"After slavery was abolished in 1865, Southern states, where more than 90 percent of Black Americans lived, embraced criminal justice as a means of racial control. Discriminatory “Black Codes” led to the imprisonment of unprecedented numbers of Black men, women, and children, who were returned to slavery-like conditions through forced labor and convict leasing systems that lasted well into the 20th century.
Criminal laws also were used against Civil Rights protesters, who were denounced as “law breakers” and faced arrest, incarceration, and police brutality. These courageous campaigns earned many victories, but policies to combat racial inequality, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, have not targeted criminal justice, where outcomes are still impacted by the same racial bias and inequality that pervade American society. Mass incarceration today stands as a legacy of past abuses and continues to limit opportunities in our nation’s most vulnerable communities."
-From the Equal Justice Initiative (see first link below)
Search for full-length films and film segments in Films on Demand, one of the streaming databases at GRC. Or consider some of the other resources listed and linked below, including a short list of featured films.
Hispanics in the U. S. Criminal Justice System : The New American Demography by 
Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma by 
Racializing Justice, Disenfranchising Lives : The Racism, Criminal Justice, and Law Reader by 
Slouching Toward Tyranny: Mass Incarceration, Death Sentences and Racism by 
Latinos and Criminal Justice: An Encyclopedia by 
The Roots of Rough Justice: Origins of American Lynching by 
