Kemoni Whyte

ENG-102

C.Wynne

April, 21, 2017

Online Opinion Piece: Systematic Oppression of Black People

Imagine spending years in college broadening your knowledge on your passion and

honing your skills. Imagine after all those years of working hard to be the best at what you love

and then imagine someone with lesser qualifications than you, getting your dream job over you

because you are African American and the other person is Caucasian. That act right there is one

of the many ways black people are being oppressed in society. Now, lets talk about something

closer to home. Say your brother was coming home from basketball practice, hes really talented

and is a smart good kid. His future is bright and you can tell he will make a difference one day.

As your brother is walking home a police officer stops and frisks him claiming that he is

suspicious of him carrying illegal drugs. The police officer not only frisks your brother but states

that he feels threatened and beats your brother up and brings him to jail. This is another scenario

in which the oppression of black people is apparent in todays society. From job discrimination,

stop and frisk, profiling, to mass incarceration.

To stop this kind of oppression of black people there must be a change in policy. The

policy that could be of higher effect to this problem could be the policy in which people who are

trying to become officers take an extra morality test in addition to the other tests that are given to

training officers. This morality test would enhance the quality of the officers that deal with

civilians and also increase the sensitivity towards minorities. The components of this morality

test should include a survey of scenarios that call for critical thinking and a level of sensitivity to
be able to pass. The morality test should also include how the aspiring officers feel about current

events, minorities, and other sensitive topics. The current process that police officers take

includes a written exam however, the written exam is intended to determine an applicants ability

of deductive reasoning, math proficiency and report writing skills. That being said the exam

doesnt test morality or sensitivity.

The morality test is necessary for this issue because, by not having these tests, it leaves

room for police officers to be biased and discriminate against minority members. There should

be a morality test when dealing with any person trying to be in a position of power, such as

senators, governors, presidents, to CEOs of companies. These higher positions can affect

minorities from being equally stable as everyone else. In The New Jim Crow by Michelle

Alexander, she talks about how minorities get their rights taken away when being incarcerated

and by employing this morality test, there will be little to none discrimination against minorities.

Also, as Steven W Thrasher expressed that the Black Lives Matter movement has helped with

the systemic oppression of black people in a positive aspect, but with the morality test being

installed the decrease in violent incidences would call no need for organizations such as these. s

Therefore, the morality test would be a good option in policy change in order to deplete

the problem of the systematic oppression of black people. The policy wont only decrease the

oppression of black people, but all minorities all together. Minorities would have a better

opportunity to get higher paid jobs, and therefore increase their quality life.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thrasher, Steven W. "Black Lives Matter Has Showed Us: The Oppression of Black

People Is Borderless | Steven W Thrasher." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 09 Aug.

2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2017

Alexander, Michelle. New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

N.p.: New, 2012. Print.

ACLU. "Tell the DOJ: Ban Racial Profiling by Police." American Civil Liberties Union.

N.p., 12 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.