Position Paper

Racial Profiling and How It Is Harmful to Society

Tonisha Nixon

East Carolina University

Racial Profiling and How It is Harmful to Society

“Stop-and-frisk searches regularly force African-American males into an East Berlin-esque sense of oppression—while the rest of us go our merry ways without noticing (Christopher E. Smith)”.

How would one feel if every decision that was made against them was based on one’s race? This question has come to surface because of the issues of racial profiling. Racial profiling is defined in an article, as strategies that law enforcement use to single out individuals based on their race, ethnicity or religion preference (civilrights.org). Racial profiling by law enforcement has become a growing controversial issue in these past years. This type of action is not supported by many people around the world because it violates the United States Constitution’s promise that all people are equal under the law, as well as the 4th Amendment’s guarantee that people should be free from unreasonable searches and seizures (American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana 2009). This part of the constitution specifically states that all persons should be treated equally under the law that is passed.

Racial profiling is most likely a strategy processed to be against minorities groups. According to an article, it is commonly believed that African Americans are more likely than whites to be stopped by the police (Government Accounting Office, 2000: Walker, 2000). This statement has become more and more true every day. The minority populations have been noticing how much law enforcement officers seem as if they are always against them. This feeling has been growing more and creating more hateful feelings against everyone in authority that’s not of the same race.

Minority groups have been treated wrong and discriminated more against since this has become an act of law enforcement and legal in states. Racial profiling gives enforcement officers...