The Concept of Racial Profiling in the United States (Research Paper Sample)

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Political Issues: Racial Profiling
Introduction
Despite the enactment of a number of laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, racial profiling has blocked the achievement of equality in the United States and beyond. Racial profiling in the United Sates is expressed in diverse spheres of life including but not limited to education, employment, justice and housing (Chaney 322). Noteworthy, racism sprouts from personal prejudices and racial attitudes. Recent studies on the sociology of racism have shown that racial prejudices stem from a culmination of organizational practices that are directly linked to cultural defined cognitive biases and stereotypes. The classical racism indicates the presence of the perceived moral, intellectual and spiritual differences coupled with other perceived forms of superiority leading to domination (Clair and Jeffrey, Sociology of Racism).
Racial profiling is more prominent in the state’s justice system (Griffith 7). In essence, the law enforcement agencies apply law on a partial basis aiming at subjugating a particular race. In particular, the federal and state governments have applied laws preferentially against the Blacks, Asians, the Indigenous Communities and the Latinos. Besides the disproportionate application of the law in different groups, racial profiling takes different forms including the Islamic phobia directed particular classes of Asian communities. It is worth noting that racial profiling has historical underpinnings and dates back to the 1950s and the era of colonization when racism was common and to some extent institutionalized by law (Staples 31). The American Civil Liberties Union reported that racial discrimination it the United States has been institutionalized and among the institutionalized forms of racism include but not limited to racial disparities in sentencing, child custody, voting rights and preferential treatment of guest workers.
The Concept of Racial Profiling in the United States
Racial profiling in the United States has historically evolved brewing many driving factors for the same. Despite the court’s intervention to stop this menace, racial profiling has been cultured among the perpetrators and thrived up to this very minute. As noted at the introductory part of the paper, the law enforcers are usually at the forefront in fueling racial stereotyping in the United States. It is not uncommon to find police officers stopping black motorists for searches on the belief that they are criminals. Terry v Ohio was a peculiar case in that the victim was illegally searched contrary to the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. Noteworthy, the search was majorly driven by the fact the suspect was black. On another instance US v Brignoni Ponse illustrated how the police officers can demonstrate racial profiling during the process of routine inspection. In this case, though the victim was found guilty, the court faulted the police owing to the fact that they contravened the Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, the police had no justified reason of stopping the vehicle. In essence, the police stopped the victim on the ground that he was Mexican.
The modern day politics of racial profiling have gone a step forth to find a place in the nation’s legal system. The Drug Enforcement Agency’s actions reveal a plethora of racial discrimination actions not to mention its acts of searching for drugs on racial lines. The DEA’s act led to unsaid racial profiling among the law enforcers including the sheriffs. Notably, the police endeavored to initiate searches on racial and ethnic grounds. For instance, a black person wearing a lot of gold was ‘more likely’ to possess drugs or deal in the same. However, in the 1990s, civil unions detested to the act of the police using racial profiling during traffic stops (Warren, Donald, Smith and Mason 710). The civil unions observed that stopping the racial minorities did not lead to the discovery of anything illegal except that it heightened racial discrimination among the Americans.
The nation has seen the reduction of racial profiling. The activities of the various players in the society have informed the reduction in the same. The ACLU and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are among the many civil societies that fight against the prevailing racial profiling in the United States. Indeed their efforts have borne fruit considering the fact that many states within the federation adopted policies to curb further profiling. Prior to 1997, black drivers in North Carolina were fourfold likely to undergo highway checks as compared to their white counterparts. Noteworthy, in 2000, the preferential highway checks had reduced by half. The infamous Michael Brown shooting was a major event that saw massive protests in the nation (Rosenfeld 1077). In one way or the other, the incident had far reaching impacts considering the fact that racially motivated highway stops and checks reduced by a great magnitude.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has escalated the issue of racial profiling in some instances. The FBI has endeavored to reduce crime through their endeavors to ensure areas thought to have criminals mapped. However, the procedure for mapping these areas beats logical. Surprisingly, the FBI maps the places that are dominated by the Blacks and the Latinos. The profiling is done in a manner that depicts racial profiling. The Transportation Security Administration has equally advanced racial profiling in a number of ways. The Authority has devised mechanisms of screening people on the basis of their races and ethnic groups. The detection of suspects by facial expressions is one of the methods that have raised eyebrows as far racial profiling is concerned. In particular, the people who conduct such checks tend to centralize racial differences in their activities. The federal government’s idea of border enforcement has led to serious human rights violation in the form of racial profiling of the Native Americans and other colored people.
The prohibition of racial profiling in the form of racial profiling is an issue that has gained the status of jus cogens. In international law, nations should strive to avert any form of racial discrimination. In this case, racial discrimination is an international concern and all states have a duty to ensure that its citizens are not discriminated against on the basis of their skin coloration. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is an international instrument that serves the purpose of protect people again The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination periodically examines the nations’ compliance with the convention.
Legal and Policy Framework to Curb Racial Framework
Racial profile has continually become a plague to the United State despite the numerous legal instruments set in place to curtail the same. The implementation of the same has not been much successful considering the fact that most of the perpetrators of racial profiling are law enforcement officers. In ending racial profiling in the nation, the US Government has endeavored to adopt policies including the Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies that sought to eliminate the illegal use of races in the enforcement of laws.
The fourteenth amendment is peculiar in nature considering its overall protection of the Americans (Bartley 473). In essence, this supreme law endows all the citizens with equal rights and protection. In essence, this law protects all citizens irrespective of their skin color. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is another law that attempts to curb acts of discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunities clause of this law prohibits discriminatory employment on the basis of race and color. On an equal basis, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is another peculiar law that prohibits the discrimination of credit applicants on racial grounds. Of utmost importance is the 1965 Voting Act that restricts the denial of voting rights on racial grounds. With regard to housing and accommodation, the Fair Housing Act prohibits the discrimination in the sale or rental of houses on the basis of race or color among other grounds. One of the Congress’ conclusive legislative tools to curb racial profiling in the US is the End Racial Profiling Act of 2010 that seeks to define racial profiling, acts that constitute racial profiling and the various mechanisms to contain this menace.
Recommended Government Interventions to curb Racial Profiling
It is evident that the government has not fully exhausted the available mechanisms to contain the issue of racial subjugation in the United States. The UN’s periodic review of the US’ compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination reveals that the US has not fully realized the goals of the convention. Therefore, there are areas that the government should work upon to ensure the complete alleviation of racial profiling within its territory.
The United States Department of Justice should consider reviewing the guidance rules on the use of racial profiling to boost national security. The same is true considering the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s acts of selective crime mapping. In essence, crime is not limited to specific places where a particular race lives. It is evident that crime is a social disorder that affects people universally regardless of the race. With reference to screening the government should take precautionary measures to avoid racial profiling during screening for suspects of criminal activities. Most importantly, legislative arm of the government should pass the End Racial Profiling Act without creating ...