CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Multinational State, Institutional Racism
18 Jun 2018
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Racial Disparities
The United States is a multiracial, multiethnic society. The major racial/ethnic categories in
American society are white, African‐American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native
American. Racism, an insidious social problem in the United States since the founding of the
country, is the belief that members of one or more races are inferior to members of other races.
Racism in the United States has been directed primarily by the white majority against racial and
ethnic minorities. Historically, the white majority has singled out racial/ethnic minority groups
for differential and unequal treatment in the areas of housing, employment, education, and
criminal justice.
The meaning of racial disparity
The term racial disparity refers to a difference that may or may not be related to
discrimination. Criminal justice experts distinguish between legal and extralegal factors
to explain racial disparities in criminal justice. Legal factors include seriousness of the
offense and prior criminal record. These are legitimate reasons for disparities because
they pertain to an individual's criminal behavior. Extralegal factors include race, class,
and gender. These are not legitimate factors upon which to base decisions because
they relate to group membership rather than criminal behavior.
Types of racial disparities
One type of racial disparity occurs when there is a significant difference between the
percentage of a racial group represented in the general population and the percentage
of the same group represented at any point in the justice process. For example, African‐
Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population but account for about 40 percent
of all arrests, 50 percent of the prison population, and 50 percent of the inmates on
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Document Summary
The united states is a multiracial, multiethnic society. American society are white, african american, hispanic, asian, and native. Racism, an insidious social problem in the united states since the founding of the country, is the belief that members of one or more races are inferior to members of other races. Racism in the united states has been directed primarily by the white majority against racial and ethnic minorities. Historically, the white majority has singled out racial/ethnic minority groups for differential and unequal treatment in the areas of housing, employment, education, and criminal justice. The term racial disparity refers to a difference that may or may not be related to discrimination. Criminal justice experts distinguish between legal and extralegal factors to explain racial disparities in criminal justice. Legal factors include seriousness of the offense and prior criminal record. These are legitimate reasons for disparities because they pertain to an individual"s criminal behavior.
