Black Lives Matter: A dialogue on how race, class, and politics contribute to the challenges

of public safety in the black community.

Organized byOtis S. Johnson, Ph.D.Scholar in Residence

Savannah State UniversityApril 15, 2015

• Dr. Bernard Bongang: Chair, Dept. Of Political Science and Public Affairs, SSU

• Dr. Otis S. Johnson, Scholar in Residence, SSU

• Prof. Gwendolyn Jordan, Lecturer in Public Admin., SSU

• Dr. Larry Stokes, Faculty: Social and Behavioral Sciences, SSU

Black Lives MatterPanel Members

The Influence of Class on the Criminal Justice System

• Justice in the United States is not blind. Race, class and politics influence how justice is experienced across race and class lines.

• The next two sides define social stratification and lists the strata that makes-up the class system in the United States.

• Each class group has different experiences with and in the criminal justice system.

Social Stratification: A pattern in which individuals are assigned to different

positions in the social order, with varying amounts of access to the desirable things

in the society.

• Nationality• Race• Ethnicity• Class

Social Class

• Upper class

• New Money

• Middle class

• Working class

• Working poor

• Poverty level

A Dual System of Justice

‘Street Crimes’

‘Corporate and White Collar

Crimes’

An Unjust Justice System

Image and Information from Vox (Wednesday, April 8, 2015) www.vox.com/2015/4/1/8326315/media-bias-black-mughsots

The Minority Community Attitude Toward Criminal Justice System (Negative Perception)

MinoritiesAs

‘Victims of Oppression’

The Criminal Justice System as

‘Agents of Oppression’

SocialConflict and Distrust

The Black Community Attitude Toward the Criminal Justice System

(Positive Perception)

Fair and Equal Justice for All

Reduction in the negative impacts

of race, class and poverty

Social OrderAnd

Comity