University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class Volume 20 Issue 2 Article 7 Race, Reconstruction, and the RICO Act: Using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in Prosecutions Against White Supremacist Organizations in America Cherie L. Deogracias Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc Recommended Citation Cherie L. Deogracias, Race, Reconstruction, and the RICO Act: Using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in Prosecutions Against White Supremacist Organizations in America, 20 U. Md. L.J. Race Relig. Gender & Class 306 (2020). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol20/iss2/7 This Notes & Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Academic Journals at DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. DEOGRACIAS RACE, RECONSTRUCTION, AND THE RICO ACT: USING THE RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS ACT IN PROSECUTIONS AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACIST ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA CHERIE L. DEOGRACIAS* Dating back to the practice of slavery in the United States, white supremacy is an ideology that is deeply and painfully woven into the fabric of American history.1 Though slavery was abolished over one hundred and fifty years ago, the underlying problems of racial discrimination, violence, and tension between white and Black Americans have transcended the formal abolition of the practice of slavery after the Civil War.2 Because racial discrimination is so entrenched in the foundations of American law, culture, politics, and institutions, many of the battles of racial discrimination stemming from slavery and the Civil War are still issues we face today.