Historical Context
Category: Early Racism in America
Question: What was the primary purpose of Slave Patrols in the early 1700s in the Carolinas?
Answer: To control enslaved populations and return runaway slaves.
Language and Imagery:
Question: What type of language is commonly used in media to describe Black individuals compared to White individuals?
Answer: Negative terms like "thugs" or "gangsters" are often used for Black individuals, while positive language (father, son and nicer words) and images (such as family pictures or suits) are more frequently used for White individuals.
What is The Hate U Give?
This book and movie feature a scene where a Black character named Khalil is shot by a police officer who mistakes his comb for a gun.
Category: Roots of Racism
Question: In 1662, what law ensured that the status of a child followed the status of the mother, perpetuating slavery?
Answer: A Virginia law that made the child’s status follow that of the enslaved mother.
Media Impact on Public Perception:
Question: How does the over-representation of Black individuals in negative news stories affect public perception (connect to the cycle)?
It leads the public to believe that crime is more prevalent in the Black community, which creates implicit biases and increases fear and negative stereotypes. Then there is an increase focus on the Black community, creating unfair laws. This goes back to the media and its a cycle.
What is racial profiling?
It is the term for when police make decisions based on someone's race, ethnicity, or religion
Category: Segregation and the Legal System
Question: Which 1896 Supreme Court decision upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing legal racial segregation?
Answer: *Plessy v. Ferguson*.
Case Study Differences
Question: What significant difference was observed in the media coverage of Brock Turner and Kalief Browder?
Brock Turner was portrayed positively, using images like his graduation photo and focusing on his potential future, while Kalief Browder’s case was largely ignored until after his death, highlighting double standards in media coverage.
What is the Black Lives Matter movement
This movement gained momentum after George Floyd's death, advocating for police reform and racial justice
Category: Post-Civil War Racism
Question: What were the laws called that restricted the rights and behaviors of formerly enslaved people after the Civil War, before Jim Crow Laws?
Answer: Black Codes.
Police and Bias
Question: In Ontario, how much more likely are Black individuals to be charged by an officer compared to White individuals?
Answer: Black individuals are 3.9 times more likely to be charged by an officer compared to White individuals.
What is redlining? What are Jim Crow laws?
This discriminatory practice involved marking Black neighborhoods as "too risky" for loans, leading to a lack of investment.
Enforced segregation and kept Black and white people separate in places like schools and buses.
Category: Policing and Racial Control
Question: How did the role of police during the Jim Crow era contribute to maintaining racial inequality?
Answer: Police enforced segregation laws using excessive force, ensuring racial divisions and inequality persisted.
Media and Social Change
Question: What percentage of crime-related posts on social media feature Black individuals, despite their actual representation in arrests?
Black people make up 32% of crime-related posts on social media, but only represent 20% of the arrests in the USA.
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, what do Black people have higher rates of what?
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, this city’s Black residents face higher rates of arrest and violent encounters with police than other groups.