Common Occurences of Racial Profiling in America
Common Occurences of Racial Profiling in America
Driving eastbound on highway 18 around 12:00 a.m., me and four other friends were targeted by the Iowa State Patrol. As they were enroute to my house, a state patrol car whipped around and followed us with the lights flashing brightly. Five teenagers early in the morning were prime targets. All of us fell victim to a police bust practiced throughout the nation by police officers.
This nasty police procedure is called racial profiling. With this tactic, everyone behind the wheel can be considered guilty. Racial profiling shows its ugly head today in America. Despite the civil rights victory 30 years ago, racial prejudice is still reflected throughout the criminal justice system. Any one person can fall victim to racial profiling. Many states nation wide have made this procedure illegal. The color of skin can be the most common area of racial profile to attack, but any race, ethnic group, religious followers, or age group can be subjected to racial profiling. Tens of thousands of innocent motorists on highways across the country are victims of racial profiling. And these discriminatory police stops have reached epidemic proportions in recent years - fueled by the "War on Drugs" that has given police a pretext to target people who they think fit a "drug courier" or "gang member" profile. We must put an end to the practice of racial profiling (ACLU).
When concerning the African American race, many people think that all they boil down to are a bunch of “gang bangers”, drug dealers, rappers, and athletes. Not all black people follow this suit. Just like any other race, there are always those bad seeds. There have been many successful black people who helped shape this country into what it has become. Countless role models have emerged from the dark shadows of the negative stereotypes that the blacks have portrayed over the years. Take Michael Jordan into consideration, his athletic ability took basketball to all new heights. He will go down in history as one of the best basketball players to dribble a basketball. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the way that people will look at his race. He led his people through the cicil rights movement. He influenced people to get past skin color and he...