According to a study conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2013, African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites and comprise 38% of all prisoners in the United States (“BOP: Statistics”). The disproportionate number of prisoners of color in this country has encouraged – if not created – the misconception held by many white Americans that a disproportionate number of African Americans are criminals, or in other words, that criminality is an African American trait (Tyson 368). Lois Tyson argues against this delusion by stating, “the racial bias of our legal system, not the ‘natural’ criminality of African Americans, has put many black Americans behind bars who wouldn’t be there if they were white” (Tyson 368).…show more content… Two of the main characters of the television series, Will and Carlton, are young, black males that are driving a family friend’s car with his permission. They get pulled over for allegedly driving below the speed limit, but in reality the police officer assumes the two young men have stolen the car. It is implied that he believes they are car thieves because they are African American males driving an expensive luxury vehicle. Despite their claims that they are innocent, the police officer arrests Will and Carlton and takes them to jail without any proof of wrongdoing. One actual example of a similar situation is the arrest of Karen Brank. Brank was pulled over by a law enforcement officer who said she was speeding, although she recalls traveling down the interstate at the same speed as the surrounding cars (Gerstmann 14). The officer then claimed that Brank had an outstanding warrant for an unpaid ticket and proceeded to arrest her even though she had previously paid the ticket and it had not been processed in the system yet (Gerstmann 14). Although these situations have some obvious differences, the African American suspects involved were all victims of racial discrimination by law enforcement officers. “Mistaken Identity” displays this example in order to bring attention to the issue of racial discrimination and then
