The Truth behind Racial Profiling

By: Elizabeth Guerrero The American Civil Liberties Union defines racial profiling 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”. This type of profiling affects the day to day life of BIPOC. Examples of this span from unnecessary traffic stops to detention on minor immigrant violations. It takes one second to racially profile someone, yet it is a decision that can leave a lasting impact. Racial profiling is something of the past as well. Fulfilling another method of racial profiling, many sheriffs in the south during the 19th and 20th centuries would release Black suspects to be terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan. Incidents such as 9/11 or the recent COVID-19 pandemic often cause an increase in racial profiling, creating an unnecessary fear in the lives of BIPOC. After the adoption of methods to try and decrease crimes such as the "Stop and frisk”, the history of racial profiling at the hands of the police have finally come to light. A report from December 1999 showed that Black and Hispanic people in New York City were being stopped for random searches at higher rates compared to White people. Only making up 25.6% of the city’s population, 50.6% of those held were Black individuals. Similarly, 33% of those stopped were Hispanic even though the Hispanic population in the city was only 23.7%. However, making up 43.4% of the population, White people only made up 12.9% of the stops. The numbers were and still are drastically different when comparing the three separate groups.

BIPOC runs at a risk of being racially profiled every single day. Unfortunately, it is so common that it has been described as being second nature. Even as teens and young adults, we can witness the effects of racial profiling on our lives. Maybe you have been asked to empty your pockets at a deli or a teacher has accused you of cheating on a test without obvious reason. Either way, this sort of bias becomes a problem for BIPOC at a very young age. In modern news there are many terms to try to explain the unfair profiling received by BIPOC. “Bicycling While Black and Brown”, “Bitten While Black and Brown” , and even “Walking While Brown” are a few of the sorts that highlight the difficulty that racial profiling poses, even on the simplest of tasks. The American Civil Liberties Union is a great source that goes into each of these with more detail. It is essential to recognize our own biases as well. Young people must become comfortable with talking about race and what it means to be a BIPOC in today’s world. Racial profiling is an ongoing crisis that unjustly hinders the lives of people of color. Sources: https://www.aclu.org/other/racial-profiling-definition https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/11/us/everyday-racial-profiling-consequences-trnd/index.html https://www.aclu.org/other/about-campaign-against-racial-profiling Cover photo: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/story/2019-06-14/police-racial-profiling-equity-issues