The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives recently released a report warning that many American cities are in danger of exploding into violence. Study after study has confirmed the disparate treatment African-Americans receive in the criminal justice system. The most recent, released April 19 by Building Block For Youth, revealed African-Americans are 85.5 percent of youth automatically transferred to adult court for drug crimes in Illinois though they are just 15.5 percent of the state's youth population. These kinds of racial disparities have debilitating effects on the African-American community. As soldiers in the drug war, police departments are in the front line of this biased treatment.
Some officers see black youth as the enemy, and in any war, the enemy eventually fights back.
Despite the serious dangers involved in this issue, few in national leadership seem concerned. There is a growing concern elsewhere, however. The international human-rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have authored studies that severely condemn some police practices in the U.S., particularly as they pertain to the treatment of racial minorities. The European Union also has become increasingly vocal in its condemnation of racial biases in death-penalty cases. This growing global interest also is prompting African-American activists to look outside the country for assistance in their struggle against biased policing.