Cracking The Racial Profiling Code
Racial profiling can be defined many ways, but ALCU.org defines it as “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”. Simply put, racial profiling is when one suspects a person of an act solely based on their race. This practice dates back hundreds of years, however it has become so prominent in recent years that it is now considered a major issue. This is not without good reason though, racial profiling historically causes both short and long term effects that can be detrimental to both an individual and their families as well as to a society 's culture.
Before one can fully …show more content…
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Unfortunately for
African-Americans, this was only the tip of the iceberg of racial profiling against them. The “Jim Crow” laws were enacted in 1874 to segregate blacks from whites in the southern states. Jim Crow was a slang term of the time meaning “Black man”. These laws were created to serve as separate but equal treatment and worked around the Fourteenth Amendment to still degrade black people of the time period. When Jim Crow laws ended in the 1960’s it was a major victory for African Americans and other races in the U.S., however, this threw the U.S. into the modern age of racial …show more content…
Many controversial hearings entailing an altercation between an African American males and white cops have been of recent discussion. One of the more prominent recent hearings is the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin Case, which entailed Mr. Zimmerman being charged with second degree murder of Trayvon Martin. One of the main points of arguments was that Mr. Zimmerman had no reason to kill Trayvon Martin, which led people to suspect racial profiling as a leading motive. Mr. Zimmerman was found not guilty in July 2013, but the case left a very bitter taste in the mouths of many Americans. Many believe that the United States institutions that are designed to protect and serve have been corrupt with racial profiling. For example police relying on descriptions such as race and ethnicity to identify suspects has some claiming it is profiling(Gale). Today African American and Latino males are 6-10 times more likely to be convicted of a violent crime than a white man, and also make up 57% of prisoners while only make up one fourth of our population(Bernie Sanders RSS). All of these instances of believed racial profiling has begun to erode many people 's trust and reliance on such United States
Racial profiling can be defined many ways, but ALCU.org defines it as “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”. Simply put, racial profiling is when one suspects a person of an act solely based on their race. This practice dates back hundreds of years, however it has become so prominent in recent years that it is now considered a major issue. This is not without good reason though, racial profiling historically causes both short and long term effects that can be detrimental to both an individual and their families as well as to a society 's culture.
Before one can fully …show more content…
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Unfortunately for
African-Americans, this was only the tip of the iceberg of racial profiling against them. The “Jim Crow” laws were enacted in 1874 to segregate blacks from whites in the southern states. Jim Crow was a slang term of the time meaning “Black man”. These laws were created to serve as separate but equal treatment and worked around the Fourteenth Amendment to still degrade black people of the time period. When Jim Crow laws ended in the 1960’s it was a major victory for African Americans and other races in the U.S., however, this threw the U.S. into the modern age of racial …show more content…
Many controversial hearings entailing an altercation between an African American males and white cops have been of recent discussion. One of the more prominent recent hearings is the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin Case, which entailed Mr. Zimmerman being charged with second degree murder of Trayvon Martin. One of the main points of arguments was that Mr. Zimmerman had no reason to kill Trayvon Martin, which led people to suspect racial profiling as a leading motive. Mr. Zimmerman was found not guilty in July 2013, but the case left a very bitter taste in the mouths of many Americans. Many believe that the United States institutions that are designed to protect and serve have been corrupt with racial profiling. For example police relying on descriptions such as race and ethnicity to identify suspects has some claiming it is profiling(Gale). Today African American and Latino males are 6-10 times more likely to be convicted of a violent crime than a white man, and also make up 57% of prisoners while only make up one fourth of our population(Bernie Sanders RSS). All of these instances of believed racial profiling has begun to erode many people 's trust and reliance on such United States