Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” focuses on race through different stories and experiences. Racial profiling in particular is detailed on page 107 of the book. Many people have been and continue to be racially profiled by the police, with minority groups being the most profiled. Racial profiling does not take into consideration that a person might be innocent but instead focuses on skin color as a way of trying to catch criminals. Racial profiling of innocent individuals takes a toll on their psyche and makes them believe that no matter what they do, they will be deemed guilty until they can prove they are innocent.
“Each time it begins in the same way, it doesn’t begin the same way, each time it begins it’s the same.” is written at the beginning and then again near the end of the page (107). The reason this phrase is repeated like this is to show the repetition of the events that come with racial profiling. Every time a person fits the description of a criminal they
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Because the people being profiled are thought to be up to no good, excessive force and unreasonable tactics somehow become justified and necessary. When Rankine writes, “the officer’s knee pressing into my collarbone…” one would think that this officer had a reason for being so rough on this person (107). We see that in the end, “…no reason was needed…”, to forcibly pull someone out of a car and handcuff them (107). The officer is still using force unnecessarily on someone who is already handcuffed and not fighting back. This scenario continues to be a common theme with racial profiling incidents and Rankine knowing this, shows that this process is only causing more violence. In this depiction of real incidents of racial profiling the police officer is smiling as if he has a “private joke.” He is the one in control that feels he is doing justice by arresting someone that he never bothers to check is innocent and this is a
Racism and racial discrimination has been a major issue in the U.S. since the colonial periods, where people have been treated differently only based upon their race. Although the civil rights movement opposed racial discrimination, the act of stereotyping individuals still continues till this day. Racial profiling by law enforcement is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, religion or national origin. A recent case, involving a young black man named Michael Brown is an example of how a police officer may act differently when facing an African American. “Ferguson Grand Jury Evidence Reveals Mistakes, Holes In Investigation” is an article written by Jason Cherkis’s and published on November
The middle of the book dives into studies done on the matter, minority perspectives, the issues involved with racial profiling, and civil rights. The next part of the book deals with specific examples of racial profiling in Texas and The Department of Homeland Security. Del Carmen ends the book by explaining laws passed to try to curb racial profiling and the future of this
He asserts that “Something happens to people in law enforcement...after years of police work, officers often can’t help but be influenced by the cynicism they feel.” He rationalizes but does not deny, the law enforcement’s aggressive actions that the people of color may have seen or experienced. This method of pathos not only diversifies but also fortifies his thesis that there is evidence of racial profiling; however, he once again give reason for their skepticism to execute his primary purpose. Overall, dedicating three of his four “hard truths” to justify the actions of the law enforcement is crucial to his argument as a whole because his audience may have portrayed them differently
Through the personal stories that Miller shared, it’s obvious that racial profiling plays a large role in arrest rates and cycles of incarceration. While the world has made a significant stride in racial injustices in comparison to the country’s past, racism still exists. When, and how, is this going to end? This is an important factor to consider in both aspects of the incarceration system and reentry process, as racial profiling occurs in both. Also, the true cause of guilt is important to consider as many people are falsely accused.
Weitzer and Tuch article focuses on the importance of racial profiling and how it has become a big issue in the police force. In the article, the main topic is about racial profiling and how the and how it has controversially affected the policing system in the United States of America. In the article, they talk about how former President Clinton has taken action on this matter and by asking for more information on racial profiling from police forces in America. A majority claims it is not a problem while a selective few believed it to be a minor problem. The race that’s gets racially profiled the most by police officers is African Americans and Hispanics.
It is a well known fact that history repeats itself. This entangling cycle of repetition can be witnessed in the constant racist and prejudice state of American society. In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander is able to bring to light the mistake people have been making through the process of repeating history, this mistake being the repeated use of racism and prejudice to successfully segregate society in order to accomplish a goal. Accordingly, during the time of slavery, a white lower class man by the name Nathaniel Bacon started a rebellion, uniting the poor whites and the blacks against the white elite. In response to this, the white elite used the repeated tactic of segregating whites from blacks and in their vulnerable state, gave
In his essay “Arrested Development: The Conservative Case Against Racial Profiling” published in the New Republic on September 10, 2001, professor James Forman Jr. illustrates his disagreement with racial profiling. Forman Jr. is a professor at Yale Law School. He teaches Constitutional Law and seminars on race and the criminal justice system. In his piece, Forman primary goal is to create understanding about the effectiveness of racial profiling and how this affects the black community especially youths. Forman achieves this by appealing to a liberal audience.
"Racial Profiling and Criminal Justice." The Journal of Ethics, vol. 15, no. 1-2, 2011. , pp. 79-88. Nclive, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10892-010-9098-3.
300359810 Mrs. Fahey ERWC 12-Period 2 14 September 2015 Racial Profiling Racial discrimination is becoming a major problem in today 's society. Our nation is facing problems based on the discrimination on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Racial profiling is a clear violation of the civil rights of the United States.
The practice of racial profiling victimizes minority persons to support a White hegemonic structure that promotes White values and beliefs as superior. The harmful effects of racial profiling
Racial profiling is a very important issue that individuals in society face every day. This problem occurs in low income or poverty-stricken areas throughout cities and communities across the nation. Hundreds of anecdotal testimonials allege that law enforcement officials at all levels of government are infringing upon the constitutional rights and civil liberties of racial and ethnic minorities through a practice called “racial profiling” (Ward, 2002). So what is racial profiling? According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling by law enforcement is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin (National Institute of Justice, 2013).
Racial profiling has become a national issue starting in 2015 (“Racial”). Judging someone for their race has been a problem ever since a minority group has been noticed. Racial profiling has spread over all over the world. Racial profiling has been a problem through the years, if the human race can learn what racial profiling is, advantages of the profiling, and the disadvantages.
Danielle Johnson APMA 3 Topic: Racial Profiling Thesis Statement: Because of recent events in America including September 11th attacks, the influx of immigration, and recent racial tension with African Americans and police officers, there has been an increase in racial profiling. Racial profiling is a degrading practice that is a violation against human rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution, thus why the United states government should create effective guidelines restricting law enforcement officers from practicing racial profiling.
An article written by Vox in 2018 probed the ‘criminalization of blackness’ and divulged into the unlawful implementation of racial profiling due to the suspicions ethnic minorities are met with in regard to the law. An exhibit of this can be seen in a particular instance taking place in Minnesota whereby four black teenagers were detained by police officers, with one drawing his weapon after a woman had called claiming the teenagers had used weapons to assault a white man. This later proved to be false (P.R. Lockhart, 2018). From this instance alone, it is unequivocal the phrase ‘innocent until proven guilty’; ironically stemming from the U.S. constitution, does not apply in the case of minority groups, furthermore, there is compelling data to suggest that black people are arrested disproportionately. In 2019-2020 there were six stops of white people per 1,000 which increased to eight in 2020-2021 in comparison to this black people were stopped and searched at 54 stops per 1,000 people (Gov.uk, 2022).
In the essay “Just Walk on By” written by Brent Staples, the author uses a mixture of exaggeration, quoting, and word choice to grasp the attention of his readers and further his point that racial profiling is an unfortunate circumstance that impacts African American men in negative ways. One can witness very early on in the piece that exaggeration is used, particularly with the way Staples describes his actions. By referring to the first woman to run from him as “My first victim”, two effects are created. The harshness of the word “Victim” draws in attention, and causes one to crave a further investigation into the story. When reading further, the exaggeration is put into place once the reader realises that he committed no crime, and was simply walking down the street.