Rubin Carter example essay topic

The boxing world is a world of guts, glory and above all, pride. To achieve these things a fighter must never give up and fight until the end. Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter did just that, however not only did he fight inside the ring, but also outside the ring. Carter spoke out publicly against police brutality and racism and was very well known for his views. The Hurricane was a very talented boxer but struggled day in and day out with racial issues. Race and segregation were very sensitive topics during the 1960's and Carter was not widely accepted in the boxing organization.

Although he was not acknowledged it didn't mean that he wasn't any good. He was preparing for the middle weight championship fight when he and a friend, John Artis were charged with a triple murder at a bar in Patterson, New Jersey. The rest of the story is explained in Bob Dylan's song, Hurricane. Hurricane was published in 1975, while the murders occurred in 1967. Rubin Carter spent eight years in prison and during that time he wrote and published a book called The Sixteenth Round. In 1975 Carter sent Bob Dylan a copy of his book and since that moment Bob Dylan took a particular interest in Mr. Rubin Carter's situation.

Dylan proceeded to write and expose his new song, in which he clearly takes the side of Carter. The story is that Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter was framed for a triple murder in Patterson bar. There were only two witnesses at the scene and were well known criminals. Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley gave a description of Carter's car to the police and Carter was later pulled over and arrested. "In Patterson that's just the way things go. If you " re black you might as well not show up on the street 'Less you wanna draw the heat".

After a long extended struggle with trials and all that business the case became more and more race affiliated. Being the strong boxer type that he was Rubin Carter did not give up easy, even though the chances were against him. "All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance The trial was a pig-circus; he never had a chance... And though they could not produce the gun, The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed And the all white jury agreed". Although, Carters struggled was a difficult one he was not willing to give up and didn't give up until he was released on parole in November 1985, after serving 19 years in prison. John Artis, his friend that was arrested along side of him, was released on parole four years prior to Carter.

The idea for parole came up after some breaking evidence in the case. The two witnesses, Bello and Bradley separately stated that they were pressured by Patterson detectives to give false testimony. They were offered $100,000 and promises of lenient treatment any future criminal charges against them. Bob Dylan felt very strongly about racial issues during the time.

Dylan shared the passion with many other famous people such as Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Junior. They all openly shared their opinions through a variety of medians: Peace marches, music, speeches, boycotts... the list could go on for awhile. If it wasn't for many of these famous historical figures equal rights may have never became a reality for African Americans..