Blackness on Trial: The Presumption of Non-Innocence in the United States of America Public
Foster, Maya (Spring 2019)
Abstract
America’s judicial system is predicated on the notion that every individual is equal and entitled
to the rights stated in the Constitution, one of those rights being the right to be considered
innocent until proven guilty as agreed under the burden of proof in criminal law. Black
Americans appear to be second-class citizens, who exist outside this realm of equality and
justice, however, and this status suggests the need for a very important critique of the judicial
system as fair and just. Not only are the laws not applicable to Black people, but there is a
historical association between Blackness and guilt, or non-innocence. I hypothesize that in
America there exists a presumption of non-innocence for Black people that renders them
inherently guilty. This thesis investigates the ways in which Blackness has and continues to be
criminalized in the U.S. justice system within the legal system and in society. I examine the
cultural concepts that shape views of blackness, the body, the presumption of innocence, gender,
flesh, and citizenship rights to position the presumption of non-innocence as the antithesis of
innocence and Blackness as the antithesis of whiteness in America. While some scholars argue
that it is America’s anti-black judicial system that creates the guilt for Black people, I contend
that is a combination of both the judicial system and the criminalization of Blackness itself that
contribute to the presumption of non-innocence for Black persons.
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………….1
Chapter One: Framing Blackness as Non-Innocent……………………………..…..9
Chapter Two: The Story of Trayvon Martin ……………………………………….20
Chapter Three: From Celia to Cyntoia ……………………………….…………….30
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….44
Works Cited………………………………………………………………………...54
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