Judicial Adjudication in Thomasville, Georgia

During this summer semester, I have been conducting my scholarly research which is based in Thomasville Georgia. The focus of my study is to determine whether there were racial disparities in the adjudication of judges in Thomas County, Georgia. I am very excited about sharing my research project at the President’s showcase as it gives me the opportunity to illustrate the inequalities within the justice system. Presenting my work at the showcase would also allow me to give more insight into broader societal disparities. This plays a prominent role in understanding and addressing the issues of fairness and equity in public policy.

What I hope to communicate with my fellow researchers and the public is that many African Americans were subjected to different forms of control specifically extra-legal controls and legal controls. My research specifically focuses on the justice system and the manner in which it undermined the rights of African Americans specifically the 14^th amendment i.e. equal protection and security under the law. In essence African Americans, even after emancipation, were still evidently in a vulnerable position and were openly exploited by the judicial system. Furthermore, I would also like to articulate to my fellow researchers and the public that within the confines of the courtroom setting, it was evident that legal discrimination was a key component of the legal system during the 1930s in Thomasville, Georgia.

The data I have collected this summer indicates that harsher penalties were handed to African Americans. African Americas, regardless of location, had always faced the brunt of an unfair legal system and African Americans residing in Thomas county were no exception to this status quo. The case Law i.e. evidence records I have used for data collection established a precedent from which the court system did not veer and eroded what little hopes remained of securing and protecting the liberties and freedoms of African Americans. This is the message that I would like to communicate with my fellow researchers and the public.