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Prejudice And Racism In Nic Stone's Dear Martin

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Recommended: Ethnic and minority groups stereotypes from media

Could you imagine being a young African American man that's constantly being judged because of his skin color? Everywhere you go you feel like all eyes are on you, especially when you attend a prestigious private school that has less than ten black kids enrolled. That's exactly how Justyce McAllister feels. In the novel Dear Martin written by Nic Stone, Justyce is an intelligent young black man living in the Chicago area. After a white cop falsely accuses him of taking advantage of a young woman based solely on his skin color, Justyce begins to assimilate the abyss of social injustice and racial discrimination that seethes throughout the justice system as he fights the battles that convoys with being a young black man. While Stone is crafting …show more content…

With unnecessary brutality, Castillo slugs Jus in the jaw multiple times sending him into a bewildered state similar to how he found Melo.
¨I knew your punk ass was up to no good when I saw you walking down the road with that goddamn hood on.¨(Stone pg.8)
Castillo admits that he has just acted upon his suspicions by determining Justyce’s entire disposition based on him wearing a hoodie without properly evaluating the situation. This interaction between Jus and the antagonist clearly shows unjustified discriminatory and abusive actions that transpired solely on a black man's insignificant aesthetics.
¨Black people are 2.9x more likely to be killed by police than white people in the U.S.¨(2020 Decennial Census)
There has been recorded research for why this is an apparent issue along with police brutality. ¨Some predictive factors such as racial bias, a bad temper, insecure masculinity and other individual characteristics¨ (Lynne Peeples, Nature) make the most common appearances among law enforcement officers. The uprising of these issues could be due to the lack of proper mental and psychological training that the enlisting officers have to encounter throughout their trial at the police academy. This improper teaching is sending partially experienced law enforcers to the streets, therefore making a possibly more dangerous environment for

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