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Civil Rights Mini-Course - The Hurricane

Visit the post below for additional information on institutional racism and in particular, institutional racism in the criminal justice system. This post also contains links to additional information about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and controversy over the film.
http://hansengeorge.blogspot.com/2007/10/institutional-racism.html
Assignment: Respond to the film, "The Hurricane." Despite the controversy over the accuracy of the events portrayed in the film, what did you learn about the issue of institutional racism in the criminal justice system? Do you think the portrayal of institutional racism in the criminal justice system in the movie is "dated"? (In other words, do you think the examples from the film are remnants of the past or do you think similar examples can be found today?) Post your comment here.
The Hurricane Lyrics:
http://hansengeorge.blogspot.com/2007/11/hurricane-lyrics.html
Once you are finished with this assignment, visit this link for information about your final:
http://hansengeorge.blogspot.com/2008/02/final-project-civil-rights-mini-course.html
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Comments

zach4 said…
Ruben “Hurricane” Carter

This movie was a great movie. I was not even familiar with the incident before we watch the movie. I don’t think it was right for the police to set up Ruben with the three murders. Institutional racism was a serious issue back then you don’t really see it too much anymore but I am sure it has been a problem around the nation. This movie reminds me of the Sean Bell incident were the police just assumed that he was the drug dealer at a club and than he was shot and killed. The officers never got charged with anything. It is just not right for people to be so racists, we are all Americans and everyone should be treated the same whether they are black or white. I had never realized what institutional racism was until this movie. I didn’t know that there could be so many forms of racism, and it makes me think. I really enjoy this class and the things we talk about.
May 15, 2008 at 9:54 AM
mbray4 said…
I really enjoyed the movie a lot. One thing I learned about the institutional justice system was that cops knowingly were racist. I knew that cops might do it, not even really realizing they are being racist. In the film though the cops did it very knowingly and they lied to get The Hurrican in jail.

I definatly think this is still an issue today and it still happens. People may be caught more often, but racial injustice happens still today. There are probably many people in jail for the wrong reasons, and they are totally innocent.
May 15, 2008 at 10:52 AM
mwelte4 said…
The movie was really great. I didn't know that cops would be so racist just to get someone in jail even though they knew he was innocent. This is still an issue today. People will still be racist when the facts are right in front of them. They just think that just because that person isn't white and they are on trial for something, that they may as well be in jail.
May 15, 2008 at 11:05 AM
JCrook4 said…
i enjoyed the movie and it was a perfect example of racial corruption in the judicial system
May 15, 2008 at 11:06 AM
TKnothe4 said…
I liked the movie. I think that it portrays more of the past day justice system. Racism still can be found today in some cases but it isn't as bad as it was before african americans had equal rights and weren't treated as fairly. Today there is alot more ways to get evidence and all the things used to convict or aquit someone of charges, some people still are wrongly accused, but it's not all black people, african americans may be mroe wrongly accused, but it is more diverse than it was in years past.
May 15, 2008 at 11:07 AM
L.Bennett4 said…
I really liked the movie. I had never heard of the movie before class. You would have thought that Ruben being a big time fighter and a popular person in the community that people would have stood up for him instead of agreeing with the police and putting him in jail. I learned alot from the movie too. I learned that cops are racist too, not just public people. Because the one cop was out to get him since he was 11 years old was rediculous!!! Why would you want to go after a kid like that. Its sad how people finally after 30 years of Ruben sitting in prison, and with the help of the canadien people, the towns people started to stand up for him. and he was free! I was actually happy to see him free, even though it was unfortunate that he had to be in prison for 30 years, which is way longer than it should of been.
I enjoyed the film alot, and it gave me a better understanding about insitutuonal racism.
May 15, 2008 at 11:07 AM
CGlick4 said…
I learned that cops back then were generally racist. They should have looked over the evidence more thoroughly because it was all there. Today I think there could still be some examples of intstitutional racism found in the justice system because I think there are still some racist cops out there.
May 15, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Donavon said…
I enjoyed the movie. I liked how he was a nice guy but could be mean. The cops were complete butts. The end was the best part.
May 15, 2008 at 11:10 AM
JWalsh4 said…
I thought the movie was great, I learned that the criminal justice system can try to pinpoint a crime on just one person based on their race or what they believe in, no I don't think that there is alot of institutional race going on anymore but I do know that there is probably some of it going on in parts of the country, I've never even heard of the hurricane before this movie.
May 15, 2008 at 11:11 AM
dguy4 said…
Dustin Guy, Jim Kadervek, Jon Killoy

This was a REALLY good movie. It showed the institutional racism in law enforcement. This happens alot in our society but it mostly goes undetected and isn't fair. We think its sad that people have to spent their life in prison just because they're black and were convicted for a crime they did not commit. They're is probably thousands of people in jail right now for things they didnt do and they should deser4ve a fair trial.
May 15, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Anonymous said…
People were treated wrongly like he was. There still is today racism like that today. They are all wrongly treated.
May 15, 2008 at 11:12 AM
gworthington4 said…
The first time I watched this movie was in your psychology class. Viewing this movie for the second time showed me a little more about institutional racism. I believe that some of this still goes on in prisons. I also believe it may be true that black people in prisons are more likely to "act up" because they feel they are being treated unfairly, so why not just retalliate in some way or form.

Also, there may be innocent people in jails and prisons for the wrong reasons, but then again isn't that what everyone says?

This has a beeen a good class and has been an eye opening expierience.
May 15, 2008 at 11:13 AM
sdille said…
if you are a diffrent color they dont care what you did they will try to throw you in jail or even prison.
May 15, 2008 at 11:13 AM
dguy4 said…
thats not good language donavan!!!
May 15, 2008 at 11:13 AM
smeister said…
Joe and Slade- think this is one the greatest movies i've ever watched. Denzel Washington is amazing in this movie and it hopefully made a HUGE impact on the nation. that was very racist for the cops to keep on trying to get Ruben into jail for something that he didn't do and thank god that kid found that book and decided to do something about it. i never knew that there was so much hate between blacks and whites and how racist people are. im thankful for this class cause now im more informed with the stuff now.
May 15, 2008 at 11:14 AM
James Deckert said…
The movie was thought provoking to say the least, and raised a lot controversial questions, besides ones specific to racism. However, that is the main focus of the movie, and I believe that it did a good job of portraying the criminal justice system's treatment of people with different ethnicity.

I believe that racial profiling and prejudice still play a role in law enforcement, but increasingly more common are profiling based on an officers opinions and views on different genders, lifestyle choices such as sexual orientation, political affiliations, social class, even things such as style of dress, so I would say that the Criminal Justice system has progressed in some direction, but regressed in others.
May 15, 2008 at 11:18 AM
MMarshall4 said…
I enjoyed the movie, it was definitely worth watching. I decided to go see the song related to the movie, "Hurricane" by Bob Dillon. It was rather surprising to see the sort of comments that were put there. On racism, there is definitely a bit of bias against the black community in regards to crime. An overzealous police force would find it easy to blame a black man, a criminal could get away free if he claims that he saw a black man. The media definitely does not help at all. It makes me wonder how and why it became more important to get more viewers, subscribers, or readers than it was to inform. One important note is that although the racism of the past still occurs, it has become much more subtle since then. I certainly hope that cases like Rubin's are uncommon, or our criminal justice system is a sorry lot indeed.
May 15, 2008 at 11:23 AM
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