Racial Profiling In America Essay

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Just what is racial profiling? Racial profiling is a law enforcement and security agency practice that encourages officers to stop, search, and investigate people based on race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. While racial profiling is most commonly committed against ethnic minorities, many instances of racial profiling occur in reaction to specific crimes, making any racial or cultural group subject to more intensive scrutiny by the authorities. (ebscohost.com) This is what I think bout racial profiling, it like it occurs when the police targets someone for investigation on the basis of that person's race, national origin, or ethnicity. Examples are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic

Since the birth of our nation, racial profiling has been an issue longstanding and troubling among minority groups and still continues to exhibit severe consequences in communities.

Former President Clinton called for a national crackdown on racial profiling and ordered federal law enforcement authorities to begin an investigation. (1) Vice President Al Gore promised the NAACP that should he become president eliminating the practice of racial profiling by the nation's police departments would be a top priority. (2) New Jersey Governor Christy Whitman fired Police Superintendent Carl Williams after the 35-year veteran trooper said in an interview that minorities are more likely to be involved in drug trafficking. (3)

There are many types of racism in America that cause people to make accusations against law enforcement for discrimination. One type of racism is racial profiling. It is a strategy that encourages police officers to stop and question minorities only because of their race. It takes place in a variety of routine police encounters. Unmotivated searches occur everyday among the minority groups. Could you imagine waking up and being scared to walk outside your house because of the color of your skin? This is a fear of almost everyone belonging to a minority group. This continues to be a widespread problem throughout the country.

Throughout the last one hundred and fifty years, there has been a history of tension and conflict between the police and minority communities in the United States. In principle, the police exist to enforce the law and protect all citizens regardless of race or ethnic background, yet police departments across the country have been repeatedly accused of targeting and harassing racial minorities, and of failing to root out racist attitudes and practices within their ranks. In recent years, high profile cases such as the beating of Rodney King in Los Angles and the assault on Abner Louima in New York have only served to heighten concerns over the mistreatment of minorities by the police, resulting in widespread calls for major legal and institutional reforms. The recent shootings of Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Eric Garner, and Terrance Crutcher underscore the danger Black men and boys face when they cross paths with law enforcement officers. In the absence of a coordinated national strategy, state and local police departments have largely been left to develop their own solutions to the problems of policing minority communities and improving cultural sensitivity amongst their officers. Many departments have sought to reform recruitment and selection policies in the hope of attracting greater numbers of minority applicants, while others have instituted diversity training and education programs aimed at improving police understanding of minority cultures and communities. To date, however, these efforts have yielded mixed results. Some departments have achieved notable successes, but on the whole, relations between the police and minority communities across the country remain strained. of cultural diversity and the police.

“Racial Profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite claims that the United States has entered a “post-racial era” according to aclu.org. Although U.S. has moved past the civil rights era there are still improvements to be done about stereotypes of black people. As provided in the quote, progress has not made its way because of the bigotry of some people in this society. As seen in the mythical poem like “Signing Boy”, white people are always making preconceptions of what black people are like before they even say anything or do anything. This issue has haunted America for the longest but it seems like it creeps back up steadily dividing people apart. There is only so much black people can take from being stereotyped everywhere they live in this country.

"I don't want to talk about whether or not racial profiling is legal. Racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement tool." -- Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States

Racial profiling has been in the news a lot lately with the deaths of black people such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner, both of whose deaths lead to public outroar, protests, and violent riots. Because of these and other deaths, people are beginning to open their eyes on the long standing issue. One of the first times that racial profiling was recognized as a problem was in the 1990’s with the beating of Rodney King. People were so upset when the officers were acquitted of their heinous crime that they started the most expensive riot in U.S. history, totaling over one billion dollars in damages.

Racial profiling is out of control in the United States! Laws have been passed to ensure the equality of everyone in this country, but yet we are still seeing discrimination and racial profiling. Racial profiling is where government officials make decisions basked on your ethnicity and not your action. Legislation, Bureaucracy and Interest groups make up the Iron triangle; witch makes laws to protect the people from things such as racial profiling.

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

The act of racial profiling has become more serious than ever; although this problem has been around for centuries, racial profiling has recently gained attention in the news. You may think that the cases broadcasted on the news are the only major cases of racial profiling and that it doesn't happen very often, but in reality it happens quite a bit.

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.

Benjamin Todd Jealous once said, “Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them. It misdirects crucial resources and undercuts the trust needed between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”(Jealous, 2015). I couldn’t agree more with him. In today’s society more and more Black men and women suffer from police bias. Police is a powerful organization that was meant to serve and protect. Enforce laws and keeping communities safe. The problem is we fail to acknowledge that police are humans with real life bias. The problem with police is how much racial profiling is going up,

Throughout the world today the question of equality between races is one of the major issues that has created a numerous amount of unnecessary protests, deaths, and violence. One of the main causes of this is racial profiling. Racial profiling is using information based off of the color of one's skin, ethnicity, or religion to determine whether or not they have committed a crime. Racial profiling is not an effective security strategy and needs to be eliminated from the daily lives of police and other authority figures of the United States.