Everyone has bias. Pre-conceived notions affect individual lives as well as the way in which individuals operate within a system; bias affects the life you are interacting with. Officer Darren Wilson worked in a system where he was entitled to the rights to reinforce the racial bias. Ferguson will go down in the history books as our generation’s civil rights movement. Although there is a heated debate over Wilson’s indictment, I believe the bigger issue is the structural problem of bias in America’s criminal justice system.

Ferguson 2014 Riots. Wikimedia Commons: loaf of bread

The epidemic of racial profiling and police brutality causes the system to become class-blind and color-blind. People of color make up 30% of the U.S population, yet they constitute over 50% of the prison population. Meanwhile, prison demographics do not accurately reflect the demographics of all individuals who commit crimes. One should not place all the blame on black citizens when the system routinely criminalizes the communities of color and the poor. Most people tend to obey the law not because they are afraid of the repercussions. Instead, their peers embed the law, and therefore they have the incentive to follow the law in order not to disappoint their community. However, I assume that there would be very few black communities that internalize the law, because the external force – the “justice” system – implements a totally different standard against the black community, no matter how hard they endeavor.

This country’s history on race relations shows that a totally different set of standards exist for black Americans than for white Americans.

The cases of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown are important lessons for our country. Rather than judging the individuals involved in these incidents, victims and police officers alike, we must address the system that discriminates against and criminalizes certain identities in our country, such as black, Hispanic, gay, or Muslim Americans. It is crucial that we eradicate the double standards in the criminal justice system. For instance, instead of exercising “stop and frisk” based on stereotyping, there should be rules that demand equal protection. Also, police officers should keep a record of racial identities of the individuals they stop, as well as record of their interactions. Such reforms would make the police force more accountable to the citizens they swore to protect.

Wikimedia commons: Released to public by family of Trayvon Martin

Collective anger toward groups of individuals, whether they be innocent or guilty American citizens of any color, police officers, or protestors is unjust. Rather, we as citizens must work together to fix the system. We must reeducate ourselves and our communities about race relations and minority discrimination in the criminal justice system. Every life matters. Every life deserves justice in the system.

Lin Yuhan is the Culture and Politics Editor at Wandering Educators, and a college student at the University of Pittsburgh.