American Experience - Term Paper Example

Interracial Homicide Running head: HOMICIDE STUDIES Interracial Homicide: Culturally Diverse Conflict within American Society with Lethal Consequences Name of Client Name of University Name of Class Interracial Homicide 2 Interracial Homicide: Culturally Diverse Conflict within American Society with Lethal Consequences Introduction Homicide in the United States can be studied under a diversity of approaches. One approach is to look at the number of homicides that occur under interracial classification. Race is a determination that is made based on a list of traits that create a social group of people that have cultural connections. While the common way to define race within the American experience is based on skin color. The ‘race relations’ between African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans will be the focus of this research of current literature. The conditions that contribute to the commission of the crime of homicide when perpetrated from one member of a ’race’ against another can have a deeper foundation within the cultural surroundings of the social groups from which the participants, both offender and victim, are associated. The causes that motivate homicide can be diverse and very individual. However, there are cultural motivations that create an atmosphere where homicides that are interracial are relevant to the associations to those social groups. As the naturally occurring competition for resources develops between communities, the result can have lethal consequences. As well, the African-American communities, in particular, have developed an atmosphere of distrust for law enforcement that has roots in the oppressed nature of that heritage. Without a sense of security through a trust that the police are available as a source of protection, members of that community have a cultural adaptation toward survival based on need, whether those needs are in line with lawful social Interracial Homicide 3 conduct or are defined by ethics outside of the community mandates. The national statistics that concern homicide reveal commonalities for the causes of interracial murder. As well, the statistical view of the causes for interracial homicide suggest the importance of economic factors that usually represent an inequality. Discriminatory factors also play a strong role in the way in which the races approach their diversity and can have influence over the creation of conflict. Because competition between social groups with the purpose of domination in order to survive creates strong and passionate responses, the result can be the taking of life. As well, when a group is segregated into a socially disadvantaged geography, the need to take something from the advantaged group in order to continue survival can lead to the commission of potentially homicidal acts that are sometimes associated with other crimes. As the research of relevant literature reveals some common elements associated with interracial homicide, a pattern of cultural causes reveals the nature of the competitive American culture. Research Questions 1. How does the opportunity for contact between social groups contribute to increases in interracial homicide? 2. How do homicide rates compare to other forms of contact motivated interracial social interactions? 3. What relationship does economic and political competition have with interracial homicide rates? 4. How does the concept of disadvantage create an effect on interracial homicide? 5. What effect does discrimination have on interracial homicide? Interracial Homicide 4 6. Does the difference between arrest and sentencing rates between African- Americans and Caucasian-Americans contribute to an atmosphere of criminal behavior that increases interracial homicide? 7. How is interracial homicide different than other classifications of homicide? Literature Review S. F. Messner and S. J. South did a study on interracial homicide in 1992 that gathered data from 154 cities in order to prove that both a racial heterogeneity population size with an inequality of socioeconomics, coupled with the level of unemployment affected the rate of interracial homicide. The results showed that intercity diversity in racial patterning had detrimental affects on the rate of interracial homicide. The research is based on a theory put forth by Peter Blau (1977) who determined that when social groups have contact with one another then direct associations can be made between the groups. When groups of diverse nature have contact, then “social association is strongly influenced by opportunities for direct contact”(Messner ad South, 1992, p. 518). In other words, when groups have contact, the opportunity for interaction is possible. While this may seem simplistic, the implication is that it should be expected that when contact occurs by groups of diverse identity, then research will show a relationship between those groups. The results of this study show that in cities with higher levels of segregation show a lower rate of interracial homicide as do cities with a greater inequality in socioeconomic factors divided by racial identity. Thus, the possibility of interracial homicide is dictated by the level of contact that is possible between racially diverse Interracial Homicide 5 groups who have contact. This sociological concept is true of most interactions, including marriage. The relationship between interracial homicides as afforded by the opportunity created by increased contact would show that these homicides are not dependent on a racially motivated identifier, but on the basis of the opportunity for interactions between those of different social identities based on the concept of race. According to E. C. Childs, the percentage of interracial marriages in 2000 was 1.9%. However, the percentage of interracial homicide in the same year was defined by the figures of 93.7% of African-Americans homicides committed by another African-American, leaving 6.3 percent victims of an interracial homicide, while the homicide of Caucasian-Americans saw 86% committed by another Caucasian-Americans, leaving 14% of the crimes interracial (Iadicola and Shupe, 2003, p. 103). The differences between the interracial marital rates and the homicide rates put into question the reasons that positive interactions might have less statistical impact than do negative interactions. The issues that are developed through conflicting diversity can create hostilities that can end in a negative interaction. Jacobs and Wood (1999) created a study that focused on the conflicts that can arise through economic and political competition that affect interracial homicide rates. The study examined the homicide rates of 165 cities, finding that in cities that had African-American mayors and greater economic competition showed an increase in Caucasian-American killings of African-Americans. As well, the reverse held true. The size of police departments held no relationship to Caucasian-American killings of African-Americans, but did show a decrease in African- Interracial Homicide 6 American killing of Caucasian-Americans when a larger police department was present (p. 157). Conflict is developed through a series of factors that effect the social environment. As two groups compete economically for resources, overlap occurs and can create a displacement of one group or the other, inciting hostilities that can result in violence (Jacob and Woods, 1999, p. 161). As an example, as employment opportunities remain constant, when one group increases in the number of its members become employed, a competing group will see a decrease in members who are employed. The concept of disadvantage plays a role as well. As concentrations of disadvantaged groups congregate through cultural attraction into racially segregated neighborhoods, competition and conflict result in crime that is proliferated through the influence of disadvantage (Peterson and Krivo, 1999, p. 486). According to Jacobs and Woods (1999), the majority of homicides that are committed by Caucasian-Americans against African-Americans are committed because of an interpersonal dispute, however African Americans tend to commit more homicides against Caucasian-Americans in the process of committing another felony (p. 161). Messner (1989) uses Peter Blau’s (1977) theory in another study that examines the high levels of homicide within nations that have extreme discrimination. His work suggests, however, that high levels of discrimination has a stronger detrimental effect than does economic inequality. When economic inequality is a result of discriminatory practices, the result is “a particularly important source of lethal violence” (p. 597). Perceived discriminatory practices in arrest and conviction creates an atmosphere Interracial Homicide 7 of criminal activity as the standard of cultural behavior. According to Bushway and Piehl (2001), “African-Americans are more likely to be sentenced to prison, and, if so, they are more likely to have a longer sentence”(p. 751). As well, the length of the prison sentences have a longer rate than do Caucasian-American sentences. On the average, the sentences are 35 months or more for African-Americans, where for Caucasian-Americans is almost 28 months. This difference creates a difference of 28% gap between the races in sentencing (Bushway and Piehl, 2001, pg. 751). However, D’Alessio and Stoltenberg (2003) found that the likelihood of arrest for Caucasian-Americans and African-Americans was relatively equal. Using multivariate logistic regression, they determined that Caucasian-Americans is actually “22% higher for robbery, 13% higher for aggravated assault, and 9% higher for simple assault”(p. 1381). While African-Americans consist of only 12.8% of the population, 38% of the arrests for violent crimes and 31% of arrests for property crimes made are African-American offenders (D’Allesia and Stolzenberg, 2003, p. 1381). D’Allesia and Stolzenberg (2003) suggest that conflict theory , which supports the idea that officers will more quickly arrest an African-American offender than a Caucasian-American offender, is not supported by their data. This is proven by their results that suggest that Caucasian-American offenders are more likely to be arrested when the possibility is presented than are African-American offenders. One example of a cause for this may be the African-American prejudice against the police that creates a distrust that affects reporting and witnessing crimes within their community (p. 1382). This particular study suggests that while the frequency of arrests is higher for Caucasian-Americans, the percentage of Interracial Homicide 8 arrests made still are higher in African-Americans. Critiques Anthropologically, the concept of race is not definable under the terms that society has developed this concept. There is no true context in which the human species can be divided into sub-categories that are defined by skin color (Human 2009). Therefore, research that is done on race relations is focused on cultural groups rather than groups defined by skin color, despite the language that some of the studies have used to define their subjects. Ethnicity is defined by traits that are shared culturally. Therefore, the language with which these topics are discussed should reflect the knowledge that cultural differences create the discernable groups, not physical attributes. Groups that come together because of similar traits are social groups or communities of people that share a common heritage and history (Human 2009). In creating research on interracial homicide, it is always convenient to assume that the fact that an individual of one race has impacted a member of another race is defined by the concept of race. However, the theories of Peter Blau (1977) bring to the forefront that as contact allows for opportunity and the opportunity has created the possibility. The study that Messnor and South (1992) developed supports the concept that interaction between social groups creates the opportunity for commissions against one another. In respect to the topic of interracial homicide, contact increases the incidents. However, the same can be said of any diverse groups. Contact between the socially identified groups of gender will increase the number of homicides between men and women. Less contact will decrease those figures. However, less contact is not an answer to the issue. Interracial Homicide 9 The disproportionate figures in regard to crimes that are committed by African-Americans in comparison to Caucasian-Americans can be understood in regard to environmental disadvantages that influence the culture of social groups that have naturally segregated into communities along racial lines. Because of discriminatory practices that are evident in sentencing practices (Bushway and Piehl, 2001, pg. 751), and the general beliefs of African-Americans about their treatment by the police, the way in which the rule of law is approached from a cultural standpoint can create a climate of acceptance as economic difficulties breed desperation which turns into criminal behavior. When asked if they believed that African-Americans were treated equal to Caucasian-Americans by law enforcement, only 17% of the African-American community believed that to be true, while 51% of the Caucasian-American community believed in the equality. In regard to a feeling of security as provided by police protection, 60% of Caucasian-Americans believed they were secure, however only 29% of African-Americans felt secure (Roth, 1994, p. 244). The cultural distrust for law enforcement was developed and passed down as police were routinely used to enforce slave laws, and then segregation laws, creating an adversarial relationship with the legal system for the African-American culture (Hawkins, 2003, p. 321). As more homicides by African-Americans committed against Caucasian-Americans are perpetrated during the commission of another felony (Jacobs and Wood, 1999, p. 161), this might suggest that these felonies are driven more by survival than passion. Caucasian-Americans commit these crimes more often motivated by disputes, which would indicate an emotional element to the crime. The worst aspect of the Interracial Homicide 10 American experience is both the perception and the realities of discriminatory judicial practices in regard to African-American citizens. When two social groups find themselves competing for economic and political dominance, the increase in homicide rates is proportionate to the control that one race has obtained legitimately over the other. As shown by Jacobs and Wood (1999), when a city has a mayor that is African-American, an increase occurs in Caucasian-American homicide against African-Americans (p.157). Conflict that is created through the perception that race is a legitimate classification of social groups creates a competitive atmosphere where economic and political control is relevant to available resources. The associations that are made under these circumstances allow a relationship to develop through which opportunity is manifested for the possibilities of criminal interactions of offenders and victims. Summary As residential segregation creates disadvantaged social groups, economic inequality creates increases in conflict, and discriminatory practices in society, particularly in the justice system, creates distrust within African-American communities. Homicide between the races can be increased according to fears and desperation that affect the behavior of individuals, both black and white, who have adapted a feral defensive posture. The issue is not defined by any one factor. All races are subject to the development of a perceived threat that could cause a diminished position in economics, social standing, or political power that could create motivation for lethal consequences. Conflict Theory “implies that discriminatory application of the law against Interracial Homicide 11 subordinates reflects rulers’ perception of threat (posed by subordinates) to their power, resources, and interests” (Cureton, 2000, p. 704). The literature overwhelmingly suggests that inequality, especially economic inequality, creates tension that promotes homicidal crime between racially identified social groups (Iadicola and Shupe, 2003: Jacobs and Wood, 1999: Messnor, 1989: Peterson and Krivo, 1999). However, motivation is not always created purely by racial conflict. As social groups have become more integrated, the contact between sub-cultures creates the opportunity for homicide to occur (Messnor and South, 1992: Blau, 1977). However, the proportionally greater incidence of African-American arrests to the percentage of the population indicates that there is a cultural deviation from socially acceptable behavior that is accepted within primarily African-American communities more than is accepted in other communities. Unfortunately, this is the result of some realities, mixed with perception. Law enforcement is comprised of people who have lived the American experience and developed all of the perceived concepts of race and the expectation that race is relevant to behavior. Cultural development has an influence on the behaviors of individuals, but the concept of race is not a truthful way of conceptualizing social groupings. Therefore, the discussion of interracial homicide is not based on a true sense of cultural divisions. Diversity is created through ethnic considerations, which are also not based on physically defined traits, but on social commonalities. Defining homicidal purposes based on skin color will never be as relevant as creating culturally defined social groups within the American experience based on common social elements that can then begin to relate commonalities within the national identity in order to truly understand how the Interracial Homicide 12 motivations towards homicide can be addressed. Interracial Homicide 13 List of References Blau, P. M. (1977). Inequality and heterogeneity: A primitive theory of social structure. New York: Free Press. Bushway, S. D. & Piehl, A. M. (2001). “Judging judicial discretion: Legal factors and racial discrimination in sentencing.” Law and Society Review, 35(4), 733-764. Retrieved from JSTOR. Childs, E. C. (Aug,. 2005). “Looking behind the stereotypes of the “angry black woman”: An exploration of black women’s responses to interracial relationships.” Gender and Society, 19(4), 544-561. Retrieved from JSTOR. Cureton, S. R. (May, 2000). “Justifiable arrests or discretionary justice: Predictors of racial arrest differentials.” Journal of Black Studies, 30(5), 703-719). Retrieved from JSTOR. D’Alessio, S. J. & Stolzenberg, L. (June, 2003). “Race and the probability of arrest.” Social Forces, 81(4), 1381-1397. Retrieved from JSTOR. Hawkins, D. F. (2003). Violent crime: Assessing race and ethnic differences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Human Genome Project Information. (27 August 2008). “Genetic Anthropology, Ancestry, and Ancient Human Migration.” Retrieved 30 March 2009 from Office of Science Web site http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome /elsi/humanmigration.shtml#7 Iadicola, P., & Shupe, A. D. (2003). Violence, inequality, and human freedom. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield publishers. Jacobs, D.& Wood, K. (1999). “Interracial Conflict and Interracial Homicide: Do Political and Economic Rivalries Explain White Killings of Blacks or Black Killings of Whites?” The American Journal of Sociology, 105(1), 157-190. Retrieved from JSTOR. Messner, S. F. (Aug., 1989). “Economic discrimination and societal homicide rates: Further evidence on the cost of inequality.” American Sociological Review, 54(4), 597-611. Retrieved from JSTOR. Interracial Homicide 14 Messner, S. F. & South, S. J. (Sep., 1992). “Interracial homicide: A macrostructural- opportunity perspective.” Sociological Forum, 7(3), 517-536. Retrieved from JSTOR. Miethe, T. D., Regoeczi, W. C., & Drass, K. A. (2004). Rethinking homicide: Exploring the structure and process underlying deadly situations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Peterson, R. D, & Krivo, L. J. (Sep., 1999). “Racial segregation, the concentration of disadvantage, and black and white homicide victimization.” Sociological Forum. 14(3), 465-493. Retrieved from JSTOR Roth, B. M. (1994). Prescription for failure: Race relations in the age of social science. [Studies in social philosophy & policy], no. 18. [Bowling Green, OH]: Social Philosophy & Policy Center. Read More