February 22nd, 2020 
Police brutality and oppression is a controversial issue in the Texas and US as a whole; this should concern the public and law enforcement. The force by police is hard to distinguish between reasonable and excessive force but somewhere along the line, it turns into oppression and brutality. When discussing minority oppression in the United States; it is the prevalence of minority arrests by the police. While not exclusive to the African American community, black Americans end up being among the main victims of excessive police control. It is because of this particular prevalence that discussing the potential oppression and brutality of black Americans and how this affects racial relations in Texas and the US becomes relevant as part of the public discourse. Although it should not be asserted that black Americans are the only group to deal with excessive police attention, it is also necessary to note that they are among the main groups to be unfairly targeted. With this specific understanding, addressing this injustice as a specific issue becomes a relevant issue by itself. Due to how this issue gets treated by the justice system as a whole, it should be treated as an example of severe injustice that continues to be perpetrated against a minority group for many years, despite seemingly positive changes being implemented throughout the preceding decades.
The negative history of interactions between black Americans and the police shapes their attitudes towards it to a considerable degree. After an iconic event of police brutality, namely the beating of Rodney King in 1992, which precipitated the infamous Los Angeles Riots, little appears to have changed as a direct result (Chaney & Robertson 481). Black Americans are not only mistreated by the criminal justice system, they are actually viewed as being deserving of the harsher punishments by the courts; African Americans remain a much more common demographic to complain about police brutality, which, considering the continuously negative treatment by the police, should not be surprising in any manner (Chaney & Robertson 482). What one must also remember when talking about African Americans and the police is the long history of unjust treatment that goes back many decades, if not further than that. Long before the modern-day, the police began unfairly targeting black Americans, in most cases to specifically control the black population as a means of maintaining supremacy over them (Taylor 201). In such a way, simply being African American and interacting with the police in any capacity made such an interaction dangerous, forcing them to adopt measures to protect themselves, often as a collective, seeing themselves to be at risk as a group (Taylor 202). This level of victimization aimed at black Americans showcases the history of brutal treatment that was and still continuously is perpetuated by the state actors. In other words, one should not act as if black Americans are not being mistreated, nor that this mistreatment is in any way recently, as it goes back multiple decades; the police brutality towards them is a systematic endeavor taking place over a considerable period of time.
One of the most negative aspects of police brutality towards black people is its origin in stereotypes about black Americans. Black males are among the most commonly targeted individuals; this stems directly from the negative perception of black Americans as aggressive and excessively violent (Chaney & Robertson 484). This view, in turn, has led to an increasingly negative perception of black Americans by police officers. The media portrayals of black Americans in similar matters did not help matters in any way, as black Americans became even more likely to be targets of racialized violence (Chaney & Robertson 484). The perpetuation of negative and racially charged stereotypes about black people fuels the public attitude and perception of black people, which also ends up motivating the police in a negative way. All in all, black Americans are more routinely targeted because of the existing racially charged stereotypes that portray black people as more aggressive and violent, especially black males specifically, which, at least in part, motivates police actions.
It is natural that this level of discrimination does not contribute to a positive public image of the police among the African American community at large. As the police continue to mistreat and abuse black Americans, most commonly younger black American males, the attitude towards the police continues to slip as well. Worse still, it makes the police appear as a natural enemy and a predictor of negative outcomes within any given black-majority neighborhood, even if a given event is minute and otherwise unimportant (Brunson 72). This, in turn, perpetuates itself further, as the community gets more and more distrustful of the police, and the police as an organization continue their activities with regards to constantly punishing and handling black Americans inherently unjustly. One of the most peculiar things about this is the perception of police brutality among regular black Americans. They, in general, do not have to be a direct victim of police brutality in order to be opposed to it; in fact, most of them are only indirectly involved with police brutality as a process (Brunson 73). Nevertheless, the community at large is increasingly aware of police brutality, and even if does not affect its members directly or evenly, they can hardly ignore its perpetuation. It is also not a major surprise that, when comparing black American and white American attitudes towards the police, black Americans, regardless of their status as victims of police brutality, are much more distrustful of police than white Americans (Brunson 73). All in all, black American attitudes towards the police reflect a history of active oppression and discrimination, to which African Americans respond with a natural level of distrust and discomfort, often fearing or otherwise avoiding direct encounters with the police force.
It should also not be surprising that the injustices perpetrated by the police are not pointing towards the racial animosity of the police officers themselves. Rather, it shows the trends of active mistreatment as being at the hands of the state actors, which the police as an organization becomes an active part of (Carbado & Rock 162). While it is undoubtedly true that some police officers do directly express a negative attitude towards black Americans through their usage of unfair and brutal actions, the ultimate result is a systemic level of oppression aimed at the African American community at large. Whether the police are directly hostile to them or not, black Americans remain exceptionally vulnerable towards police violence, and that aspect appears to apply specifically to them in a major way. Being more exposed to police brutality and violence makes black Americans much more vulnerable to police arrests as a general rule, which also negatively reflects on the situation, as, even if the end result is not to specifically target black people, black Americans are still more likely to get arrested by the police (Carbado & Rock 164).
Becoming targets of excessive violence and police attention, in general, engenders in black people a sense of insecurity towards the state and turns direct civil disobedience towards the police into a form of protest (Carbado & Rock 166). Overall, black people suffer from the police actions as a general rule, without it is important whether there is a racial component to this level of oppression or not; the police enforces state control over the black population through any means necessary.
The past history of interactions between the police and a specific group is also a common predictor of their general attitudes towards them. In this regard, it is true for both black and white Americans. As discussed previously, black Americans are naturally distrustful of the police as a general rule, being unfairly treated and regarded as suspicious by the criminal justice system (Chaney & Robertson 481). Simultaneously, white Americans, being much less likely to become victims of excessive police violence or brutality, tend to be much more appreciative of and helpful towards the police (Chaney & Robertson 483). However, black Americans, being at the receiving end of the negative treatment by the police, do not show the same attitudes towards them as a general rule. It is not uncommon for a marginalized group to show distrust over the past history of mistreatment if there is a major tendency towards it (Hayward et al. 2). People within a socially disadvantaged community become distrustful towards the outgroup, and this includes the police. This reveals a noticeable disparity among black and white Americans: the correlation between a positive and negative past experience showed the specific difference in attitudes towards the police as an outgroup (Hayward et al. 3). For instance, black Americans, owing to their history of perpetual mistreatment by the police, will naturally view them negatively, even if previously not affected, the opposite being generally true for whites (Hayward et al. 4). In short, black and white Americans differ in how they are treated by the police, which in turn paints their perceptions of it as an organization.
In nutshell, Black Americans and the police do not showcase a harmonious history of positive interaction. More often than not, black people, whether due to a set of stereotypes or racial animosity by the police, become active targets of police violence and harassment. Police brutality shapes the black communitys view of the police in a considerably negative light. Instead of being there to maintain law and order, the police represent an oppressive state actor that is there to perpetuate a level of state control over the minority communities, especially with regards to African Americans. The negative interaction shapes the view of the police not just for those black Americans who are unfairly targeted, but also the community as a whole. Conversely, white Americans, who are not as actively targeted or oppressed by the police, show a considerably different and positive attitude towards the police on average. As a whole, this situation represents one of the major examples of the state maintaining its supremacy over minority groups through violence. Even though the police are supposed to keep the peace within a given environment, they end up being the cause of inherently negative and potentially violent outcomes within the black community, whether deliberately or not, which is a trend that does not appear to be changing any time soon.
Despite all this oppressive treatment; African Americans played a more significant role in the history of America than any other minority group. The reasons for its significance lies in various factors, ranging from the political impact of the Social Rights Movement to the massive cultural impact, which justifies the need to secure and maintain the unique culture of this minority group in the future.
First of all, it is essential to define the history of African Americans briefly. This history is two-fold. On the one hand, it occupies some of the darkest pages in US history because of the terror of slavery and later segregation and racial discrimination. On the contrary, African Americans revival, this culminated in the landmark Civil Rights Movement. Many regard Martin Luther King as the face of this movement and one of the most prominent speakers and political figures of the past century. His call for equality, crystalized in “I Have a Dream” speech, became one of the defining events in the twentieth century. In this respect, African Americans not only struggled for their fights but firmly established the value of freedom as a distinct characteristic of the American nation.
Besides, African Americans have a broad and diverse culture. It stems from colonial times and the unique blend of traditions and beliefs of Western Africa and Europe, which happened during the slavery era (Dodson). In these terms, quite surprising is the fact that Blues music that stems from African traditions became the predecessor for jazz, reggae, rock & roll, and even modern pop and hip-hop (Zhu, and Tracy). As Zhu and Tracy note, blues “combined African modalities, European structures, slave song aesthetics, and general African American racial discriminatory experiences,” and, eventually, “it speaks to the crack in Americas Liberty Bell.” Indeed, music occupies the central place for black culture. Since times of slavery, African Americans used music to overcome life challenges, teach lessons, and pass the experience to future generations.
African Americans also headed the Harlem Renaissance, which was the first major recognition of African American culture, and at the same time, it gave the impetus to the development of the American culture of entertainment (“Harlem Renaissance”). During it, music, art, and literature of black artists gained a voice, especially such well-known authors, artists and poets as Zora Neale Hurston, Luis Armstrong, and Langston Hughes (“Harlem Renaissance”). Today, black culture is not ashamed of exerting its uniqueness, searching connections with history and experiences of ancestors, bearing the global message of empowerment, and further struggle against inequalities.
Hence, African Americans have a unique culture, which undoubtedly deserves a distinct place among broader American culture. Besides, today’s political and social context is very different from the past, and although instances of racism occur from time to time, they are not as widespread as it was before the Civil Rights Movement, so black leaders of opinions are better situated to promote their agenda. Besides, it is still necessary to continue the struggle with social biases, prejudices, and racism. Black culture became the symbol of empowerment and inclusivity, two concepts important not only for ethnic and racial minorities but various gender, sexual, and religious minorities, which follow the example of blacks.
To sum up, African Americans played a major role in the development of the American nation and its culture. Since dark times of slavery, blacks developed their own distinct culture that eventually contributed to the development of the most of American music genres, and finally realized fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution that “all people are created equal.” This political and cultural impact became the symbol of minority empowerment, tolerance, and inclusivity, and that is why the securing of this distinct culture is essential not only for Blacks but for other minority groups and Americans in general.
Works Cited
“Harlem Renaissance”. HISTORY, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance.
Dodson, Howard. “America’s Cultural Roots Traced To Enslaved African Ancestors”. National Geographic, 2003, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/2/jubilee-america-culture-enslaved-africans/.
Zhu, Fangfang, and Steven Carl Tracy. “Blues”. Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2016. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/obo/9780190280024-0009. Accessed 5 Nov 2019.
Brunson, Rod K. “Police don’t like black people: AfricanAmerican young men’s accumulated police experiences.” Criminology & public policy 6.1 (2007): 71-101.
Carbado, Devon W., and Patrick Rock. “What exposes African Americans to police violence.” Harv. CR-CLL Rev. 51 (2016): 159-186.
Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray V. Robertson. “Racism and police brutality in America.” Journal of African American Studies 17.4 (2013): 480-505.
Hayward, Lydia E., et al. “Positive and negative intergroup contact predict Black and White Americans’ judgments about police violence against Black Americans.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 47.11 (2017): 605-615.
Taylor, Clarence. “Introduction: African Americans, police brutality, and the US criminal justice system.” Journal of African American History 98.2 (2013): 200-204.
“Harlem Renaissance”. HISTORY, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance.
Dodson, Howard. “America’s Cultural Roots Traced To Enslaved African Ancestors”. National Geographic, 2003, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/2/jubilee-america-culture-enslaved-africans/.
Zhu, Fangfang, and Steven Carl Tracy. “Blues”. Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2016. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/obo/9780190280024-0009. Accessed 5 Nov 2019.
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