The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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their situation. Blacks also tended to blame themselves and yet they also seemed more
willing to cast blame in other directions as well (Tables 7, 8). As a result, many black
youth picked up on problems in the system.
Probably the most frequent complaint against the juvenile justice system was that
the police have little concern for individuals and are often unfair. Others felt that the
whole system, or at least key aspects of it, is racist. A 15 year old black male said,
Mostly everybody is being seen as guilty. There are some people who
didn’t even do nothing and they were being seen guilty. I think a lot of
innocent people are being found guilty.
Some white youth saw problems not in attitudes but in logistics. A 14 year old white
male said the problem is,
Overcrowding, too many kids. There should be more treatment programs
too. All the places have waiting lists and you could be waiting for up to
four months for a place to open at a detention center.
As far as schools, about 80 percent of the youth in both groups felt teachers show
very little racial or economic bias (Tables 7, 8). This sentiment was supported by the
interviews where very little was said in reference to schools. Most of those who chose to
comment on their teachers said very positive things. And yet, there are those who feel
teachers are racist. A 17 year old white girl said:
They’re very favoritist. Most of the rich kids get the favortism. They’re
totally rude to the black kids. I have a black girlfriend that was in my math
class with me, and we’d be sitting there taking and I wouldn’t get yelled
at, but she would. She was always getting suspended for talking in class
and stuff, but I would never get yelled at.