‘Internalized racism’ to blame for black prosecutors’ treatment of black criminals: study

“Internalized racism” could be one reason that black prosecutors pursue tougher punishments for black criminals, two Florida International University professors argued in a paper published in the latest issue of Justice Quarterly.

Professors Besiki Kutateladze and Lin Liu examined one prosecutor’s office in New York City to test their Internalized Racism Theory hypothesis.

“As IRT suggests, Black prosecutors will be more likely to have internalized negative perceptions of their race and Blackness,” the researchers wrote.