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18 November 2017

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Black men are sentenced to far more time in prison than white men for committing similar crimes, according to a new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

A report released last week from the USSC ― an independent agency of the U.S. judicial branch ― looked at federal prison sentences in the United States from Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2016, and found that black male offenders received sentences on average 19.1 percent longer than those of "similarly situated" white male offenders.

The commission also factored in offenders' criminal histories to look at whether violence in offenders' pasts could account for the racial disparities ― and found that it did not. Looking at 2016, the only year for which such data was available, the commission found that, after controlling for criminal history, black men still received 20.4 percent longer sentences than did white men.

This report's findings match those of a previous USSC report from 2007 to 2011, which found a nearly 20 percent gap in sentences between black and white men.

The racial disparities in sentencing appear to have increased over the last two decades, worsening specifically after 2005.

According to older USSC reports, the gap between black and white men in sentencing was about 11 percent for 1998 to 2003 and 5 percent for 2003 to 2005. But it jumped to 15 percent for 2005 to 2007 and to nearly 20 percent thereafter.

USSC noted in a 2010 report that the differences in sentence length between black and white male offenders " have increased steadily" since the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 in United States v. Booker to increase judges' discretion in sentencing.

But the factors contributing to racial disparities in sentencing are complex, according to Marc Mauer, director of the nonprofit Sentencing Project. Judges aren't the only factor, or necessarily even the biggest, in sentencing disparities.

"It's not necessarily racist judges," Mauer told HuffPost by email Friday. "But much of [the] disparity [is] likely due to decision-making by prosecutors."

Mauer pointed to research from scholars Sonja Starr and Marit Rehavi, which found that prosecutors " have a huge impact on sentences," as they have broad discretion in how to charge an offender or whether to offer a plea-bargain.

Overall, sentencing is just one part of the broader problem of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system: Black people are incarcerated in U.S. state prisons at more than five times the rate of white people.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST

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Black Men's Sentences 20 Percent Longer Than White Men's For Similar Crimes

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Black men are sentenced to far more time in prison than white men for committing similar crimes, according to a new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. A report released last week from the USSC ― an independent agency of the U.S. judicial branch ― looked at federal prison sentences in the United States from Oct.

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This article is based off a study people did to look closer at the sentence time of people and to relation to their ethnicity. They found out that “black men are sentenced to far more time in prison than white men for committing similar crimes”. The first things I thought of was the variables that could be associated with a study like this. One important variable I thought of was the criminal history the individuals had because that would obviously be a reason to receive a different sentence time. The article points out that it knew about that factor and it didn’t change the results. I found this article interesting as this week we talk about utilitarianism and the death penalty. Racial discrimination is one of many problems plaguing the justice system. The facts that are being presented along with the absurd costs will hopefully lead to positive changes.

Reference:

Ruiz-Grossman, S. (2017, November 18). Black Men's Sentences 20 Percent Longer Than White Men's For Similar Crimes. Retrieved November 18, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-white-sentencing-criminal-justice-report_us_5a0f8295e4b0e97dffed66a0?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

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12 November 2017

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Last week, British Vogue's new editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, launched his first issue, ushering in a new era of diversity for the fashion bible. By the weekend, Enninful had struck again, this time with the 2018 Pirelli calendar, which he styled, and cast with an all-black group of models, activists and actors.

Shot by fashion photographer Tim Walker, the calendar features Naomi Campbell, British Vogue cover star Adwoa Aboah, Sudanese-Australian model Duckie Thot, South African lawyer Thando Hopa, Whoopi Goldberg, Lupita Nyong'o and RuPaul, who were transformed by Enninful into characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Enninful took the job of styling the calendar before he was appointed, and though the timing of the two launches is coincidence, it does address a palpable shift in mood.

The Pirelli calendar was created by the Italian tyre company in the 1960s as a trade gift, with a focus on somewhat salacious imagery of women. In 1987, it hired fashion photographer Terrence Donovan to photograph a 17-year-old Naomi Campbell. In an approach that would feel deeply problematic today, she was presented as a scantily clad tribal princess.

For Campbell, who stars in this year's edition 30 years on, this week marks a seismic change in the industry. "The message is so big, and the timing could not be more perfect," Campbell said. In her 31 years as a model, she added, this is a unique moment in the industry's acceptance of diversity. "The last two seasons have been better," Campbell told the Guardian in New York. "It's great to see these beautiful girls get this opportunity. I just don't want it to be a trend, and I think we all feel that way."

Despite its questionable beginnings, the calendar has been latterly praised as a greenhouse for photographic talent. In a jarring note, that included hiring the disgraced photographer Terry Richardson, who shot the calendar in 2010.

It has since branched out into a broader, and more artistic, project. Peter Lindbergh's 2017 "More naked than a nude" shoot of Hollywood actors was a key moment, while a year earlier, the hiring of photographer Annie Leibowitz, who shot an older female cast, shifted attention towards the female gaze. This year, however, it has turned its attention towards diversity.

Pirelli hopes the styling will give the shoot a playful tone. "Over the past two years we had something more serious, so this year we wanted something more creative or magical," Pirelli's CEO, Marco Tronchetti, told the Guardian.

Tim Walker, a frequent Enninful collaborator in his previous position as W fashion editor, explained that his choice to photograph an all-black cast was part of larger conversation. "It's difficult to be entirely clear, but fashion reflects the spirit of the times. The fashion industry is a wonderland, and it's an immensely positive thing to see a black Alice ... Alice is universal."

Camilla Lowther, Walker's agent, who is also the mother of Vogue cover star Adwoa Abdoh, said she believed the photographer and stylist had simply tuned in to the need for change that accompanied the political shocks of the past year.

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The Queen and the King of Hearts. Photograph: Tim Walker/Pirelli

"Everyone had had enough" when it came to the stark lack of cultural diversity in fashion, Lowther says. "The first thing clients used to say was,`no black models'. They actually used to say that. But nobody would say that now. It's time."

Duckie Thot, the upcoming South Sudanese-Australian model, said she felt fortunate: "There's never been a better time to be a black woman. We're at a place where we're being heard and we have the opportunity to do more. And Alice in Wonderland should be every woman's story."

Walker added that he felt there were "no more white stories to tell".

"As a photographer, you're standing there, focusing your camera, and looking at a certain white body shape yet again. It does become relentlessly uninspiring when there are so many other forms of beauty in the world," he said.

There are still plenty of issues with the projection of black beauty in fashion. Last week, Lupita Nyong'o, who plays the Dormouse in Walker's production, accused Grazia magazine of removing part of her hair for the front cover of its November edition. She said she was disappointed it changed her hairstyle to "fit their notion of what beautiful hair looks like".

Oscar-nominated actor and model Djimon Hounsou (who plays Walker's King of Hearts) said early in his career it had been suggested that he'd benefit from lightening his skin and straightening his nose. Being invited to star in the Pirelli campaign, he said, was a chance for people like himself to "finally be integrated in this fantasy world".

Hounsou's experience of working as a model was characterised by discrimination. "Of all places, fashion was the most brutal. Casting directors would say, 'OK. Thank you for coming in. You might want to think about rearranging your nose.' Comments like that for a young man coming up were extremely shocking. It certainly makes you self-conscious. Do I need to straighten my nose like all white people?

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Whoopi Goldberg and Thando Hopa as the Royal Duchess and Princess of Hearts. Photograph: Tim Walker/Pirelli

South African model and lawyer Thonda Hopa, who is Albino, said she hoped her image as the Queen of Hearts would become a "vessel to carry a message of dreams and possibilities to women, people of colour, people who are considered different."

"Look at Alice. She goes into a strange world. She gets small, she gets big. She's trying to figure herself out. She says, who in the world am I? Other people are saying she's a flower, she's a serpent. They see her through their own eyes. She's going through her own identity politics."

Others in the calendar include Jaha Dukureh, the Gambian-born FGM campaigner. "The calendar for me is about representation and how different we are, despite being black. It about our walks of life, where we come form and the stories we had to tell."

This could be read as a manifesto for Enninful as he lays out his vision for Vogue's approach to diversity. The title, he told WWD last week, has to represent "real women, and to be reflective of the society we live in. Diversity is very important for me. I want Vogue to feel like a shop that you're not scared to walk into, one that's quite welcoming."

Campbell, who talked to the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, for Enninful's debut issue, said she anticipated that fashion would be entering a time of fantasy again. "That's how I always loved fashion to be. It's so fun to put on an outfit and transform. With all that's happened in the world, people are really wanting to dream again. I think we're going to see fantasy."

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Pirelli goes down the rabbit hole with all-black cast for 2018 calendar

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Last week, British Vogue's new editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, launched his first issue, ushering in a new era of diversity for the fashion bible. By the weekend, Enninful had struck again, this time with the 2018 Pirelli calendar, which he styled, and cast with an all-black group of models, activists and actors.

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This article dives into a rabbit hole of discrimination. They make a lot of points to the problems with discrimination in modeling. A good quote to give some life to this topic “Everyone had had enough” when it came to the stark lack of cultural diversity in fashion, Lowther says. “The first thing clients used to say was, ‘no black models’. They actually used to say that. But nobody would say that now. It’s time.” So, they make it very clear that there was discrimination in the model profession. The question is how to you fix it? I feel like they think the best way to fix it was to shoot an all-black cast for a calendar. Now is that adding diversity or is that just complete discrimination? At the very least I feel it isn’t an answer to the problems in the profession. When you intentionally single out one race and disregard all others that is discrimination and by the reasoning of our book racist. As stated in our text “It is generally understood that racism involves making race a significant factor in the judgment and treatment of persons”. When I think about an article with “All white cast” in the title I could just imagine the back lash it would get, probably to the point of costing people jobs. I think the company that did this calendar is trying to fix racism and discrimination by doing just that.

Reference:

Pirelli goes down the rabbit hole with all-black cast for 2018 calendar. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/nov/12/pirelli-calendar-alice-in-wonderland-all-black-cast-edward-enninful

Mackinnon, B. & Fiala, A. (2017). Ethics: Theory and contemporary issues. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

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Abuse of Power
05 November 2017

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Michelle Pfeiffer says the Harvey Weinstein scandal exposed the "systemic" mistreatment of young people.

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In this video article Michelle Pfeiffer talks about her thoughts on how woman are treated in “Hollywood”. Recent rape claims by actress Paz de la Huerta towards Harvey Weinstein have sparked this topic that was needing to be discussed. A lot of women are now talking about their experiences with men in power as they were trying to make it as an actress. Pfeiffer says, “There hasn’t been one women that I’ve talked to who hasn’t had an experience and it goes to show you how systemic the problem is” relating to abuse of women in the industry.

Our book says, “The systemic character of oppression implies that an oppressed group need not have a correlate oppressing group”. I think this backs up what Pfeiffer is stating because the women that are being oppressed against by some men in power in Hollywood aren’t looking to act the same way back but are looking for legal justification. With all the discussions going on it seems that we are going in the right direction and that there won’t be as much hiding from what happened. Female actress can look at this and see that when someone crosses the line they have the law on their side and can stand up for themselves.

Reference:

Michelle Pfeiffer: Abuse of women in Hollywood is ‘systemic’. (2017,November 06). Retrieved November 5, 2017, from Michelle Pfeiffer: Abuse of women in Hollywood is 'systemic'

Mackinnon, B. & Fiala, A. (2017). Ethics: Theory and contemporary issues. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.