Racial Profiling In Today's Society

Racial profiling is the tactic of stopping someone because of the color of his or her skin and a fleeting suspicion that the person is engaging in criminal behavior (Meeks, p. 4-5). This practice can be conducted with routine traffic stops, or can be completely random based on the car that is driven, the number of people in the car and the race of the driver and passengers. The practice of racial profiling may seem more prevalent in today’s society, but in reality has been a part of American culture since the days of slavery. According to Tracey Maclin, a professor at the Boston University School of Law, racial profiling is an old concept. The historical roots “can be traced to a time in early

Racial profiling is apparent within African American and Latinos throughout history and still exists today in the New York City.  African Americans and Latinos in the United States have a different perspective of police, based on personal experience. Racial profiling can be defined as the use of race or ethnicity as the foundation for suspecting someone of having committed a

It took ten minutes to convict George Stinney Jr. at age fourteen. It took seventy years after his execution to exonerate him. (Bever) For years, blacks have had to deal with racism left and right. There are numbers that prove how the authorities have continued to use racial profiling against those of black or Hispanic descent. Police around the world have continued to use racial profiling, even when they know it’s not in the training that they have received. Families and friends have experienced losses from the deaths of innocent people who were wrongfully killed by the police. Some people argue that racial profiling is wrong, but others have stated that it would bring us more protection

According to the 11 Facts about Racial Discrimination, “The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance” (11 Facts about Racial Discrimination 1). Racial profiling, or discriminating against a whole group of people based on their race, is an unjust act and a big problem in our society today. Arresting people because of how they look like, or what they believe in is absurd. According to ACLU, “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” (ACLU 1). Although law enforcement assumes they are doing their job, they need to remain objective and fair in all situations, because they are violating rights, lacking protection and risking lives.

One of the most imminent threats looming within American society is race relations. America is a melting pot of different races, cultures, and religions, yet the matter of racial profiling still remains prominent today. By definition it is considered “an activity carried out by enforcers of the law wherein they investigate or stop any individual in traffic or round up people of the same race or ethnicity for crime suspicion” (NYLN.org ). This profiling has become a significant catalyst in the tension that has been ensuing between minorities and the government. Hostility has grown due to the apparent and intentional targeting of “brown people”, and

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.

Racism has been a big problem in the U.S. for all races for a very long time and continues to be a problem to this day,. Racism has been a big part in U.S. history and has changed over time, some of these races were African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans, for American Indians it was how they were treated wrong socially and economically.

Ever since the late 1970 's profiling was associated with a method of interdicting drug traffickers (Data Collection Resource Center, n.d., para 3). The profiling provided not only a quick way to see evidence of concealment in the vehicle, but included age and race characteristics of possible drivers (Data Collection Resource Center, n.d., para 3). The controversy is over whether or not there are a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics involved with law enforcement that reflects police racism or is it merely the outcome of disproportionate minority crime (MacDonald, 2003, pg. 9). MacDonald (2003, p. 9) reported the high rates of minority stops and arrests do not accurately reveal racism was the cause. In the past our society has labeled this problem as being prejudice or a racist, but now there is a new term. "Minorities refer to it as DWB, driving while black. Politicians call it racial profiling." (Sweeney, n.d.).

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.

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.

Recently, there has been an epidemic in which minorities are being racially profiled on a daily basis. Individuals are being arrested, pulled over, and gunned down, simply because of the color of their skin. People cannot even walk down the street without someone thinking that they look suspicious. Whether the person is African American, Hispanic, Indian, or Muslim, racial profiling is wrong. With all of the recent controversy surrounding the problem, one would think that it would occur much less but that is not the case. Racial profiling has caused a recent uproar in America, and it has become the reason why many people have turned their backs on law enforcement for good.

Racism and racial stereotypes have existed throughout human history. The radical belief associated by thinking the skin color, language, or a person’s nationality is the reason that someone is one way or another has become extremely detrimental to society. Throughout human existence it has sparked tension between groups of people and ultimately influenced wars and even caused slavery. Racism in America dates back to when Native Americans were often attacked, relocated, and assimilated into European culture. Since then, racism within the states has grown to include various other cultures as well. In the essays by Brent Staples, Bharati Mukherjee, and Manuel Munoz, they discuss the various causes as well as the effects that racial stereotyping can place on a victim and the stigma it leaves behind for the society to witness.

Though it seems that racism is an issue that was dealt with back in the 1950’s, with the likes of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, etc., the issue lives on indefinitely. The issue remains due to the fact that crimes affiliated with certain races in recent times. These include the cartel drug deals in Mexico along with the infamous 9/11 world trade center attacks. Events like these have led to police brutality on these individuals solely based on the ethnicity they possess. Racial profiling can be said to be synonymous with stereotypes. In fact, as Gross states, “In 1999, 81 percent of surveyors in a national poll agreed that racial profiling was an issue in the United States. “From Samuel R. Gross, “Racial Profiling Under Attack”, (June 2002): 1413. However, there is no end in sight, 16 years later, and the United States is still the same.

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,

Fuller wanted women to have equal rights. In the book, it says “as men become aware that few men have had a fair chance, they are inclined to say that no women have had a fair chance,” (pg. 596), showing that men think less of women. She uses logos when she says, "The cross here as elsewhere, has been planted only to be blasphemed by cruelty and fraud. The name of the Prince of Peace has been profaned by all kinds of injustice toward the Gentile whom he said he came to save. But I need not speak of what has been done towards the red man, the black man." (pg. 596-597), meaning that this cruelty and discrimination against the minority groups is against the will of God. She made reference to the Bible to educate on an issue and support her point.