On the recordJanuary 1, 1903
It was not then a question of crime, but rather one of color, that settled a man’s conviction on almost any charge.
Said by
W.E.B. Du Bois
Source
gutenberg.orgIt was not then a question of crime, but rather one of color, that settled a man’s conviction on almost any charge.
From his seminal work, this statement critiques the racial bias inherent in the Southern legal system of the time.
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