Individual is a 23-year-old African-American male. Although this individual is from a middle class background and was raised in a suburban area that included a majority white population, his story reveals the ways public policy can be discriminatorily applied. This individual is defined as at risk based on several factors including race, class, and gender. His race puts the individual at a systematic disadvantage vis-a-vis his white neighbors because of several factors. One is that law enforcement officials in his and surrounding communities are more likely to stop and interrogate him versus his white peers. As second issue is that the individual was treated differently from his white counterparts in school. A third is that his parents had experienced discrimination and their experiences have had an influence on the individual's worldview and his belief in the possibility for change.
Policy: The War on Drugs
The War on Drugs has been described as "the most expensive and longest-running policy initiatives ever pursued by the American government," (Williams, 2016). However, the war on drugs is not a singular piece of legislation but the War on Drugs does refer to a cohesive public policy that affects people like the 23-year-old black male. The primary target of the war on drugs is Black men, who are disproportionately represented in prison populations for drug offenses (Drug Policy Alliance, 2017). Likewise, Holloway (n.d.) reveals striking evidence...
1). The Drug Policy Alliance (2017, Williams (2016) and Holloway (n.d.) all show that the War on Drugs was purposely designed to retain hegemonic systems and to oppress people of color through the criminal justice system.
The Impact of the Policy on the Individual
From the perspective of this young African-American male, it is possible to show how public policies differentially affect people of color. As Williams (2016) points out, the War on Drugs has "destroyed lives, torn families apart, filled our jails and prisons and hijacked countless futures of black and brown youth," (p. 1). The perspective of the African-American male on drug policy in particular reveals intersections of race, class, and gender.
A 23-year-old African-American male is more likely to get apprehended by the police. The police might stop the 23-year-old male because he was a black pedestrian in a primarily white neighborhood. Alternatively, his middle class status means that his parents could only afford to buy him a used and dilapidated automobile for his birthday so that when he drives around the city, he is more likely to get stopped because his car and a black driver appear suspicious to police who use racial profiling. If the 23-year-old black male is then caught with marijuana in his vehicle, he will be arrested. The arrest of a 23-year-old black male for…
