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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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Dear Martin by Nic Stone is a poignant and gut-wrenching coming-of-age novel that tackles the harsh realities of racism and police brutality in America. In one key scene, we see the protagonist Justyce McAllister face the brunt of police brutality for simply trying to help his inebriated ex-girlfriend. This scene stands out because it epitomizes the struggles and the identity crisis that young black men face in America. Nic Stone's masterful use of literary elements such as symbolism and imagery effectively develops the central theme of racism and social injustice in the novel. To begin with, the imagery used by Stone in the scene effectively highlights the brutality of the assault that Justyce experiences.

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Racism harms individuals and communities, and its root causes must be addressed to combat this pervasive issue. “Dear Martin” by Nic Stone is a perfect example of how black people are affected by racism as it greatly affected Justyce throughout the novel. Justyce got arrested by the cops for no reason, he was targeted for the colour of his skin by Jared and Blake, and he and his friend, Manny, got shot by a police officer Firstly, Justyce first experiences racism in the novel when he was trying to help his drunk friend Melo into her car so he could drive her home but a police officer thought he was up to no good and arrested him. “I know your kind; punks like you wander the streets of nice neighbourhoods searching for prey.

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Dear Martin is one of the best books I have ever read. This books theme was about how black people were discriminated, and what they went through, with racism. This book had very serious scenes, and topics. For example at the beginning of the book when Justyce was helping a friend who had been drinking too much, into her car when a police officer thinks something else is happening and puts Justyce into handcuffs and escorts him to the police station. One piece of important information that I didn’t tell you was it that Justyce is black, and his friend is white.

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Imagine being a 17 year old African American kid always being judged just because of his skin color. Everywhere you go you feel like all eyes are on you, especially when you go to a school that only has eight black kids. That's exactly how Justyce McAllister felt in Dear Martin by Nic Stone. In the book, the main character Justyce goes through a lot of conflict involving his skin color. Even though he has a full scholarship at Braselton Preparatory Academy, and is a very smart student, he still gets judged.

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Young black men were nine times more likely than other americans to be killed by police officers in 2015 according to the findings of a Guardian Study that recorded a final tally of 1,134 deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers this year. “The black people in this country have been the victims of violence of the hands of the white men's for 400 years, and following the ignorant negro preachers we have thought that it was god light”. Since black people were made slaves, that’s when they started being victims of violence. If they didn’t do their job they would get beat up or

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, departments that serve less than 2,500 people are 84.4% white and departments that serve millions are 53.4% white (as cited in Fifield, 2016). Notably, Over the years, a lack of diversity within law enforcement has become a pertinent issue. Notably, the underrepresentation of minorities within law enforcement influences the relationship between communities and law enforcement by engendering distrust with law enforcement. To say nothing of, underrepresentation of minorities have had many people question whether departments mirror a diverse community. Nevertheless, with that being said, underrepresentation of minorities have generated tension and distrust between communities and law enforcement and many believe that police department need to mirror the race composition within their cities.

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