws of “separate but equal” status for African Americans to 1961,
when President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 “to promote actions that achieve non-
discrimination”, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Followed by
Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 executive order that required government employers to "hire without
regard to race, religion and national origin. While the Jim Crow laws had been dismantled
politically, they had created a physical and psychological “separation in practice (which) led to
conditions for black Americans that were inferior to those provided for white Americans. It
institutionalized a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages” (Jim Crow
Museum of Racist Memorabilia, 2014).
Even though the government abolished slavery, black people did not get hired by the
whites and were continually denied employment. If they were hired, most of these menial jobs
were taken by the black women, and were low skilled jobs that barely afforded their survival.
Black women in that time were the providers for their families. This lineage of low skilled jobs
of blacks established society’s expectancy and standard for their current poverty and status.
Today, the black population has lower jobs and lives in poor neighborhoods because of this
history. Some social scientists would maintain that high rates of poverty led many blacks to steal,
and they end up being jailed.

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CASE STUDY
St. Louis was one of the cities that received a large portion of freed slaves in the 1850s.
Freed by the government after the Emancipation Proclamation, they didn’t initially own property
nor have places to sleep, previously these freed slaves lived on a plantation or farm settings. If
they wanted to walk in the city, they were required to have licenses. If they were apprehended in
the city without this license, they were sent back to the country. This highly restricted life and
stagnant opportunities eventually became a cycle of poverty rather than steady improvement.
With no license, they were forced to go to prison. Freed slaves in St. Louis were banned from
voting and protesting against the Whites in courts (Reservation Plan for St. Louis Part 1: Historic
Contexts).
In addition to economic challenges there were also educational limitations. Blacks were
banned from education by the pro-slavery coalition in the 1847 that prevented them from
learning to read and write. A voice against the injustice toward the slaves was Elijah Love Joy, a
news paper editor who moved to St. Louis in June 1833 to write articles about how the whites
were maltreating and taking advantage of blacks who were freed from slavery. Elijah received
lots of threats from the whites for printing this story. Because of these threats, Elijah relocated to
Alton, Illinois to continue his writing. However, in Alton, he received greater threats that
ultimately led to his untimely death in 1887 (Reservation Plan for St. Louis Part 1: Historic
Contexts).
In spite of opposition there are numerous examples of attempts to equalize the
employment, living, and educational levels of the blacks in St. Louis:

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 In 1827, the blacks were taught how to read by John Berry Meadchum, a freed slave who
became a pastor of a church. However, his school was closed by the authorities of the
city for teaching the blacks how to read and write.
 By 1840s, five more schools were added in different churches located in chambers street
Baptist, and Washington Avenue.
 By 1847, those schools were banned by the Missouri law to prevent the blacks from
reading and writing. The blacks of St. Louis were banned from reading and writing
because their owners were afraid of a rebellion.
 By 1865, a new law came out that allowed all school to provide education for the black
populations. Because of this law, John Berry Meachum created a new school near the
Mississippi River. Then, five more school was built for the blacks.
 By 1875, the additional of twelve schools were added for the African-American
community of St. Louis. Also, in 1877, another school was built for colored students.
 In 1909, the Black Associations of St. Louis, raised lots of money to create a building
down town to have a place for blacks to live in.
 In 1960 Dr. Martin Luther King, JR and other members of the Association helped the
black immigrants to find jobs and places to stay. They participated in the education of
black population.
During those times, the African American population lived in segregated and poor
housing and crowded communities. Social stigma between blacks and whites prevented them
from mixing or conversing with people of different race or economic status. Therefore, within
their community, the African American of St. Louis created their own culture. Music and
baseball was part of that culture. Through music and baseball they found the importance of life.

21. 16
Jazz was a popular style of music at the time. It was mostly played at the Chestnut Valley and
Market streets of St. Louis. They had jazz musicians and group singers such as the Tom Turpin,
the Gladiolas Rag, and the Cascades who played from 1873 to 1922 (Reservation Plan for St.
Louis Part 1: Historic Contexts).
Baseball was another strong part of their culture. They formed black teams in order to
play against the city of St. Louis. It wasn’t until Jackie Robinson; the first black American to
play major league baseball in 1947 that society began to accept blacks into the sporting world
and to acknowledge their proven talent. Since then, baseball became a traditional sport for the
blacks in the twentieth century. Robinson’s ability to break into the national baseball league of
white players was built upon the efforts and establishment in 1920 of the Negro National League.
This league of the twentieth century created baseball stars such as James Cool Papa Bell, Josh
Gibson, Jimmie Crutchfield, and Satchel Paige who joined the Homestead Grays. And Kansas
City Monarchs had Bell ranks a batters and base runners (Reservation Plan for St. Louis Part 1:
Historic Contexts).
Economically, there is a big difference in earnings between blacks and whites.
According to research the US Census Bureau whites have always earned more than the blacks
ever since slavery. For instance, in 1999 the African American men and women of the South
had a lower median earnings compared to the whites. The African American men had $30,886
median earnings, whereas the white men median earnings were $42,224. African American
women of the south, had $25,736 median earnings compared to $30,777 of white women median
earnings. In the same year, approximately 24.7 percent of African American population lived
under poverty compared to 8.6 percent of whites. According to these 1999 statistics, we can
make a statement that the African American was twice as poor as the whites. In 2004, the

22. 17
disparity in earnings increased, the African American median income earnings were $30,134
compared to their white counterpart $48,977 (World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous
peoples 2009).
The unemployment rate for African Americans was higher than their whites counterpart
during 1999. Approximately 39.8 per cent of African American was unemployed. This
unemployment rate of African American carried over into the next ten years. For example, in
2003 approximately 20% of young African Americans of age 16 to 19 worked compared to 40%
of their white counterparts (World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous peoples).
Research shows that poverty is the reason why people commit crimes. Unemployment
and the low median income earnings, push the black population to commit crime. Some
examples of these crimes are drug abuse, prostitution, and theft, and gang violence. Because of
these crimes, the black populations have higher rates of incarceration in prison settings.
I experienced this interpretation first hand in the summer of 2014 when I did an
internship at Pere Marquette, a correctional program for young offenders ages 14-18 located at
State Highway 100W Grafton, IL 62037. It is a “level three, minimum security male facility
with an open campus,” and the “first step-down juvenile facility totally dedicated to reintegrating
the youth back into the community.” Youth are well treated in this program and gain benefits
such as “intense intervention, treatment-oriented programming, and community involvement
which will ensure them an opportunity for a structured learning setting to assist them in
developing positive life building skills” (Illinois Youth Center-Pere Marquette).
The Pere Marquette Program contains more black offenders than their white counterparts
who also committed all types of crimes such as stealing, drug using and committing violence.

23. 18
This internship allowed me to have deeper conversation with these young offenders and get the
chance to know them on a personal level. They came from poor communities and families that
are prone to violence, and therefore they repeated these acts of illegal activity and violence.
One example is a young offender who was age 15 was sentenced to 9 months for fighting
in school and creating trouble. Another offender, age 15, was sentenced to 10 months for drug
use and fighting kids in his neighborhood. By talking to these young offenders I learned that
their environment influence their behavior as much as their parents’ role models. One young
man told me that he has a little brother and a dad and mom who really care about him. Also, he
told me that he feels sorry for putting his family in this horrible situation. Despite his seemingly
loving atmosphere, his peers and neighborhood environment contributed to his illegal behavior.
This young man’s father had once been in jail but changed his life around and took care of his
family. So, his dad’s past had an influence on his behavior. In the end, deep down in their heart
they wanted to do better. The young offender was sorry for the trouble he had put his family
through and wanted to do better like other kids in his school. Another offender stated that he
looks up to his dad and wants to go back to school and obtain a high school diploma and transfer
to college to get a bachelor’s degree. Both were influenced by the social and economic
surroundings, but both wanted to do better.
The family situation and the neighborhood aren’t the only places that are challenging for
the youths to live better lives or to follow the straight path. I had personal conversations with
some of the board members of the facility regarding the program as well. I asked them to share
with me their positions and challenges they experience at the facility while taking care of the
young offenders. An activity specialist with a Bachelor degree in Leisure Time and a Master
degree in Criminal Justice told me that working at the facility and showing young offenders

24. 19
positive directions to deal with stress is what makes him like the job. However, the challenging
part comes when kids keep coming back and the lack of resources to keep supporting them
outside of the facility.
I also interviewed with the facility’s psychologist with a Master in professional
counseling, who told me that to work with youths and listen to them and their ideas is the
rewarding part of the job for him. However, one of the challenges he faces is the impatient
attitude from other faculty members toward the offenders. He suggested that faculty members
should have more patience, empathy, being nonjudgmental, and understanding.
Lastly, I had a conversation with a youth and family specialist with a Bachelor degree in
psychology. He stated that the biggest challenging factor of his job is to get family to visit more
often because many of them don’t have phone devices to arrange visit or to stay in touch.
In conclusion the historical background and local context helps us to understand some of
the more obvious reasons for crime: poverty, low income and poor role models. It shows how
poverty significantly influences why a particular race commits more crime than another race. It
also identifies the effects that slavery had on starting the black population off at a disadvantage
because they were at the bottom of the social economic ladder. These disadvantages are the
reasons why the black have a higher rate of crime compared to their white counterpart.

25. 20
ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE
This capstone research examines the over representation of racial and ethnic minorities in
the juvenile justice system in the United States. In 2011, the black rate of juvenile incarcerations
for all crimes was “more than double the white rate” (OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book). Why do
minority youths differ from majority youths in juvenile incarcerations? How does race impact a
judge’s decision toward youth sentencing? What are the causes of delinquency? How can the
role of parenting prevent youths from being delinquent? Are there differences between White
and Black parental circumstances?
Before we begin a discussion on the causes of delinquency we should first define our
terms. Matthew J. DeLisi (2014) defines delinquency to be a criminal and analogously deviant
behavior committed by children and adolescents under the legal age of adulthood (P.1)
In the United States, a person is considerate a delinquent if under the age of 18. In addition,
most of the crimes are committed at the age of 16. The name of delinquent is not given at the
age of 7—the judges assume children of this age are not able to commit crime. Juvenile
delinquency is punished differently based on the different crimes committed by the offender.
Juvenile offenders are ranked according to their crime such as “criminal behavior, homicide,
manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson, and sexual molestation”(P.1). The
punishment given to a juvenile delinquent varies by the crime they committed. In other words
they can have a longer or shorter detention depending on the softer or harder crime they
committed.
Bryan Hogeveen (2014) examined the role of juvenile detention centers in combatting
youth crime. He traces the history of juvenile centers, showing how, over time, they have
changed from the original intent of educational sites for reform to being like adult prisons. While

26. 21
juvenile detention center sentences “are reserved for the most dangerous offenders from whom
society needs protection or for those who are most likely to escape before their case ever reaches
the court. Nevertheless, judges often sentence youths who have merely breached probation
orders or are in noncompliance with a court order” (2014:1) Hogeveen concludes that juvenile
detention centers have an overrepresentation of ethnic minorities and do not accommodate the
needs of female offenders and that officialdom, politicians and the public, cognizant of crime
rates, nevertheless fail to highlight the social conditions that create juvenile offenders (2014:3).
Research findings on juvenile delinquency suggest that there are several factors related to
why blacks are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. There are five primary factors
related to rates of juvenile offenses: peers, community, parents/family, poverty and low
educational performance and attainment. In addition, the role of judge’s perceptions of the
juvenile offender and their family is important in understanding varying rates in the length of
sentencing. Often judges sentence black youth offenders to detention centers with longer
sentences believing that the youth and their parents have no viable resources to improve their
education or behavior.
Peers
The influence of peer pressure on decisions to commit juvenile offenses is often referred
to in explaining individual motivation of juvenile behavior. Gano, et.al., (2013) suggest causes of
delinquency are closely tied to contextual factors related to school suspension on black and white
youth. Often suspension from school leads students to delinquency. Students who are negatively
influenced by their peers, is more likely to see their behavior worsen in the educational
environment. Their findings conclude, “Empirical data have shown the tendency of an
individual to engage in deviant behavior is affected by the prevalence of that behavior among

27. 22
their peers” (Darcy A. Santor; Deanna Messervey & Vivek Kusumakar 2000:165). For the most
part, their negative peers are found in schools. In today’s world, school tends to “force students
to interact with one another on a regular basis that leads to the adaptation of behaviors” (Darcy
A. Santor; Deanna Messervey & Vivek Kusumakar, 2000:167). Moreover, “Schools tend to be a
place where students establish friendships that might have negative impact on their behaviors”
(Darcy A. Santor; Deanna Messervey & Vivek Kusumakar, 2000:169).
J. Thomas Berndt also examines the causes of delinquency. His study examined how
“Friends’ influence students’ adjustment to school.” Peers have a big influence on children and
student academic work. Students tend to mimic everything they see their peers or friends doing.
This is similar to Gano, et. al., findings on how peers act in school. If peers behave delinquently
in school, students will try mimic this negative behavior. Kiell (1969) states, “for centuries,
adults have expressed concern about the negative influence of peers on children and adolescents.
In the past few decades, many scholars echoed these concerns and argued that peer influences on
children’s and adolescents’ attitudes and behaviors are both strong and negative
(Bronfenbrenner, 1970). Educational researchers refined the argument and suggested that
pressure from peers reduces students’ effort on schoolwork and encourage students to spend their
time and energy in nonacademic activities (Bishop, J. H. 1989; Coleman, J. S. 1961).
Two scholars Eric Lotz, D. Poole and Robert M. Regoli (1985) provide strategies to
prevent youth from delinquency. One option is to foster attachment that youths have on their
peers. If youths have a close attachment with their peers, a lower risk for them to commit crime
will emerge. However, if they have a low attachment with their peers, a higher risk for them to
commit crime will emerge because of a lack of peer attachment. Travis Hirschi and Rodney
Stark (1969) found that the closer a boy is to his peers, the less delinquent he is likely to be. Eric

28. 23
Linden and James C. Hackler (1973) discovered that boys with close ties to conventional peers
are indeed rarely delinquent. Those with more distant ties to conventional peers are twice as
likely to engage in delinquency (P.206).
The above research findings on the influence of peers on motivating individuals to
commit delinquent acts are similar. They agree that students often misbehave in school because
of what they perceive their friends and peers doing. In other words, they misbehave in school
because they see their friends misbehaving as well. However, they differ in their research
questions. Gano et.al examine the “contextual factors for school suspension on black and white
youth” (P.394), whereas Thomas Berndt is examining “friends’ influence on students’
adjustment to school” (P.1). The examination of the influence of peers on juvenile offenses is
related to my topic because it examines my research question about the causation of delinquency.
The research findings answer the question to my topic that refers to how the role of parenting
and society prevent youths from being delinquent. Only through attachment and involvement
from parent and positive peers, youths can be prevented from delinquency.
Community
Gano’s (2013) research findings conclude that students living in a “disadvantaged”
community or neighborhood usually perform lower academically in school because of the
negative influence of their community. However, children who grow up in a rich community are
the ones who generally perform better academically. “Children who grow up in disadvantaged
neighborhoods participate in a subculture where involvement in anti-social behavior is typical.”
(Gano et.al., 2013:395). Studies have shown that minority races living in disadvantaged
neighborhoods are more likely to become delinquent because they are exposed to delinquency on
a daily basis. Research conducted by the under Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

29. 24
Program (OJJDP) indicates that the type of community in which the juvenile lives has a stronger
effect on his likelihood of becoming involved in delinquency than his racial characteristics.
Moreover, “African-Americans living in non-disadvantaged areas did not have higher rates of
delinquency than whites living in non-disadvantaged areas.
To reduce disproportionate minority confinement the community must work together to
address the causes by enhancing prevention and diversion programs and expanding alternatives
to secure detention and corrections---particularly in minority neighborhoods” (OJJDP: P. 1).
Local initiatives to involve families, neighborhoods, and community-based agencies serving
minority youths in this effort should be developed and implemented. Strategies to reduce the
disproportionate confinement of minority juveniles include the use of risk and need assessment
instruments, cultural competency training for law enforcement and other juvenile justice
professionals, individualized home-based care, mentors, therapeutic foster care, community-
based family-oriented services, reintegration services for juveniles placed outside the home,
independent living, job training, and increased accessibility to treatment (OJJDP: P1-2).
Gano, et al, and the findings of OJJDP are similar in a sense that they both agreed that a
disadvantaged community or neighborhood could be one of the causes of delinquency. They
argue that youths who live in poor neighborhood are more likely to commit crime because they
don’t have enough resources to satisfy their needs. These sources relate to my topic because they
identify an additional factor, community effects on adolescents.
Ruth D Peterson, J. Krivo and John Hagan (2006) explore and explain how crime starts in
society. The authors challenge our belief regarding the notion that crime was started by a certain
group and race. They argue that crime cannot be started by a group, but individual. In other

30. 25
words, crime is committed by an individual and not by a group. The authors state that “For
starters, the idea of ‘culture as adaptation to structure’ is directly problematized. Consider the
claim that people adapt rationally to a violent, desperate context by becoming violent
themselves.” He adds by asking “how can culture be conceptualized as an adaptation to the
context when participants are actively creating the violent context in the first place? Individual
actions are part of creating violent neighborhoods; put differently, without the cultural agency of
neighborhood residents expressed in ongoing engagements in violent altercations, the
neighborhood context would not be violent”(p. 29). What the author means by this explanation
is that crime starts individually and not as a society.
Peterson, Krivo and Hagan (2006) also point out how people don’t rely on officers to
handle crime and handle it by themselves. The reason for this approach is because there is lack
of police enforcement in highly dangerous neighborhood. For instance, the author mentions that
“research has found that high-violence neighborhoods are characterized by both state
disinvestment in access to law and widespread ‘legal cynicism’, the feeling among residents that
legitimate channels of protection and redress are not viable options” (P.31). Moreover,
residents in disadvantaged areas, who experience the highest rates of victimization, are less
likely to report simple assaults to the police than residents of wealthier neighborhood. Legal
cynicism “occurs when neighborhoods experience a policing vacuum or police resources are
dramatically insufficient to provide a basic level of safety. Even if one reports a neighbor to the
police, the police cannot protect one from retaliation, especially if their investigation is unlikely
to result in a conviction”(P.31).
One of the reasons why minorities don’t complain to the officer is because of the
perception that officers have of them. Peterson, Krivo, and Hagan (2006) state that “Minorities

31. 26
and residents of racially stigmatized neighborhoods feel especially alienated from police, who
may be inclined to treat them like potential suspects rather than citizens in need of assistance.
Under these circumstances common reaction is for minority residents to feel that they must
resolve their conflicts themselves, obtaining the support of family and friends for doing so” (P.
39). To summarize, the authors make the point that people don’t rely on officers to solve the
crime case because of the perception that police officers have of them. Just for the fact that they
live in minority areas, police don’t really give full attention to them because they are seen as
criminal. Having that said, people from minority group believe that they should handle crime by
themselves and depending on their peers.
Education
Arthur and Mann (2006) explain that school, family and peers are the factors to consider
in causes of delinquency. Looking at the education system, kids with lack of education are more
likely to become delinquent. Their inability to read, write, and think critically can cause or push
them to make wrong decisions in life. The Loeber & Dishion (1983), predicted “the occurrence
of delinquency, educational measures including low achievement, low vocabulary, and low
verbal reasoning increased delinquency predictions by 27%” (p.155).
Peter, et al (2000) identified “several school-based factors can also lead to a disruption in
learning or academic failure”(156). William Ruefle and Kenneth Mike Reynolds, (1995) also
identified variables such as the child’s reading ability, early behavioral problems in school,
ineffective monitoring and management of students by teachers and school staff, grade retention,
and special education placement all serve as potential indicators of school dropout and are
related risk factors for delinquent behavior.

32. 27
Research on low academic performance and low educational attainment relates to my topic
because it gives the example of education as being one of the causes for delinquency. It argues
that a lack of education and support can most likely push young adolescent to commit crime.
Family
Poor parenting is also believed to be a significant factor contributing to higher rates of
delinquency. Because of the lack of support and attention from their parent, youths lack the
supervision or positive mentors. Parents, who don’t provide care and attention to their children,
put their children at risk to become delinquent. Youths with no support from their family are
more likely to embrace outside support. Often this means that their attention and support is
found in gangs.
Arthur and Mann (2006) found that child abuse occurs at a higher rate among parents
with lower income or status that can lead to juvenile delinquency. In addition, parents with
criminal backgrounds are also associated with higher rates of juvenile delinquency. Kids are
prone to become like their fathers or mothers when they grow up. Loeber & Dishion (1983) state
that “family characteristics, such as parental involvement in criminal activities, have been
identified as predictors of delinquency by age 10; the earliest predictors (by age six) tend to
reflect general family functioning and parenting” (155-156). Vonnie C. McLoyd (1990) states
that “family risk factors, such as domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and involvement in
the criminal justice system, have been identified as behaviors that influence disruptive parent-
child relationships and contribute to negative developmental outcomes for youths”. R B Ziegler
(1992) found that, “the most significant family risk factors for the later onset of delinquency
include poor parental supervision, family members with criminal involvement, low

33. 28
socioeconomic status, large family size, poor housing, and low educational attainment” (p. 155-
156).
Jennifer Young examine how parents can cause delinquency. Children have a higher risk to
commit crimes and becoming delinquent if their parents have criminal background. For
instance, the author mentions that “according to a recent report of the National Academy of
Sciences, children of incarcerated parents are at greater risk of homelessness, aggressive
behavior, delinquency, social isolation, depression and learning deficits” (2005: P. 80-83).
Tanya Krupat, director of the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents, stated
that “the impact on the family, especially children, is traumatic, it is no wonder that human rights
advocates have referred to parental incarceration as one of the greatest threats to child well-being
in the United States” (2008: P. 39).
Arthur and Emily (2006), Loeber & Dishion (1983), McLoyd (1990), Zigler et al., (1992),
Jennifer Young, and Tanya Krupat are similar in a sense that they agree that poor parenting and
family’s criminal backgrounds can lead children to delinquency. They both relate to my topic
because they give one cause of delinquency----that is family.
When discussing the prevention of delinquency, Fagan Abigail A (2013) found parents
can impact their children’s behavior and prevent them from delinquency. Parents have a big role
in their children’s lives. They have the capability to either prevent or lead their children to
delinquency. These children learn positive and negative attitude in society—it is the role of their
parent to get involve in their child’s lives and select which behavior their children should keep or
take out. In case the parents don’t get involve, their children will have a higher probability of
engaging in delinquent behavior. This example refers to what the author summarized as social

34. 29
learning theories by (Marvin D. Krohn; Willaim F. Skinner; James L. Massey; Ronald L. Akers
1985; Ronald L. Akers and Wesley G. Jennings 2009; Bandura Albert and Walters Richard H
1959; Gerald R.Patterson; Patrica Chamberlain and John B. Reid 1982). Scholars “contend that
children learn positive and negative behaviors via interaction with others, and that parents are
particularly important for influencing children’s prosocial and antisocial behavior.” (617). For
instance, “parents who endorse attitudes favoring deviant behavior or who fail to correct
children’s misbehavior increase the likelihood that children will view delinquent activities as
acceptable to achieve certain outcomes, particularly when they perceive more benefits than
consequences from engaging in delinquency. Moreover, parents who engage in deviance or law-
breaking provide children with models of illicit behavior to emulate.” (P.619).
This research relates to my topic because it is looking at how the role of parenting can
cause and prevent delinquency. The findings show how the lack of parental control over their
children can cause delinquency. On the other hand, it explains how parent’s involvement with
their kids can prevent delinquency.
Poverty
Jeffrey Reiman (2007) examined the relationship between poverty and crime. According
to his research, poverty and unemployment are significant causes of delinquency. Looking at
poverty, the author states that “the street crime attributed to this age group that makes our city
streets a perpetual war zone is largely the work of poor inner-city youth” (P.29). Moreover, he
states that “this is the group at the lowest end of the economic spectrum. This is a group among
whom unemployment hovers around 25 percent, with underemployment (the percentage of
persons either jobless or with part-time, low-wage jobs) still higher” (P.29). Reiman’s findings
help us to understand that crime is primarily an outcome of people who live in poor

35. 30
neighborhoods and are unemployed. Individuals living in poverty stricken neighborhoods are
more likely not to attend school and don’t have the proper skills for higher paying jobs. For
instance, the author mentions that this age group “is a group with no realistic chance (for any but
a rare individual) to enter college or amass sufficient capital (legally) to start a business or to get
into the high-wage, skilled job markets” (Reiman, 2007: P.29).
Poverty is a source of crime because it is a strategy for meeting individual needs. Those
needs vary by different age groups. For instance, we see that most adolescences who live in
poverty have greater needs that lead them to crimes. For instance, if they are in need of money,
food and clothes, they will go around and steal them from people and businesses. Reiman (2007)
states that “poverty contributes to crime by creating need, while, at the other end of the spectrum,
wealth can contribute to crime by unleashing greed” (P.30).
Reiman attributes rising crime rates to increasing unemployment. Unemployment can
lead to drug selling, stealing and selling cars, selling stolen clothes and shoes. He states that “as
unemployment has gone up and down over the past decades, unemployment at the bottom of
society remains strikingly worse than the national average. For example, over the past 35 years,
black unemployment has remained slightly more than twice the rate of white unemployment.” In
addition, “In 1967, when 3.4 percent of white workers were unemployed, 7.4 percent of black
workers were jobless. By 2000, when overall unemployment was about 4 percent, 3.5 percent of
white workers were unemployed and 7.6 percent of blacks were unemployed. Among those in
the crime-prone ages of 16 to 19, 11.4 percent of white youngsters and 24.7 percent (almost one
in every four) black youngsters were jobless” (Reiman, 2007: P.31). Reiman’s discussion on
poverty and crime is relevant to my topic about Race and Juvenile delinquency because it
focuses the effects of poverty on the causation of juvenile delinquency.

36. 31
The effect of race in judges’ decision making in sentencing
The effect that race and class have on judge’s decision making is profound when
examining research on length of sentencing of black juveniles. James Bell (2005) examines the
effect of color in Judges’ decision making. Nonwhites youths are sentenced differently
compared to whites and that “young people of color are represented in juvenile justice systems in
numbers that cannot be accounted for by law violations alone” (P.80). Bell further states that
“the great weight of punitive juvenile justice policy falls disproportionately on [youths of color]”
(P.80). According to the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, youths of color ‘receive harsher
sanctions than their white counterparts at every stage’ of the juvenile justice system ‘from the
point of surveillance (including racial profiling), to sentencing and incarceration” (P. 80).
K. John Mooradian (2007) explains how race has an effect on judges and police officer’s
decision making. Today more black offenders receive harsher sentences not only because of
their crime, but also because of their color. Many prisons obtain a large number of African
American and a partial number of Caucasian offenders because of different biases of judges and
police officers have regarding their race. This has become a problem in our society. More black
offenders are placed in secure programs compared to whites because the decisions makers and
police officer believe that the black race needs more surveillance and education. Mooradian
(2007) describes this injustice as disproportionate minority confinement (DMC). He states,
“according to the United States government, the disproportionate minority confinement theory
consists of the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority youth in secure settings”
(Mooradian, 2007: 38). Moreover, Patricia Devine; Kathleen Collbagu, and Susan Jenkins
(1998) state that “’DMC’ is officially defined as a condition that exists when a racial or ethnic
group’s representation in confinement exceeds its proportion of the general population” (P. 38).

37. 32
When we think of the “overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority youth in secure
settings,” we think of black offenders-especially the black males. Eileen Sullivan; Milton Mino
and Katherine Nelson (2002: P.40) states that “most minority youth confined in United States
juvenile justice settings are identified as African American males.” Heidi M. Hsia; George S.
Bridges and Rosalie McHale (2004) reviewed statistics from the US Census, the Federal Bureau
of investigation, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and
concluded that African American youth are more likely than the general population to be
arrested, processed by juvenile courts, and receive court dispositions that require removal from
home (P.40).
However, it is not the case with the Caucasian youth offenders who are placed in more
flexible and public settings. The reason why black and white offenders are placed in different
setting is because of different biases that the judges and police officer have toward them. For
instance, they believe that black offenders need more discipline and surveillance because they
come from poor neighborhood with lower education. Judges and police officers believe that the
Caucasian offenders have a good moral and don’t make evil crime as the black offenders.
Findings from Justice Policy Institute (2002) indicate that “national and state level data show that
disparities between African American and Caucasian youth increase at every stage of the US
juvenile justice process. These disparities have been attributed to inadvertent discrimination in
juvenile justice decision-making and unintentionally discriminatory procedural rules” (P.40).
George S. Bridges and Sara Steen (1998) found that juvenile court workers were more
likely to attribute delinquent behavior among ‘Black’ youth to internal factors such as ‘lack of
responsibility’, and delinquency by ‘White’ youth to external factors such as ‘poverty’.” Graham
Sandra and Lowery Brian S (2004) “found that police officers were more likely to report

38. 33
negative ratings of offenders, judgments of greater culpability, higher expected recidivism, and
the need for harsher punishment, if they were randomly assigned to a group that was
‘subliminally primed’ with words related to the category ‘black’, than if they were assigned to a
group that received race-neutral stimuli” (P.40).
James Bell (2005) K. John Mooradian (2007), Patricia Devine, Collbagu Kathleen, &
Susan Jenkins (1998), Eileen Sullivan; Milton Mino and Katherine Nelson (2002), Heidi M.
Hsia; George S. Bridges and Rosalie McHale (2004), George S. Bridges and Sara Steen (1998),
Graham Sandra and Lowery Brian (2004) are all in agreement with the disproportionate numbers
of blacks in the juvenile justice system. They agree that the minority race (black) receive harsher
sentence compared to their white counterparts. This is due to the biases that the judges and
police officers have towards blacks. According to these sources, the judges and police officers
believe that the black offenders should receive harsher crime than their white counterparts
because they are so viewed as uneducated and lack access to resources. On the other hand, they
believe that the white offenders should receive lesser sentence than their black counterpart
because they are perceived as being educated and have greater access to resources. However,
they differ in their main research questions. For instance, James Bell examines the effect of
color in judges’ decision making; John Mooradian examines the effect in not only in the judges’
decision making but also the officers’ decisions. However, Ruth Peterson, Krivo and John
Hagan explain focus on the implications of cultural bias and race and crime” (P.29). These
sources relate to my topic because they all explain how race influence the judges’ and police
officers’ decision making.

39. 34
THEORETICAL CONTEXT/ANALYSIS
There are several theories that are applicable to my topic. These theories include ethnic
stratification (Martin N.Marger 2006: 37), criminology theories on economic marginalization,
social exclusion, and crime (Lauren Hale; Lawrence M. Berger; Monique K. LeBourgeois and
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn 2009: 365), power-conflict theories examining prejudice and discrimination
(Martin N.Marger 2006: 88) and lastly differential association theory and the importance of peer
groups ( Jean Stockard, 1997:140). Concepts from ethnic stratification and criminology theories
are used to examine the characteristics and consequences of disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Characteristics of disadvantaged neighborhoods include inadequate educational systems
and poor teacher performance, low educational attainment of students, poor parental involvement
in and outside of school. Power-conflict theories provide an analytical approach in understanding
juvenile judge’s differential sentencing across ethnic and racial backgrounds. Differential
association theory is useful in understanding high levels of negative peer influences. These
theories have their differences and similarities. Ethnic stratification and criminology theories
analyze the structure of American society and the historical and systematic discrimination
against African Americans that has resulted in disadvantaged communities. Power-conflict
theories shifts the focus of analysis from structural issues to influences of prejudice and
discrimination on judge’s sentencing practices. Differential association again shifts the focus of
analysis to what motivates youth at an interpersonal level to commit acts of deviance. Together
these four theories examine multiple social justice issues related to African Americans as a racial
minority.

40. 35
Ethnic Stratification
Ethnic stratification is a system of inequality that is structured around a hierarchical
arrangement of ethnic groups. Basically a ranking of ethnic groups based on the emergence of
one ethnic group establishing itself as the dominant group with the power and resources to shape
the nature of ethnic relations. A subordinate ethnic group’s place in the ethnic hierarchy
corresponds to the degree of access to resources and power. Often ethnic stratification systems
are referred to as majority-minority, or dominant-subordinate systems (Martin N.Marger 2006:
37).
Minority Group
Louis Wirth defined minority groups as “ a group of people, who because of their
physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from others in the society in which they live
for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of
collective discrimination” (1945:347). Minority group members “disproportionately occupy
poorer jobs, earn less income, live in less desirable areas, receive an inferior education, exercise
less political power, and are subjected to various social indignities” (Martin N.Marger 2006:38).
Wirth also includes in his definition of a minority group that minority group members are aware
of the their circumstance of being treated differently.
Minority groups as a concept has 4 four distinct characteristics:
1. Minority status is socially defined and any characteristics may serve as the basis for
minority status as long as it is perceived as significant. For example physical
characteristics such as skin color or hair texture. Or, cultural characteristics such as
religion, language, or food preferences.

41. 36
2. Minority groups experience unequal treatment because they lack the power to negate or
counteract that treatment. Minority status is a reflection of differential power.
3. Persons who are classified as part of a minority group will experience differential
treatment regardless of individual characteristics or achievement.
4. Minority groups is not the same as a mathematical definition where numbers in the group
does not necessarily relate to a group’s minority status. A good example of this is
Apartheid in South Africa where the minority group of indigenous Africans outnumbered
the colonial white counterpart, but they had no access to economic and political power. It
is the group’s marginal location in the social order that defines it as a minority (Martin
N.Marger 2006: 40).
Dominant Groups
In the study of race and ethnic relations social science research examines not only
minority groups but also on the dominant group. Minority groups imply a majority group but
often the “problem” of a minority group should not be examined out of context from their
relation to the majority group. In the United States often the “black problem” was in actuality
a “white problem” because it was the dominant white group that controlled the tone and
direction of black-white relations.
The concept of a dominant group includes cultural and political dimensions of power of
one group over other groups. Schermerhorn defines a dominant group as “that collectivity
within a society whish has preeminent authority to function both as guardians and sustainers
of the controlling value system, and as prime allocators of rewards in society” ( A. R
Schermerhorn 1970:13). A dominant ethnic group has the greatest access to society’s power
resources especially political authority and control of the economy. This advantage allows

42. 37
them to perpetuate their interests by controlling a disproportionate share of society’s valued
resources (Martin N.Marger 2006:40-43).
Criminology Theories on economic marginalization, social exclusion, and crime
Criminology theories examine the relationship between economic marginalization, social
exclusion and the probability of committing a crime. There are two main theories that are
relevant to my thesis of why African American youth commit crimes, Strain theory and Social
Disorganization theory ( Terrence D. Hill; Amy M. Burdette and Lauren Hale 2009: 1006-1013)
Strain Theory
Robert Merton (1938) suggested that what motivated individuals to commit acts of
crimes is the strain experienced by an individual who values the dominant cultural values of
material success but lacks the opportunity to achieve success through conventional means. When
inequality is high and access to resources to achieve material success are limited, crime is viewed
as an innovative approach to this “strain” experienced by the individual. Strain theory examines
the disconnect between culturally prescribed goals of success and the opportunity structure
(Terrence D. Hill; Amy M. Burdette and Lauren Hale 2009: 1006-1013).
Social Disorganization Theory
Social disorganization theory examines the relationship between community or
environmental factors and crime. “Socially disorganized” communities are characterized by
“run-down housing, high residential mobility, and high levels of poverty, low informal methods
of social control and high crime” (Terrence D. Hill; Amy M. Burdette and Lauren Hale 2009:
1006-1013).

43. 38
Power-conflict theories examining prejudice and discrimination
Power-conflict theories are useful in helping us to understand how prejudice and
discrimination become institutionalized within society. From this point of view prejudice and
discrimination emerge from historical instances of inter-group conflict ( Jessie Bernard 1951;
Newman William M 1973). Discrimination is a method used by the dominant group to maintain
its position of power and privilege. Negative stereotypes, attitudes and beliefs become part of the
dominant group’s ideology and justify their prejudices and discrimination. “And, once
established, prejudice and discrimination are used as power resources that can be tapped as new
conflict situations demand” ( Martin N.Marger 2006:88). Power-conflict theories on prejudice
and discrimination shift the research from individual explanations to “economic, political, and
social competition among in multiethnic society” ( Martin N.Marger 2006:89).
Differential Association Theory
The primary assumption made by differential association theory is that an individual’s
identity or sense of self is learned through social interaction with others. The process is referred
to as socialization and “refers to the way in which we develop, through our interactions with
others, the ability to relate to other people and to play a part in society” ( Jean Stockard,
1997:74). The developmental view of the process of socialization is assumed to be lifelong (Jean
Stockard 1997:82). Individuals are continually learning how to relate to others in different ways
as they age and move into different social contexts of interaction through the life cycle. As we
age we enter and leave social networks, we learn new roles, and we leave roles behind. All
societies distinguish between activities that people of different ages should do. They have age-
based norms, expectations and rules about behavior that should occur at various ages. Aged-
based norms are socially defined, and vary a great deal from one society to another. For

44. 39
example, in the United States, teenage parenthood violates age norms regarding when we should
have children.
Related to age-based norms are normative life stages or periods during the life course
when people are expected to perform certain activities. In the United States there are four life
stages after childhood: 1. Youth or adolescence, 2. Young adulthood, 3. Middle age, and 4. Old
age ( Jean Stockard 1997: 86-89). During the youth or adolescence stage, peer groups become
increasingly significant as agents of socialization while family as an agent of socialization
diminishes. Peers are people with whom we share common interests and statuses and learn social
roles and develop our self-identities.
Differential association theory states that through our association with peers we learn
about deviant or criminal behaviors. Deviant or criminal behavior is not viewed as something
innate within the individual, such a personality disorder, but is acquired or learned through
interaction with others. We learn how to be deviant or criminal just as we learn other social roles.
For example, an adolescent may be curious about stealing food from the grocery store but they
don’t know how to steal. It requires associations within networks of individuals who can teach
those skills and opportunities. Differentially association theory simply states that the more
contacts a person has with people who engage in deviant or criminal behavior the more likely
that person is to engage in deviant or criminal behavior (Jean Stockard 1997: 139-141).
Ethnic Stratification
Minority Group
Research on the effects of belonging to a minority group and living in disadvantaged
neighborhoods has been investigated by Professor Wilson Julius William, an American

45. 40
sociologist who taught at the University of Chicago from 1972 to 1996 before moving to
Harvard University. (Wilson Julius William, from Wikipedia).
Wilson mentions the concept of minority group to explain the risk of minorities to
become delinquent. Their risk goes along with living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. If the
minority group lives in disadvantaged neighborhoods, they are more prone to become delinquent.
However, if they live in non-disadvantaged neighborhoods, they are more likely to avoid
delinquency. The minority group concept relates to high drop out rates and school suspensions
among blacks than their white counterparts. This theory relates to my thesis because it examines
how the black race is overrepresented in poor educational performance and attainment compared
to their white counterparts.
William Chambliss (2014) observes how two different high school gangs (the Saints and
the Roughnecks) of lower and upper class are viewed differently by the community and by
authorities for the crimes they commit, and especially, the response of police to the two groups
of juvenile delinquents. The author shows that there is less surveillance and condemnation for
upper class youth (the Saints) than there is for lower class youth (Roughnecks). This disparity is
linked to the educational level of both groups. Although both groups (gangs) drink, smoke and
steal, the Saints are not judged by the community members, or condemned by officers because of
their higher educational level and status. The fact that they attend school and live in nice
neighborhoods mean they are less likely to be seen drinking, smoking and stealing, to get caught
and to be judged. Police officers and the community are more passive toward their crimes
because of their educational level and status.

46. 41
On the other hand, the Roughnecks are under 24/7 surveillance by police officers because
they live in a poor neighborhood, do not regularly attend school and have lower status and
education. The author concludes that “Although both of the gangs studied engaged in the same
frequency of deviance, one gang received considerable official social control attention while the
other one did not” (p. 5). In addition, their punishments differ, “processing and punishing some
kinds of criminality and not other means that visible, poor, nonmobile, outspoken, undiplomatic
‘tough’ kids will be noticed, whether their actions are seriously delinquent or not” (p.10). The
author’s conclusions regarding the reasons for the differential treatment of the 2 gangs, Saints
and Roughnecks, are summarized using the terms visibility, demeanor and bias. These three
factors are surface variables, behind which stands the American class structure (p.9), wherein
those at the top of the structure indirectly control legal institutions (p.9)
Tatumb (2014) explored the disparity existing between race and class among juvenile
offenders. His findings show that more African American and Hispanics youths receive harsher
sentences compared to whites even though both races commit the same crime. Nonwhites
(African Americans and Hispanics) are placed in secured or highly watched facilities compared
to whites even though they both had commit the same offense. Nonwhite youths are more likely
to be detained in secure custody prior to their hearing than white youths regardless of the
delinquency offense. Lastly, research findings indicate that racial and ethnic minority youths
have higher probability of receiving the harsher dispositions in juvenile corrections than white
youths even when they are alike in terms of legal and extralegal factors (P.2).
This disparity of juvenile offenders can also be understood along class lines. Family
status, youths from a wealthy family, have better chance to get out of prison than youths from a
poor family. In addition, youths from wealthy families have their own advocate or lawyer who

47. 42
can take them out of this situation. However, this is not the case for the minority youths.
Minority youth have a higher chance of going to prison and for longer sentences because they do
not have a lawyer. Tatumb (2014) states that “Unlike majority youths, minority youths are often
forced to rely on an indigent defense. Youths represented by private counsel are less likely to be
convicted and are more likely to have their cases returned to juvenile court if they are originally
prosecuted as adults. Juvenile justice officials also have been found to have a more negative
view of the culpability of minority youths and the economic and social stability of minority
families and communities, and to perceive that the juvenile justice system is a minority youth’s
best chance for treatment” (P.2).
More minorities are place in private cells than majority due to the biased perception that
minority youths need more surveillance and discipline than majority because they come from
uncivilized community and neighborhood or community. Tatumb (2014) stated that “Family and
community resources further influence the placement of minority youths in public or private
correctional institutions. Although African American and Hispanic youths are overrepresented
in both types of facilities, more than half (66%) of the juveniles in public facilities are minorities.
While this may be partially related to the financial costs that are often associated with private
correctional facilities, recent trends indicate that slightly more minority youths currently reside in
private correctional institutions than in past years. Nevertheless, minority youths, in residential
placements, especially African Americans and Hispanics, are more likely to be confined locked
doors than nonminority youths” (P.2).
McShane and Frank (2007) examined the disproportionate minority confinement (DMC)
of African American delinquents and how they’ve been confined based on their race. DMC is
defined as “the overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system and implies

48. 43
that is a problem.” The recognition of the overrepresentation of minority youth is a
controversial issue because it forces community members and juvenile justice professionals to
consider issues of punishment and protection, under the deep shadow of race. Community
members and juvenile justice punish the minority race (black) because they believe this race
deserve more surveillance and should be treated severely because they live like animals.
Moreover, judges will agree to set those youths in private setting because they have the beliefs
that minority race and youths are less educated (P.99).
Most of the minority race and youths are African Americans males. McShane and Frank
(2007) identified that in 2003, African American males made up 38 percent of the total of youth
confined. This means the judges’ decision on minority youths were based on the color of their
skin and not just on the crime they committed. Disproportionate minority confinement (DMC)
relates racism, or the belief that people of a different race are inherently inferior to one’s own
race, and it uses power structures to systematically disenfranchise, degrade, or divert resources
from the subject group. DMC is also related to class and intersects with issues of race. Low
socioeconomic status, poverty, and deteriorating urban environments, limited family cohesion,
and ineffective parental control (P.99-103).
Criminology
Strain Theory/Social Disorganization
Education
The impact of race on student school suspension is discussed by Gano Davis Jessica,
et.al. (2013). This research examines the role of race in explaining the disparity that exists
between the behavior and suspension of the white and black races in schools. For instance,
studies show that the black students have higher dropout rates compared to their white

49. 44
counterparts. The researchers examine factors that lead students to be suspended from school.
Some of these reasons include the lack of support from school and teacher and the inability of
students to read, write and think. Their findings also indicate that family, peers and community
disorganization contribute to high dropout rates and school suspension. For instance, parents
have a significant role to play in their child’s academics. Parental involvement provides
academic, personal support and as well as surveillance preventing children from becoming
involved in misconduct in school. A child’s peers and community also have a role to play in the
suspension rates of students. Negative peer associations and disorganized or poverty stricken
neighborhoods are correlated with deviant and criminal behavior.
Reynolds and Emily (2006) examined the causes that lead young adolescents to
become offenders. Some of these causes are poor parenting, family criminal background, poor
education and bad influence from peers. The researchers argue that early intervention is key to
preventing children from delinquency. Several prevention strategies include support and
affection from their parents such as enrolling them in sports, attending their games, and taking
family vacations; positive school environment with positive teachers who can support them and
make them feel good about themselves; positive peers as role models. Children have the
tendency to copy any actions adults are making in society. Their attitude can only be positive if
they are surrounded by positive peers—and their attitude can also be negative if they are
surrounded by negative peers.
Lack of surveillance and support from schools and teachers can also lead young
adolescents to delinquency. With a lack of surveillance from schools and teachers, students will
lack a sense of focus in their academics. Moreover, these students will end up dropping out of
school and join gangs. Also, lack of support from schools and teachers can lead student to

50. 45
delinquency. With lack of care, love and compassion from schools and teachers, students will be
more likely to commit crime.
Children are usually aware of whether adults have high or low expectations from them
and this is what makes the difference. Children’s perception of their own performance is based
on other’s expectations, especially of parents and school teachers (Eggen Paul D; Donald P.
Kauchak and Stuart Garry 2001). Consequently, when juveniles do not see high expectations
from parents and teachers, they start underestimate their own abilities. They start to build
negative perceptions of themselves which lead them to drop out of school or perform in a way
that will eventually lead them to suspension ( Tina Do & Adriean Mancillas, 2004: P.395).
Community
In the United States blacks have higher rates of living in poor neighborhoods compared to
their white counterparts. One of the causes that lead the black race (blacks) to delinquency is the
bad neighborhood or community they live in. If members of a minority group live in a
disadvantaged neighborhood, they will be more likely to commit crimes because they are
exposed to it. Any crime committed in this neighborhood will look normal to the population that
lives in it.
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Program’s Causes and Correlates Program
indicates that the type of community in which the juvenile lives has a stronger effect on his
likelihood of becoming involved in delinquency than his racial characteristics. Findings conclude
that African-Americans living in non-disadvantaged areas did not have higher rates of
delinquency than whites living in non-disadvantaged areas.

51. 46
McShane and Frank (2007) argue that, “the community must work together to address the
causes by enhancing prevention and diversion programs and expanding alternatives to secure
detention and corrections---particularly in minority neighborhoods” (1-2). This includes local
initiatives to involve families, neighborhoods, and community-based agencies serving minority
youths in this effort should be developed and implemented. They finalize by saying “strategies to
reduce the disproportionate confinement of minority juveniles include the use of risk and need
assessment instruments, cultural competency training for law enforcement and other juvenile
justice professionals, individualized home-based care, mentors, therapeutic foster care,
community-based family-oriented services, reintegration services for juveniles placed outside the
home, independent living, job training, and increased accessibility to treatment” (P.1-2).
Disadvantaged neighborhoods are a mix of every factor associated with delinquent
behavior such as negative peers, bad parenting and poverty—it is difficult for juveniles who live
in disadvantaged neighborhoods to be at their best behavior. However, Juveniles from the
advantaged communities and neighborhoods have good attitudes and behaviors because positive
peers, family and neighbors surround them. Mary Keegan Eamon (2005:395) concluded that
adolescents who live in neighborhoods that are cohesive, where neighbors have common goals,
typically perform better than students who live in poor neighborhoods. The children living in
those neighborhoods are more likely to have role models, consistent adult supervision, and
access to good schools.
Living in a disorganized or disadvantaged neighborhood is a significant factor in
explaining juvenile delinquency. Studies show that most of these young offenders incarcerated in
prison settings come from disadvantaged neighborhood. In their neighborhood, crimes are
committed every minute. And for these young offenders to live in such surroundings where

52. 47
crime happens every minute, affects the children’s mental health and cause them to also commit
crime. Conversely children from non-disadvantaged neighborhoods commit less crimes and do
better in academics.
Jeffrey Reiman (2007) examines the sources of crime and concludes that poverty and
unemployment are the two most important factors to consider. Jeffrey states that poverty is
primarily responsible for juvenile street crimes make city streets a perpetual war zone and largely
the work of poor inner-city youth. African American juvenile males as a group are at the lowest
end of the economic spectrum. This is a group among whom unemployment hovers around 25
percent, with underemployment (the percentage of persons either jobless or with part-time, low-
wage jobs) still higher. From this quote we can understand that crime is cause by people who live
in poor neighborhood and are unemployed. Reiman (2007) further notes that this age group “is a
group with no realistic chance (for any but a rare individual) to enter college or amass sufficient
capital (legally) to start a business or to get into the high-wage, skilled job markets. Poverty is a
source of crime because it creates needs that differ across age groups.
Reiman (2007) also maintains that unemployment leads people of different age groups
and races to commit crime. The author states that as unemployment has gone up and down over
the past decades, unemployment at the bottom of society remains strikingly worse than the
national average. For example, over the past 35 years, black unemployment has remained
slightly more than twice the rate of white unemployment. Further, in 1967, when 3.4 percent of
white workers were unemployed, 7.4 percent of black workers were jobless. By 2000, when
overall unemployment was about 4 percent, 3.5 percent of white workers were unemployed and
7.6 percent of blacks were unemployed. Among those in the crime-prone ages of 16 to 19, 11.4

53. 48
percent of white youngsters and 24.7 percent (almost one in every four) black youngsters were
jobless.
Family
Lotz, Poole, and Regoli (1985) examined strategies to prevent youth from delinquency.
Their research findings support that the parents supervision or attachment with youth, can
prevent them from being delinquent. When parent give their attention to their kids and get
involve into their lives, their children will be less tempted to become delinquent. Contrary, if the
parents don’t get involve and don’t give full attention to their children, a high risk for these
children to commit crimes will be manifested. Research has shown that children who had higher
supervision from their parents have a lower rate of criminal activity than those who do not get
attention from their parents.
Michael J. Hindelang (1973) and Hirschi Travis (1969), measured attachment to parents
more directly as affection rather than supervision, and it proved a good predictor in both
investigations: boys who identified with and respected their parents were noticeably less
delinquent. Rachelle J Canter (1982) found that the more a youth feels part of the family, the less
delinquent he or she is likely to be. Rand D. Conger (1976), however found that attachment to
parents discourages delinquency only if the parents react positively, not punitively, when
communicating with the child ” (205).
Children have a higher risk to commit crimes and becoming delinquent if their parent has
a criminal back ground. According to a recent report of the National Academy of Sciences,
children of incarcerated parents are at greater risk of homelessness, aggressive behavior,
delinquency, social isolation, depression and learning deficits. A director of the New York
Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents, Tanya Krupat stated that “the impact on the

54. 49
family, especially children, is traumatic,” “it is no wonder that human rights advocates have
referred to parental incarceration as one of the greatest threats to child well-being in the United
States” (P.1).
Ming Cui and DeAnna Harris-McKoy (2013) examined the association between parental
control and delinquency and parental control in adolescence and young adult criminal behavior.
The researchers concluded that parental control can prevent youths from delinquency, the
lack of parental control is positively associated with delinquency and continue to influence in
young adult-hood. Grace M. Barnes; Joseph H. Hoffman; John W. Welte; Michael P. Farell and
Barbara A. Dintcheff (2006) research concluded that when adolescents lack parental control and
are left with large amount of unsupervised time they are more likely to engage in risky behavior.
Abigail A. Fagan (2013) discusses how parents can impact their children’s behavior and
have the capability to either prevent or lead their children to delinquency. Children learn
positive and negative attitudes and it is primarily the role of their parent to teach values,
attitudes, beliefs, and behavior to their offspring. Learning to become “human”, or in this case
delinquent, is based on an approach called social learning theories ( Marvin D. Krohn; William
F. Skinner; James L. Massey and Ronald L. Akers [1985]; Bandura Albert and Walters Richard
H. [1959]; Gerald R. Patterson Patricia Chamberlain and John B. Reid [1982]). Scholars assume
that children learn positive and negative behaviors via interaction with others, and that parents
are particularly important for influencing children’s pro-social and antisocial behavior (P.26).
For instance, “parents who endorse attitudes favoring deviant behavior or who fail to correct
children’s misbehavior increase the likelihood that children will view delinquent activities as
acceptable to achieve certain outcomes, particularly when they perceive more benefits than