Argument Against Racial Profiling

From slavery in the 1700s to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the subject of race has been a paramount issue in American culture and politics. In the world of today, however, racism and racial bias have begun to take new forms. The violent hate crimes of the past have been replaced by racial discrimination and bias. While bias affects many aspects of one’s daily life, experiences dictated by racial bias cause much more harm than the bias of a historian in his writings or a newscaster in her reporting. Furthermore, the problem does not conclude with one specific group experiencing hate; countless other ethnicities are victim to these abhorrent experiences, specifically Arab/Muslim-Americans. After the events of September 11th, 2001, the

As defined by the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the constitutional rights of American citizens, racial profiling “refers to 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.” (“Racial Profiling: Definition”). The ACLU continues, stating that racial profiling is commonly employed during stops for minor traffic violations and searches for illegal contraband (“Racial Profiling: Definition”). Furthermore, racial bias may be exemplified in the omission of action, rather than the usual cases in which action is taken. For example, the ACLU mentions how southern sheriffs during the civil rights movement would refuse to act upon cases involving the terrorization of African-Americans, especially cases involving the Ku Klux Klan (“Racial Profiling: Definition”). While racial profiling is obviously unjust and unethical, the concept itself is debatably unconstitutional. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution declares that “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

Many advocates cite that racial profiling is a tool for capturing criminals more effectively. Often alongside these claims is information that suggests minorities are more likely to commit these crimes that they are being profiled for. While these concepts are troublesome in their very nature, they are quite often false. In her article, Northeastern Law Professor Deborah Ramirez asserts that “In all published studies to date, minorities are no more likely to be in possession of contraband than whites.” (Ramirez). She continues, stating that in many studies, certain minorities, such as Latinos, are less likely than whites to be carrying contraband (Ramirez). Therefore, the idea that targeting a specific race in belief that they are more likely to be involved in criminal activity is false, furthering proving the injustice and senselessness of racial