Racial Profiling: Still Going On
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Racial Profiling: Still Going on
Anonymous
Dixie State University
Abstract
Racial profiling has been going on for a long time, ever since the 1700s when blacks were treated as slaves. The United States has become better about making sure that everyone is equal ever since the Civil War, but some people and officers still believe that they should judge someone based on the color of their skin. There are a lot of stories about people of color being killed or taken to jail for nothing but for the color of their skin. Racial profiling is still a big problem that is going on today and it needs to be stop. It’s not just blacks being profiled it’s all races African- Americans, Hispanics, Arabs, Muslims, Asians, and much more; they seem to be giving up and people of color feel as if they can’t fight for their rights any more. Some people think the racial profiling is working and that we should keep it. It helps make sure that criminals are off of the street and it prevents a lot of attacks that could occur. Now that we have Donald Trump as our president, he wants racial profiling, he doesn’t want to get rid of it because it thinks it going to help America. He is a big reason why racial profiling is still going on. It’s not true that racial profiling is working because police officers are arresting people based on their skin color.
Racial Profiling: Still Going
Racial profiling has been going on for a long time. It’s hard to mark its exact inception in the United States, but it’s easy to see that it’s been around since at least the 1600s when slavery took root. A lot has changed since then—especially since the Civil War when all men and women were guaranteed freedom—but some people and officers still believe that the best way to sniff out criminals, prevent crime, and protect the innocent is to assume that a person of color is up to no good.
There are countless stories of people getting racially profiled by everyone from police officers to nosy neighbors. Michael Brown, for example, was walking in the street with his friend Dorian Johnson when a white police officer pulled up alongside them and yelled at them to get on the sidewalk. Johnson told the officer they were just walking home and were only a block away. As the officer attempted to quickly park his car and apprehend the boys, he nearly ran them over. He grabbed Brown by the neck, telling them if they didn’t comply he would shoot them. Moments later, the officer shot Brown. Dorian hid behind a car, and he watched as Brown, who was also trying to flee, was shot again by the officer. Brown, wounded but still able to speak, pleaded with the officer, assuring him he was unarmed. He begged for him to stop shooting. But the officer continued shooting until Michael Brown was dead (McLaughlin, 2014).
Most people are familiar with the story of Trayvon Martin who was racially profiled and killed by George Zimmerman, by a member of a neighborhood-watch program. Zimmerman called 911 and followed Martin, telling them the boy was wearing a hoody and looking suspicious. “These assholes,” he said, referring to black males, “always get away.” The 911 dispatcher told him Zimmerman to stop following the boy, but he continued anyway. Martin, feeling scared and threatened, began yelling at Zimmerman to leave him alone. He even called for help, not understanding why he was being followed. Zimmerman confronted Martin, and after a short scuffle, shot him. But due to Florida’s “stand your ground” law, the police chose not to arrest Zimmerman who claimed it was all in self-defense and that he felt threatened by the young boy wielding nothing more than a pack of Skittles (DuVernay, 2016).
Racial profiling hasn’t gone away. In fact, it has gotten worse over the last few years. Why is that?
History of Racial Profiling
Racial profiling refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin (“Racial Profiling: Definition,” 2017, para.1). In the documentary entitled 13th, (2016) the filmmakers discuss how recently-freed slaves after the Civil War were targeted and continuously mistreated by everyone from law enforcement to organized hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. African Americans couldn’t go where white people went. They were frequently and inordinately put in jail just because of the color of their skin, usually on flimsy or utterly false charges, like loitering and vagrancy (DuVernay, 2016). White people spread lies about black men being sex-crazed and dangerous to white women.
Racial profiling has existed for other minority groups in the USA since its founding, too. Most recently, due to the events of 9/11, Middle-Easterners, Muslims, and South Asians have been profiled by law enforcement and detained, jailed, or deported on minor and nonexistent immigration violations (“Racial Profiling: Definition,” 2017, para. 2).
Racial Profiling is a Problem
To deny that racial profiling is a problem in the United States is to deny the very existence of racism. It is easy for American citizens to criticize other countries for their acts of genocide and hate and terror, but those same citizens often ignore what is going on right here in their neighborhoods and towns. It seems to be that the more we deny the existence of racism in our own country, the more racial profiling increases. Police officers are attacking people based on the color of their skin, and people of color feel that they don’t have a voice and they don’t know what to do about it. African-Americans are getting pulled over for no reason—also known as “driving while black,” just as other minority groups, such as Hispanics and Middle-Easterners, are also being stopped and harassed simply for looking suspicious (Rushing, 2013, para. 12).
Jails are being filled up with people of color because police are arresting them for no reason. “In the past few decades, the number of people who were incarcerated has climbed dramatically from 300,000 to two million (Rushing, 2013, para. 9).” Studies show that the people “randomly” stopped by police don’t reflect the demographics of a town. Logically, if only 10 percent of a town’s population is black, then only about 10 percent of people randomly stopped by police should be black. But that’s not the case at all. Brian Withrow (2016) has been researching these disproportions and noted that “in San Jose, California, Hispanics make up 31 percent of the city’s population but account for 43 percent of the people stopped” (Siegel & Worrall, pg. 254). Part of the problem, he says, is that states get money for putting people in jail. There is an incentive, due to the country’s prison-industrial complex, for putting people behind bars. And the easiest way to do this: stop anyone who looks suspicious—people, that is, who are not white. The filmmakers of 13th (2016) show how a corporation called CCA, which builds and runs private prisons, makes contracts with states that require them to keep the jails full to protect their investments. The result is a lot of people of color serving horrendous sentences for minor offenses, such as driving without a license or carrying marijuana in their pocket. Racial profiling, in other words, is good for business, and lawmakers who receive gigantic donations and incentives from the prison lobbyists have little to no financial motivation for putting a stop to the cycle. Filling jails wins campaigns.
And if they’re not jailed, they’re killed. People of color are being killed almost daily because police officers and people in their community think that they are a threat. Perhaps these officers are fueled by legitimate adrenaline and fear, especially when a weapon (or a perceived weapon) is involved, but just as often they’re fueled by pure old-fashioned racism. Police officers “fired on an armed target quicker when the target was African-American than when white, and decided not to shoot an unarmed target quicker when the target was white than when African-American (“Racial Profiling: Definition,” 2017, para. 14).”
Racial Profiling is Working
Some would say the racial profiling is working and it needs to continue being used by law enforcement. Is harassing nine innocent people of color to catch one criminal a reasonable price to pay to protect our communities? It helps keep criminals off the streets and it also helps reduce gang violence. Harvard scholars Mathias Risse and Richard Zeckhauser (2016) said that, “racial profiling has utility because it can eliminate more crime than other law enforcement practices (Siegel & Worrall, pg. 255).” They even say that it is unparalleled in the fight against drug trafficking. Racial profiling helps prevent attacks and this keeps everyone safe and out of harm. The problem, however, is assuming someone is suspicious because of their race or color. After 9/11, the mantra became, “See something? Say something.” But, unfortunately, all people seemed to see was people of color, and that was enough justification to stop and harass innocent people. If people want to keep their communities safe, they should keep their eyes open for actual suspicious behavior, not just “walking while brown” or “driving while black.”
Racial Profiling Going on Now
There’s no denying that racial profiling has gotten a new lease on life thanks to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Unlike previous presidents who, at worst, kept silent on the matter, he has been vociferous in his appeal to American citizens to racially profile and intimidate anyone who looks like a terrorist or an undocumented citizen. He wants more money to go to law-enforcement efforts that incorporate racial profiling. Now, people of color are increasingly being arrested on petty charges simply so that the government can have cause to deport them if they turn out to be undocumented. Trump said that, “other countries do it; you look at Israel and you look at others and they do it, and they do it successfully (qtd. in Terkel, 2016, para. 2).” Trump also said that, “I hate the concept of profiling, but we have to start using common sense and we have to use, you know, we have to use our heads. We really have to look at profiling. We have to look at it seriously. And other countries do it, and it’s not the worst thing to do. I hate the concept of profiling, but we have to use common sense. We’re not using common sense. (qtd. in Terkel, 2016, para. 3).” Trump should stop comparing the United States with other countries. He should know better than to justify our country’s racist policies on the premise that if other countries are doing it, then so should we.
There has to be a better way to stop crime. Despite the few meager benefits it might appear to offer, racial profiling is rooted in a long history of hate, ignorance, and racism. It is damaging to individuals, families, and communities. It is toxic to our society, and it will never be the answer. I don’t know if it will ever go away, but the way things are looking, I wouldn’t count on it happening anytime soon.
References
DuVernay, A., Averick, S., Barish, H. (Producers), & DuVernay, A. (Director). (2016). 13th [Motion Picture]. United States: Netflix.
McLaughlin, E, C. (2014). What we know about michael brown’s shooting. www.cnn.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/11/us/missouri-ferguson-michael-brown-what-we-know/
Racial profiling: definition. (2017). www.aclu.org. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/other/racial-profiling-definition
Rushing, K. (2013). Dissecting the long, deep roots of racial profiling in america. www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved form http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-rushing/dissecting-racial-profiling_b_2740246.html
Siegel, L, J, & Worrall, J, L, (2016). Introduction to criminal justice: fifteenth edition. United States: Cengage Learning.
Terkel, A. (2016). Get ready for racial profiling under president donald trump. www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racial-profiling_us_5766b8efe4b0853f8bf12da5?utm_hp_ref=racial-profiling