Final Research Paper Racial Profiling

1
Christiana Jenae Tait

ENG-101-MMD
Deborah Artis
April 20, 2016
Racial Profiling in America: A Thing of the Past or Not?
There are people of many different races, ethnicities, and religions living in America
today. Despite the vast racial and cultural diversity of this nation, racism remains constant. It has
greatly impacted society and has branched out into many places, taking on different faces. One of
these faces is racial profiling. From the Holocaust to the civil rights movement to the present day,
minorities have been wrongfully treated. When law enforcement targets these individuals it often
leads to unlawful interrogations, searches without cause, unjustified arrests, abuse, and in some
cases death. Authority figures have hidden behind broken systems to carry out their own
prejudices and racial hatred. Although the evidence of racism is clearly seen, there are varying
opinions about its existence. There are some who believe racism is a thing of the past, and no
longer exists. Some believe it has resurfaced and others believe that it never left.
The belief that racism is a thing of the past is partially accurate. The problem of racial
profiling can be dated back presumably to the 1700s. During slavery, runaways were hunted
down by the white police. In order to avoid being harassed, beaten or even killed, slaves were
required to carry papers saying they could be off their plantations. Even after slavery was no
longer legal, racial profiling became more prevalent during the Civil Rights Movement. It did not
matter that blacks were free and no longer enslaved. They lived in fear because the laws of
segregation gave society the right to openly discriminate against them. The notion however that
racism is a thing of the past is far from the truth. Even in modern day times we are faced with
new levels of racial profiling. In 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed unjustly. While
walking home from the store he was approached by neighborhood watch captain, George
Zimmerman. Although the story is told a few different ways, Zimmerman was instructed to not
follow Trayvon and he ignored the 9-1-1 dispatchers orders. Zimmerman approached Trayvon
causing there to be a confrontation and that confrontation ultimately led to Trayvons death .The
reality is Trayvon was killed because of racial profiling. He was a young, black man walking
down the street with a hood and was automatically believed to be guilty of doing something
wrong. In another instance a woman by the name of Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell
three days after her arrest. Sandra was pulled over by a state trooper for neglecting to signal a
turn. The stop turned violent ending with Blands arm injured and being arrested for assaulting
an officer. Police claim that her death was suicide.
Some would believe that these recent cases of racial profiling are new or have just
resurfaced. However from slavery until now racial profiling has been consistent. It is a known
fact that racism began to be hidden behind legal systems and practices. The criminal justice
system is a perfect example. There are no written laws or policies to protect against racial
profiling, so it has become a practice within this country that allowed for inequality to continue
to fester in every state. Law enforcement stops people, whether they are driving on the roads or
walking on the sidewalks, and detain them based on race and ethnicity. These race-based
institutions directly target and punish minorities more aggressively than they do whites. Two
thirds of the people with life sentences are non-white according to a 2009 report made by the
Sentencing Project. Blacks receive sentences that are 10% longer than whites for the same
crimes. While African Americans make up 12% of the US population they make up over 50% of
the prison and jail population which is a direct result of racial profiling. According to a stop and
frisk investigation in New York City, Blacks and Latinos were much more likely to be stopped
and searched. After reviewing 175,000 incidents in which citizens were stopped by the police
during the 15-month period, the attorney general it was found that Blacks were stopped six times
more often than Whites, while Latinos were stopped four times more often. In 2015, Dylann
Roof attended a bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and killed
nine blacks. Dylann received food and a bullet proof vest when arrested by law enforcement. If
an African American or other minority had committed the same crime, the treatment most likely
would not have been the same.
Though there are no laws in place to end racial profiling, it violates a fundamental
principle of our democracy, which is equal protection of the law. The 14th Amendment, amended
into the U.S. Constitution in 1868, affirmed the citizenship of African-Americans and equal
protection of these laws, including the right to life, liberty, property and due process.
Although African Americans have an extensive history with racial profiling, it is not
limited to them. When the twin towers were hit on September 11, 2001, those of Asian and Arab
descent became targets of regular searches especially when traveling. In one case, a court ruled
that the appearance of being oriental combined with other factors justified continued
observation (Johnson 68) Based on appearance, whether a citizen or a non-citizen, Arabs and
Asians are kept under close watch.
The ideas of racial profiling lean toward stereotyping and racism. Racial profiling is
based on assumptions of a minority groups character that are formed based on the prejudiced
observations of people in society. Unfortunately, it has been glamorized by the media and the
entertainment industry, thus making it dangerous to be a part of that certain race, ethnicity or
religion.
In conclusion, despite the varying views about the existence of racial profiling, it has
been proven by many social justice organizations and statistical data that racial profiling is very
much alive and present in our society. Since days of legalized slavery, racism and bigotry has
continued to plague this country. Because proper laws and protections have not been put in place
by our judicial system, issues such as racial profiling will only continue to get worse. If this
nation is really based on equality for all of its citizens, then these issues have to not only be
addressed, but laws must be established and enforced to ensure protection for all.
Racial profiling is a major problem in the United States, one that threatens to eat
away at the very foundation of this nation. We are living in a very dangerous society when
the citizens cannot trust and have no respect for law enforcement. This destroys their
effectiveness and makes our communities just that more dangerous. With little progress
being made to end racial profiling, this trend can only bring destruction to future
generations. People of all generations need to be become more involved in the movement
for equality for every race and ethnicity. Injustice for one is injustice for all.
Work Cited
Durlauf, Steven N. Assessing Racial Profiling. The Economic Journal 116.515 (2006):
F402F426. JSTOR Web. 20 Apr. 2016
Ryberg, Jesper. "Racial Profiling and Criminal Justice." Journal of Ethics 15.1/2 (2011):
79-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Brewster, Zachary W., Michael Lynn, and Shelytia Cocroft. "Consumer Racial Profiling
In U.S. Restaurants: Exploring Subtle Forms of Service Discrimination Against Black
Diners." Sociological Forum 29.2 (2014): 476-495. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20
Apr. 2016.
Lever, Annabelle. Why Racial Profiling Is Hard to Justify: A Response to Risse and
Zeckhauser.Philosophy & Public Affairs 33.1 (2005): 94110. JSTOR Web 20 Apr. 2016
Grogger, Jeffrey, and Greg Ridgeway. Testing for Racial Profiling in Traffic Stops from
Behind a Veil of Darkness. Journal of the American Statistical Association 101.475
(2006): 878887. JSTOR Web 20 Apr. 2016
Johnson, Kevin R. "Case for African American and Latina/O Cooperation in Challenging
Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement, The." Fla. L. Rev. 55 (2003) Google Scholar: 341.
Web. 20 Apr. 2016

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Christiana Jenae Tait

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