The Disadvantages of African American and Somali Men in the US Criminal Justice System

ABSTRACT: It is well-known that African American men are unfairly treated when encountering the United States’ criminal justice system. Systemic racial and class biases forge frameworks of inequality from arrest to sentencing. Similarly, Somali men are treated with the same disdain when encountering the American criminal justice system, which occurs based on the racial categorization of Somalis as Black. Additionally, resettled Somali refugee men are saddled with the label of “refugee” as they encounter the criminal justice system, which identifies those resettled in the US as “outsiders.” Even more so, refugees from Somalia are perceived as terrorists. Consequently, when young Somali men encounter the American criminal justice system, they enter with potentially more disadvantages than African American men. This is an initial analysis seeking to provide a foundational discussion for exploring the similarities and differences of African American and Somali refugee men as they maneuver through the criminal justice system in the US.