These two types of whiteness perspectives are represented well in our society. As exampled by Troy Duster’s very own example of the Chicago police morphing himself from an occupying force of domination, into someone there ‘to protect a woman citizen’ from a suspicious character. In South Africa, critics of affirmative action programs would place blacks in positions held…
In 1986, in Brent Staples memoir Parallel Time: Growing Up Black and White, he wrote a selection called Black Men and Public Space. Throughout the essay Staples talks about the injustice and racial profiling that he receives as a black man in society. This causes him to change certain aspects that he does on a daily basis to make the people around him feel less threatened. Unconsciously, Staples presents ways on how he and society systematizes him and other black males.…
Imani Perry begins her essay by giving us insight about her encounter with Princeton police and how she was treated and felt afterward. Imani Perry is a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and was arrested a couple weeks ago by the Princeton, New Jersey police for a three-year-old parking ticket, which generated controversy in her social media between those who see it as an example of racist behavior and others who believe it was an overreaction to a minor incident. According to Susan Svrluga in her article, she states that “her account tapped into the national conversation over police treatment of black people that has led to protests, including demonstrations at Princeton and many other colleges.” The problem Imani identifies in her essay is the high sensibility regarding policing particularly with respect to black people experience these days. Perry assumes that her readers know too well about what is going on…
Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Spaces” is based on his personal experiences dealing with racism and discrimination. He explains how his past incidents involving racism shaped who he is, today. Staples’ experiences made him attempt to conform in a way he hoped he would be perceived as less dangerous. By acting and doing certain things, that seemed less “black”, he believed people saw him differently.…
My friend Tony is an American citizen of seventeen, born and raised in the United States but he is of African American descent. Once when his mother needed eggs, she sent him to the grocery store. On the way, he was pulled over by a police officer and questioned, after fifteen minutes the police officer let him go. Was he speeding? Driving recklessly? No, there was nothing wrong with his driving. The only reason he was pulled over and questioned was because he was African American. The whole situation was humiliating and debasing for Tony. This ordeal and others like it happen against citizens because of something they cannot even help, the color of their skin. Someone who shares the same opinion on this matter is Bob Herbert. In “Hounding the Innocent”, Herbert stated, “Ethnic profiling by law-enforcement authorities in the United States comes in many forms, and all of them are disgusting.” Self-respect, worth and dignity will certainly suffer a loss as a result of this practice.…
I am going to focus it on the injustices that African Americans continue to face in the United States today. That being, I know exactly what I need to get out of my interviewees, but it is probably a sensitive subject for some of the people I need to interview. I am not black, and I don’t know what it feels like to face this discrimination in everyday life. I can understand the tenderness that African Americans must feel then, when revealing and talking about their experiences with discrimination. I would think then, that it must be especially sensitive to talk about with a person from the race that they receive this everyday discrimination. It will be interesting to hear all the different types of prejudice that my interviewees have received throughout their lives. I would imagine that it ranges from just a look, or the way white Americans act around them, to voiced and physical altercations between themselves and white Americans. Hacker at times seems to be speaking directly to African Americans as he describes these altercations, “So many of the contacts you have with them (white Americans) are stiff and uneasy, hardly worth the effort.” But to me, that is exactly what the problem is. Why would it not be worth the effort? The first step to take for the uneasiness between the two races to cease to exist is for us (all people) to stop seeing color because once we act differently around the other is where…
A controversial topic in American Policing is the issue of racial profiling. Many people have different views when it comes to this subject matter. Many people believe that racial profiling is a myth or ploy and is ultimately nonexistent. Others feel that racial profiling does exist and is a key contributing factor that law enforcement officers use to determine whether to perform law enforcement. The topic of Racial Profiling has been passionately debated among citizens, law enforcement officials, policy makers, and legislators at various levels of government. These debates has led to a large number civil lawsuits nationwide, court-ordered data collection, investigations into certain law enforcement agencies, and the passing of various laws mandating cultural diversity training and prohibiting racial profiling practices in various law enforcement agencies. Still, the following questions have not been thoroughly answered: Are African-Americans and other ethnic groups stopped by police because they are more likely to have committed certain types of traffic violations? Is race a significant predictor of being “pulled over”, cited or search by police? Does law enforcement officials target motorists based on race? This research paper will emphatically prove that African-Americans and other ethnic groups are disproportionately cited for traffic violations more often than whites.…
Even though Meher Ahmad and Thomas Chatterton Williams both address the discrimination issue, William provides a more convincing argument due to his own experience and feeling to the woman’s remark, the situation that made them to be noticed by the older white woman standing nearby and, his conclusion about mixed-raced.…
As many issues and concerns arise in our everyday lives, it is often difficult to overlook many of the horrific and tragic situations of today’s law enforcement. Regardless of what profession you may be in there are always ways to make improvements to it. A few of the future and emerging issues that I feel that leaders in the criminal justice system need to address are racial profiling and criminal profiling which each can create a mistrust within a department and violate the civil liberties of citizens. When events such as these begin to surface in the media and within our communities, questions begin to arise about the tendencies of our police agencies.…
Racial Profiling is a longstanding predicament that’s been going on for a long period of time. In “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, he shares his own personal experience when he encounters a young woman walking in front of him, yet he did not show any threat to the young woman. She reacted timidly that speeds up her pace and began to run away of what she thought was a mugger/ rapist. The author uses a number of rhetorical strategies in the essay such as personal experience, imagery and cause and effect to set the theme of the story.…
He argues that such law enforcement technique allows police to use high-discretion methods in detaining and searching people without, possibly, a probable cause. Furthermore, according to Harris, “In a society dedicated to equal justice under law, such a practice also undermines our commitment to individual civil rights.”5He claims that reliance on race and ethnicity to enforce law contradicts the Constitution and American political culture. He also points out that racial profiling is detrimental to the partnership between police and the citizens, and that such practices alienate members of minority groups reinforcing damaging stereotypes. Harris also draws on statistical data to support his standing. He questions the effectiveness of racial profiling by claiming that “the hit rate for drugs and weapons in police searches of African Americans is the same as or lower than the rate for whites.” In other words, he implies that the only way racial profiling could be justified if we had higher hit rates among targeted minorities. But since the rates are almost equal or lower, the reliance on race doesn’t make sense. Harris attempts to dismantle the notion of racial profiling as a legitimate and effective institutional practice that is “based not on real evidence but on distorted ideas about crime and an overly narrow view on how to attack it.”6 He calls for a change in…
People of color get pulled over more than white people. Is it because the people of color are all criminals or because the police are getting lazier? people who use racial profiling usually have a negative perception or judgment about African Americans. Racial profiling is a hot subject in the world today. Racial profiling is a fact of life for many Americans today, and I for one think it’s sad. Authors Ahmed Rehab and Randall Kennedy both comment on the negative impact that racial profiling has on society today in America. These authors helped me to see the reason why racial profiling is still used, but at the same time they helped to confirm my position on why racial…
the other children dug into their punishment of dirt and sand and stared at the dug pit every day.…
Herbert gives examples of racial profiling, which occurs in many parts of the world. Furthermore, he explains the tragic story of a man, Rossano Gerald and his son Greg who were pulled over and interrogated by police because of their race. The police separated the man and his son from each other and searched the car with the help of drug-sniffing dogs. He was discovered to be innocent after being put through this unjust interrogation. This shows that racial profiling is a common occurrence that results often from the prejudice minds of law-enforcing officials.…
Weatherspoon, Floyd . "Racial Profiling of African-American Males: Stopped, Searched, and Stripped of Constitutional Protection." Race, Racism, and Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar 2013. <http://racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1472:constitutional-protection&catid=130&Itemid=241&showall=1&limitstart=…