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Race and Ethnicity

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Race and Juvenile Delinquency by Dubien Tshimanga

SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY CAPSTONE
PRINCIPIA COLLEGE APRIL 2015

ABSTRACT

Throughout history, the struggle of minorities has been seen in many facets of life such as in history, literature, music and film: Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi fought for the right of unrepresented minorities. Books such as Too Kill a Mocking Bird spoke to the prejudices of a community. Movies such as Roots illustrated the hardship of the slaves. From the Roman’s persecution of Christians to today’s rap song lyrics about economic disparities the plight of the minority has been fought for millennium.
This research examines the struggle of minorities within the juvenile justice system and the differential rates of adjudication and length of sentencing between the white majority and the black minority juvenile offenders. During the course of this research, additional insights were gained from an internship at a youth correctional center as well as drawing on my own personal experience as a refugee from Gabon. The findings of my research demonstrate that minority offenders do receive harsher sentences than the whites, and that there are several factors contributing to higher rates of juvenile delinquency among African Americans; primarily education and community. To consider the struggle of minorities is important because it creates awareness that the maltreatment of a minority group by the dominant majority often ends in violence and destruction. If we can understand what cause the inequality better, then mankind can live more peacefully and prosperously.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to have a mentor and a RC like Mr. Doug Brown and an advisor Dr. Jackie Burns to help me write my capstone. Mr. Brown served as a facilitator helping to clarify the process and helping to keep me on track with my

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