Disparity and Discrimination

Disparity is defined as the lack of similarity or equality; the condition or fact or being unequal, as in age, rank or degree; difference.

Racial disparity in the criminal justice system exists when the proportion of the racial/ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population. For example in the state of Minnesota, the state was recognized as a state with a large amount of racial disparity in the child protective system. According to Johnson, there have been several studies over the past decades that point out unequal representation of different races in the child protective system. The racial disparity refers to a race or ethnic group who need to be represented actually exceeds the group’s representation in the state’s population. Therefore, the number of children in the system should not be the ones taking the punishment for such a thing. The state should still offer the services no matter what the number look like. Furthermore, this is just one example of racial disparity that is being discussed.

Discrimination is defined as treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.

Let us take the most recent act of discrimination being held in Jena, Louisiana. In this town, six Africa American teenagers were charge with attempted murder for beating up a white student in their high school. The story started regarding a certain tree that only white students congregated at. A black student named, Kenneth Purvis, asked the principal if he could sit under the tree. The principal had stated that he could sit wherever he wanted to. The following morning the students arrived at school to find, three nooses dangling from the tree. This is what sparked the enter Jena 6 protest. Soon racial tensions began to arise which caused race-related fights. One fight involved a, Justin Barker, getting attacked by 6 black students at their high school. Upon the attack, Mr. Barker fell to the ground, hitting his head suffering from a concussion. The 6 black students were being charge with attempted murder for their actions.

There are some similarities with racial disparity and discrimination. The both deal with singling out ethnic or race groups. Another similarity would be the treatment of ethnics groups. These groups are being treated a certain way because of the numbers that are involved within the criminal justice system. These are the only similarities that I can find when dealing with disparity and discrimination.

There are a lot of differences with it comes to discrimination and disparity as well. Discrimination can be done individually, where disparity needs a group to define itself. Discrimination is also more introduced before disparity. When one hears