Is Racial Profiling Defensible Public Policy?
Is Racial Profiling Defensible Public Policy?
The judging of an individual’s character by their race did not become relevant because of the Rodney King beating, the attacks on the World Trade Center, or the illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border. Racial Discrimination has been a reoccurring issue for centuries. Throughout time, these judgments and discriminations have led to unwarranted searches, racial riots and unjust prosecutions. Racial Profiling not only adds to this overwhelming issue but is upheld by the U.S. government and prominent leaders. Racial profiling has caused divisions between black men and the police, negative effects on immigration and race relations, and false imprisonment, further proving that racial profiling is not defensible public policy.
The relationship between African-American men and law enforcement comes from a deeper root than just being in a difference of power. A valid reason for the resistance that black men have toward the police could be of the pre-conceived racial stereotypes that were given to black males during slavery. In the book Cultures in Conflict, there are two stereotypes that described African American males during the centuries of slavery: Sambo and Brute. Bireda describes Sambo as a “buffoon”, “irresponsible” and “servile”. Sambo was “considered nonthreatening to the Caucasian slave owner. The Brute, introduced during the Emancipation and Reconstruction age, was portrayed as being “threatening”, “ignorant” and who steals money from the government”. The stereotypical image Brute has transcended to the way that not only law enforcement sees black men but how the majority of society pictures African American males as a whole. These stereotypical images have contributed to the division that is between law enforcement and African-American men. The use of these stereotypes adds to racial profiling and causes uproar in black communities. According to Profiles in Justice: Why Police Profiling Cannot Work, Arthur
The judging of an individual’s character by their race did not become relevant because of the Rodney King beating, the attacks on the World Trade Center, or the illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border. Racial Discrimination has been a reoccurring issue for centuries. Throughout time, these judgments and discriminations have led to unwarranted searches, racial riots and unjust prosecutions. Racial Profiling not only adds to this overwhelming issue but is upheld by the U.S. government and prominent leaders. Racial profiling has caused divisions between black men and the police, negative effects on immigration and race relations, and false imprisonment, further proving that racial profiling is not defensible public policy.
The relationship between African-American men and law enforcement comes from a deeper root than just being in a difference of power. A valid reason for the resistance that black men have toward the police could be of the pre-conceived racial stereotypes that were given to black males during slavery. In the book Cultures in Conflict, there are two stereotypes that described African American males during the centuries of slavery: Sambo and Brute. Bireda describes Sambo as a “buffoon”, “irresponsible” and “servile”. Sambo was “considered nonthreatening to the Caucasian slave owner. The Brute, introduced during the Emancipation and Reconstruction age, was portrayed as being “threatening”, “ignorant” and who steals money from the government”. The stereotypical image Brute has transcended to the way that not only law enforcement sees black men but how the majority of society pictures African American males as a whole. These stereotypical images have contributed to the division that is between law enforcement and African-American men. The use of these stereotypes adds to racial profiling and causes uproar in black communities. According to Profiles in Justice: Why Police Profiling Cannot Work, Arthur