The Black Criminality Stereotype

The Black criminality stereotype grew from decades of unfair imprisonment in southern states. By the beginning of the 20th century, Black criminality became a part of the newly formed field of social science. This is the most important way in which northerners convinced themselves that to describe Black people as criminals was not racist. And so if the north as they argue was free of racism, the only way you could explain disproportionate crime rates was to say these Black people have a crime problem.