AAST 103
December 8, 2008
1st Semester
T/Th 9:30-10:45
FINAL DEBATE PAPER For decades African Americans have faced struggles throughout history. Most notably, African Americans were involved in slavery, suffrage, and the civil rights movement. These struggles were very visible and everyone was aware of what was going on. However, now African Americans are involved in a struggle that it not visible and recognizable. This is a struggle that is used to capitalize on wealth and prevent African American families and individuals from living normal lives. They are involved in environmental racism. Environmental racism “refers to intentional or unintentional racial discrimination in the enforcement of environmental rules …show more content…
African Americans are usually the targeted victims in the act of racial profiling. It is believed that an African American driver will be more likely stopped than a White driver. Some police officers share the belief that Black drivers will most likely possess an illegal substance of committing an illegal act. However, policemen argue that they do not base their arrests on race but are greatening their probability of a successful search. Some policemen also argue that the probability of catching a Black offender is greater than catching a White offender. Whether the statement is true or not, it places a bias on African Americans and White Americans. The belief that African Americans men are more likely to commit crimes is unfair and not true. One cannot base the behavior of all African American men on the ones that have done wrong and been imprisoned. Another belief of racial profiling is it is the cause of the racial disparities in the American prison system. There are many more African American men in the jail system than there are White men. The previous statement is mostly likely to be true. Because some policemen hold biases and have prejudices against African Americans, it will cause more African Americans to be placed in the jail system. Another instance of racial profiling involved African Americans owning nice material possessions such as a car or a house and African Americans being in a predominately White neighborhood. For example, in an episode of Family Matters, Eddie was in his car travelling through a predominately White neighborhood and was pulled over by the police for “failure to signal.” However, the routine traffic stop turned into nothing more than