Racial Profiling in the Workplace

Although it seems often overlooked, racial profiling in the workplace is a very is a big part of our everyday workforce. Think about it, have you ever paid attention to companies’ dress codes? How often do people get denied a job because of their appearance? For example, a friend of mine had showed me a photo from their employer and its obvious this company discriminates against “people” with dread locks as well as those who wear shells in their hair. Even though dreadlocks, beads and shells are a symbol of strength still somehow those who wear them are seen as degenerates and unprofessional. You can see the photo below supports this claim.

Police and Racial Profiling

On a daily basis our local police officers help make our community safer. They stop drunk drivers, they "put away" criminals, but since when do they beat suspects almost to their death? Rodney King (Black man) was speeding one night, when police stopped him; he was beaten savagely by four police officers that stopped him. A resident nearby was filming the beating. The next day he gave the tape to the media. In a few days, the news of the four officers beating Rodney King was all over the world. The King case was in 1991. But officers still doing this today for instance this YouTube video shows it still is happening.

According to Oxford English Dictionary racial profiling is defined as discrimination or stereotyping on racial or ethnic grounds. Profiling is a serious injustice to humanity, is an act of racism and discrimination, and is condoned by law enforcement agencies. Profiling is condoned by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Since it is so embedded in the police culture it is almost second nature to them. Most officers probably do not even think what they do is profiling, but when you conduct traffic stops based on ethnicity of the occupants it is profiling.

The opportunities for polices to racial profile is becoming a greater problem in the united states every day. We have laws that are meant to protect the minorities from racial profiling. What I would like to see happen is the police officers that are falling into the category of racial profiling be reproached, and for local government to give the American people their right to be protected from racial profiling. I believe police officers need to be held accountable and responsible for their conduct, making sure that their behavior advances the goals of their department. We can assume police officers work under conditions of low visibility and high decision, which provide them with a great deal of leeway to make decisions. In return, police officer must be able to explain and justify their decisions if they are questioned by supervisors or members of the community.  It is the perception of most police officials that in most agencies a small number of officers may be responsible for a large share of the actions that community members perceive as racially biased. 

What can citizen do if they are racial profile by a police officer?

The Civil Rights attorneys advised the following:

Know your rights:  you are not required to give permission to police officer to search your car.  You can deny the request - but do so politely.

Do not argue:  the police may try to intimidate you.  Do not be confrontational and provoke an argument.

Get the names of the officers:  be sure to get their badge numbers, squad car number, license plate number, and make a note of the location and time of day.

File a complaint if you feel you have been mistreated:  contact the ACLU or other civil rights organizations for legal advice

Sources: Oxford English Dictionary http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/157083?redirectedFrom=racial%20profiling#eid27239881 

Your Rights: What To Do If You're Stopped By Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI  http://www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform-immigrants-rights-racial-justice/know-your-rights-what-do-if-you

YouTube: http://youtu.be/kOaf1UFtDhQ

Shopping While Black

“Shopping While Black” or “Shopping While Brown” (SWB) is seen in our banks, hotels, restaurants, and even shopping centers.  People might be familiar with the saying, “Driving while Black.” This saying refers to racial profiling specifically law enforcement’s practice of pulling over blacks drivers and detaining them with no probable cause.  Police Officers simply stop black drivers due to the observation that blacks are likely to break the law. Well, the term “Shopping While Black” is related to “Driving While Black.” SWB is a term used to describe how people feel when they are racially profiled while they shop.Recently, racial profiling has been in the local news, just Google in the search engine.bar on the internet and you will see. 

In 2010, ABC conducted a controversial “What Would You Do?” experiment focusing on discrimination. The point of the experiment was to determine peoples’ reactions at seeing a Black customer profiled and discriminated against in an upscale store in New York. See the results of that in the YouTube Video above.

People will argue that racial profiling is justified on the backgrounds of other race groups who are more likely to commit a crime. For example, I know someone that work at company that rents items to people. The company says if a person “fits a certain criteria” then they will not rent to them. My understand of criteria is if a black person is wearing baggy pants or has mess up car the sales person will think the he/she is not trustworthy person and they will steal from their store. Basically if a person look a certain way  then the company are not going to rent them to that person. This is wrong because they are judging a person because of the actions of other people in its cultural group commit.

 I know some jobs may need some diversity training in the workplaces. So what diversity training exists for employees at our local stores, banks, hotels, hospitals, etc? I think we may be able to eliminate bias through diversity training, and in the training employees can be taught to manage their biases. We can see the increasing multiracial and multicultural customer base and we know stores cannot afford to alienate customers because of their skin color nor does it help them because they lose business, and it shows negative image of United States. I want to see a change and see people treated with respect when come to stores or bank. 

Due to the holidays are coming up and more people are going to be shopping. I hope this blog SWB will make people aware of racial profiling. If you or someone who you might know experience racial profiling, you should take action on this matter. If you decided to take action, remember names and who said what and then put your thoughts down in writing. Explain why you believe your rights were violated and request a specific remedy. Then put this information in letter form and send to the company higher-ups, Department of Justice, the Better Business Bureau, a local elected official, or some other authority figure that you feel you can trust.

Racial Profiling Still Exists

While attending California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) two of my classmates had made disturbing comments about blacks. The first disturbing comment about blacks came up in my social work class, a former female student (who wants to be a social worker) stated “Blacks females are not doing good. They are just having babies like their mothers and I will never give them a job.” The second disturbing comment was in my Criminal Justice Search and Seizure class in which a male classmate made this statement, “If they act like a duck or looks like a duck it must be a duck”. This student also stated that, “If I see someone with dreads or wearing baggy pants he must be up to no good.” What caught my attention was that he wants to be a police officer, and since he wants to work in law enforcement field I feel that he should not be judging any one base on his appearance. When people make statements like that I feel there are making assumptions about my race. At the end of the day both of my professors corrected them and both students apologized. Even though the students apologized, I know that racial profiling still exists still today.                                

The statements my fellow classmates made disturbed me because we are the future workers and we are supposed to be an example for the younger generations. We do not want people to think is acceptable to judge people by their appearance. I was shock they would say such harsh things about blacks. I am sure what made my classmates make statements like that but I believe these harsh feelings towards another of a different skin color are deeply rooted in our minds from previous generations. Years ago, blacks were used as slaves. The slave owners treated them badly. The owner’s own children then grew up with the same ideals and passed them on to the new generation, but this need to stop. I am a black student. I am young I do not have kids. I know people with dreads for instance my mother and she not “up to no good.” I was hurt by their comments about blacks because it is not true. Also I know this issues is just not affecting me it is affecting others in America too.

In this YouTube video, Face the Truth: Racial Profiling Across America shows different cases and examples that can be used to illustrate racial profiling. I posted this video because I feel that many people do not understand racial profiling and how affect many people other than myself. The video shows the devastating impact of racial profiling on communities around our country, including the blacks, Latino, Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities. I feel it is important to study racial profiling so we can let other people know how racial profiling can damage a person’s mental status.

So I did some research on the publication, “Restoring a National Consensus: The Need to End Racial Profiling in America”, the report is an update of the earlier 2003 report, “Wrong Then, Wrong Now: Racial Profiling Before and After September 11, 2001” the problem of racial profiling continues to be a significant national concern that demands attention. This publication examines the use of racial profiling in the street-level context in which it originally arose. It also examines the newer context of counterterrorism and the most recent context of immigration. 

http://westorlandonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/racial_profiling2011.pdf

Whether you watch the YouTube video or read the publication about racial profiling you must know that racial profiling does still exist.  Ask any person who might be different color or ethnicity and they would let you know that they have been insulted more than once in their life time by other people. Nobody should be putting these ideas into anyone’s head to judge someone base on their skin. It only makes one wonder will Martin Luther King Jr’s vision of a color-blind society come true… where everyone is equal and treated equal,  It make me ask this question will it ever come into existence? I only hope so. I believe and will always believe that all men, and women, are created equal and they deserve to be treated with respect.