Racial Profiling

What makes America? Is it the freedoms granted to any American citizen? Is it the way the founding fathers fought for their own freedom against Britain? Is it instead the racial history behind this nation? America, since its origins has been a country of immigrants and for immigrants, yet since its origins, there has been discriminatory laws against blacks, Latinos, Asians, and every other race that is not considered white or Caucasian. Has this country that has been based upon racial profiling, that has fought wars as one nation (and even against themselves at one point), and has triumphed through the Civil Rights movement finally succumbed to justice or is racial profiling just as prominent today? Racial profiling still exists in America because ____________________, ___________________, and _____________________. (3 reasons stated in thesis)

In the Justice System there are a lot of flaws that affect many people of color, and from past history, it has shown how these practices can lead to very unfortunate events, one of these practices is racial profiling. Racial profiling is when law enforcement uses race and ethnicity as grounds to determine if someone, typically of color, is guilty of doing something illegal. Racial profiling is a major problem in this country, this as well affects many citizens that are mainly of color because law enforcement usually sees them as targets, and it is important to improve and fixed this issue because there are many tragic incidents that have been caused of racial profiling.

Racial Profiling has been around for many decades, but over the past few years it has gotten even worse. It has gotten to the point where children are supposed to be the most comfortable and open. Also, it has gotten to the point where even children's sports games are having a racial issue. Children shouldn’t feel like outsiders, just because of the color of their skin. Lastly, they shouldn’t they should stop doing what they love the most just because someone out there is making a racial or racist statement.

Racial profiling is still an ongoing issue that occurs and such an issue has led to many problems for the minority groups of this country. Whether it be African Americans, Indians, Asians, Mexicans, or Muslims, all have faced profiling at some point in time. The problems caused by this controversial subject include the impending distrust between black communities and law enforcement, unfair treatment towards all minorities by law enforcement, verbal and physical abuse of minorities by police officers which can sometimes lead to death, emotional unstableness of the victims whom have faced such a terrible judgement, and the negative impact it has on children of the minority groups.

Over the last twenty years the issue of racial profiling has become extremely combative with regards to law enforcement practices. A common misconception begins as some people are unaware of what racial profiling actually is. Racial profiling typically deals with incarceration, miss education, and to certain extent slavery. The topic of slavery is relevant in the conversation of racial profiling because like slavery, African Americans have suffered just due their own identity. Profiling is essentially the selection of an individual and categorizing them due to a specific racial group. The ever growing issue of racial profiling has become more evident to the public with the increasing number of instances that have been reported regarding

Judging people because of their race has always been a problem in society. A lot of people have to face the consequences of others being raciest and unfair in many ways. Racial profiling can be a problem caused by the environment that people grew up in, which is causing lack of jobs because they get associated with crime and others having insecurities about themselves. There are many other consequences that occur every day because of racial profiling that many people don’t acknowledge.

Racial profiling dates back to as earlier as the 1700s. It was during this time, that many African Americans were used as slaves, and those African Americans who were free were required to carry registry papers to claim they were indeed free. Though they were free, those African Americans were still racially profiled in Southern states. Some of the southern states even sent out special slave patrols that would hunt for what they believed to be escaped slaves. Members of these groups, if they found free African Americans accused them of being runaway slaves (Gale Opposing). After the Civil War, laws such as segregation laws, and Jim Crow laws were created to form more separation. These laws kept blacks and whites separate in public places such as restrooms, churches, public transportation, restaurants, and schools (Gale Opposing). Laws today for racial profiling may have changed, but attitudes toward it have not. We find that years later racial profiling continues, and many people are suspected of committing crimes for little more than the color of their skin. Police today use more racially driven practices to try and accuse many of crimes (Gale Opposing). Practices such as "Stop and Frisk" have proven to be more hurtful than useful, with data supporting that this practice has no proven practical use these actions are seen as a serious act of unfair racial scrutiny and are of no use in society today.

What is racial profiling? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defines racial profiling as “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” (2005). Do not confuse racial profiling with criminal profiling; criminal profiling is usually practiced by police in which they use a group of characteristics that are associated with crime to target individuals (ACLU, 2005). Examples of racial profiling include using ones race to target specific drivers for traffic violations and pedestrians for illegal contraband; another prime example is the targeting of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians since 9/11 in

Racial profiling is an ineffective tool to use to prevent crime because it victimizes innocent people. People are suppose to feel protected by cops. But instead, they are constantly being stopped and interrogated with questions, to which white people would never experience. A white person does not have to worry about being racially profiled, unlike a black or hispanic person who have to be self conscious of what they do every minute, “ I began to take precautions to make myself less threatening” (Staples 13). The thought that people have to think like this or change who they are is fallacious. It is not their fault to be victimized because of their ethnicity or race. Someone once said, “Racial profiling is a natural part of being human”(Amberg 7). But is racial profiling a natural way our minds work or is it taught as one grows up? One does not grow up thinking, that man walking down the street is a criminal, because he is black, stop him. No. Multiple studies have shown that black children have a more positive interpretation on skin color than white children, “... professor Dr. Melanie Killen… she says the divide often begins with the different ways parents talk to their kids about race”(Hadad 6). Because a great deal of minority parents know what it is like and how it will be like for their child growing up. So, at an early age they prepare their children by telling them it is all right to be from a different race or ethnicity group. But on the other hand, white children do not grow up learning about different races or ethnicity groups. They see the obvious differences but know nothing much about it. Children simply follow by what they see, and usually that is their parents racially profiling black or hispanic people. Therefore, numerous children grow up doing that

Racial profiling still exists in America. "Racial profiling" refers to law enforcement strategies and practices that single out individuals as objects of suspicion solely on the basis of mainly their race. Prejudice and racial profiling of law enforcement is responsible for many false arrests, convictions, and countless deaths of blacks in the United States. This is one of the main difficulties of life and obstacles minorities have to face in their life because for one they are a minority and two because of their skin color. Police racial profiling is an ongoing problem that blacks in America have been facing with for over thousands of years dating back to before Blacks got their freedom. With the recent acts that are happenings in Ferguson and Eric Garner, to what happened to Rodney King, I believe it is only right to discuss the history of prejudice and racial profiling and how it relates to the discriminatory acts of police and judicial system towards blacks in the United States. Most importantly, I will discuss how America can help make a change of action to put an end to the Police racial profiling and brutality that still exists in this nation.

Racial profiling has a strong history in these United States. First, what is racial profiling? Basically, racial profiling is an assumption about something solely based on a person’s race. It may also be a filter through one’s eye. For example, when a police officer decides to only stop African Americans, he is racially profiling; if he decides to exclude all African Americans from any stops he conducts, he is also racially profiling. Racial profiling is a form of discrimination people generally associate with law enforcement. In recent times, allegations of racial profiling have been rampant in the United States, having mainly the African American community as the target. Lately, though, Hispanics have also been the alleged target of racial profiling. Regardless, we can all be victims of racial profiling regardless of our race, and there have been laws written to prevent the profiling, but is it enough?

Everyone knows that Racial Profiling is a huge issue because it goes way back in time, racial profiling dates back to the time of slavery. In 1963, Philadelphia’s court officials gave police legal authority to stop and detain any Negro (freed or slaved) seen wandering among the streets. This discriminatory practice continued through the Jim Crow era and now the twenty-first century, racial profiling

Racial profiling to me is a lot like any other problem in our society today. Many have different opinions on why it happens, and what we should do about it if it does happen. The problem is nobody can come to a consensus on how to solve this problem. It seems to me that racism is still part of our society, and sadly, I think it always will be. We all have prejudices of some sort towards others. It may be because of

Racial profiling has been an issue in the United States long before the civil rights movement. Many other different races along with blacks are still faced with scrutiny from day to day for the color of their skin, which falls under how law enforcement conducts duties. It will take a change of perspective in many people. In particular, the thing that needs to change is the attitudes and practices of law enforcement, because they are the main stakeholders when it comes down to the racial profiling problem being solved. We need to get rid of the officers afraid for their life and afraid of black people. A lot of law enforcement officers think that racial profiling is acceptable, because they often catch people with contraband or doing illegal things when they pull off this kind of inappropriate activity. We need to fire those individuals. One other thing that would help out with the racial profiling issue is curving racial stereotypes and beliefs of them in the first place. African Americans are often stereotyped as thugs committing crimes. While many of these stereotypes may be true for some people, it cannot be applied to every person just because they share the same skin color or

Racial profiling has become a severe obstacle in the U.S. today though most Americans know very little of this vital issue. Every day, people are being pulled over, harassed, and even killed for being of a certain race. There are new laws that politicians are trying to pass that promote racial discrimination. Racial profiling is immoral and does not increase public safety.