Racial Profiling
-by Elizabeth Rodriguez Racial profiling is any police or private security practice in which a person is treated as a suspect because of his or her race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. Many Americans believe it violates their civil rights and that it is a discrimination against skin colored people. Karen Narasaki, an Asia American Justice Center, says, “Racial profiling clearly violates our Constitution, our right to equal protection under the law or due process. People need to be identified not simply because of their race, religion or their national origin. When law enforcement does that, it starts to undermine the confidence in communities” (Face the truth: Racial profiling across America, 2010). Racial profiling has stereotype many Mexican-Americans along with African-Americans. Cops think that these two races are the leading cause of crimes. Therefore, if a cop sees a colored skin person suspicious, then the cop will automatically stop him/her just because of his/her race. Not all crimes are committed by these races! Cops should focus on the individual’s background and not assume that the whole race is criminals. Racial profiling starts at a young age as you can see in Figure 1. This mindset should not determine the decision of whether that person is criminal or not. As years elapse, many cops keep assuming that racial profiling is a brilliant way to determine if the person is a criminal. There have been many unreasonable searches conducted by cops because of racial profiling. As you can see in Figure 2, as more years pass by, cops tend to stop Black/African Americans.
The Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted their own research regarding the percentage of drivers stopped according to their race. In 2002-2005 there has been an average of almost the same amount of stops within Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. You can also see that many Hispanics and Blacks have not only been stopped but also have been searched. In 2005, 9.5% of Black people have been searched, 8.8% of Hispanic people have been searched, and 3.6% of White people have been searched (Face the truth: Racial profiling across America, 2010).
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American citizens have to take a stand and fight for equality. The Racial Profiling: Face the Truth campaign seeks to win reforms in local, state and federal policies to end the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement. “Not only is racial profiling humiliating and degrading for the people subjected to it, it is unconstitutional, it is an ineffective law enforcement practice, and it damages community security” (Rights working group, n.d.). We can unite with this organization so that our voice can be heard. There are many ways for organizations and individuals to take action. First, you can endorse the campaign and/or join the Rights Working Group union. It is simple, just go to http://rightsworkinggroup.org/content/join-rwg to register. You can also host groups of conversations to stop racial profiling so that the word can spread and we can alert more uninformed citizens. Last but not least, you can host a town hall meeting on racial profiling. This can educate communities, elected officials and the public on racial profiling. “Town halls should happen when community organizations are committed to working together to stop racial profiling. The commitment is yours to define” (Rights working group, n.d.). Come on and join the Racial Profiling: Face the Truth campaign don’t just sit there, stand up and make a change!
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References:
Face the truth: Racial profiling across america [Web]. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/content/face-truth-racial-profiling-across-america
MacDonald, H. (Photographer). (2002, March 24). The Racial Profiling Lie [Web Photo]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.therightperspective.org/2009/07/24/the-racial-profiling-lie/
Rights working group. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://rightsworkinggroup.org/content/racial-profiling-face-truth-0