War and Civil Liberties

Overview

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin (QuotationsPage.com website).

The practices of racial profiling by police, government agents, and business personnel have generated controversy since the discovery of North America, and those controversies show no signs of abating. Racial profiling refers to law enforcement actions based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on any criminal behavior by an individual. In practice, racial profiling may lead police to stop and inspect selected people passing through public places — drivers on highways, pedestrians in urban areas, visitors crossing national borders, passengers on airplanes — for the reason that these people fit a statistical profile based at least to some extent on group membership (Pampel, 2004, 3).

Racial profiling has existed in one form or another since the discovery of the

United States and shows no signs of disappearing. From the early pioneers to the present day, government and law officials' racial profiling has taken on many forms. The more recent displays occurred after the events of September 11th, 2001. The newest examples relate more to national origin and ethnicity than race. In their efforts to prevent terrorism, government agents and airline personnel have given special attention to young men who appear to be Middle Eastern or Islamic (Pampel, 2004, 4).

The term racial profiling was adopted when police officers stopped black motorists for minor traffic violations in hopes of discovering illegal drugs or weapons in the car (thus the phrase, "driving while black"). One authority writes: "Racial profiling is defined as any police-initiated action that relies on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads police to a particular individual who has been identified as being or having engaged in criminal activity." (Pampel, 2004, 5). In practice, the term "racial profiling" is often used to refer to all forms of racial, ethnic, and national-origin discrimination.

This type of behavior is unconstitutional according to the Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1791, which states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Racial profiling violates this amendment because it results in stops and searches that have no reasonable basis. Because this practice treats some race, ethnic, and national-origin groups differently than others, it appears to violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 1975 decision, United States v. Brignoni-

Ponce (422 U.S. 873), that the use of ethnicity as the sole reason for making a stop violates constitutional protections. Ethnic appearance alone does not meet the standard for reasonable search and seizure. However, the Court has not ruled that use of race, ethnicity, and national origin as parts of a larger profile violates constitutional rights. It has not explicitly ruled in favor of this type of racial profiling either. Still, a variety of related decisions suggest that the Court would support this procedure if there is evidence of an association between race, ethnicity, or national origin and offending behavior (Pampel, 2004, 8) Although many states have tried to eliminate racial profiling, federal legislation has not yet deemed a law passed to do so.

Rationale

Teaching health education at an urban African American high school has afforded

me the opportunity to witness and listen to first-hand accounts of acts of racial profiling by my students and members of the community. This curriculum unit is designed for students in grades 9-12 taking courses of Health I and II. Teaching in a predominantly African American community, I have found that my students have experienced racial profiling by the city police department on a regular basis. It is my intent to educate them to the practices of racial profiling in the United States.

I have included lessons in the past on how students should conduct themselves

when stopped by the police in the hope of preventing being harassed and arrested.

Past lessons have consisted of reading and discussing proper protocol as described on the "bust card" dialogue instructing citizens how to respond in a non-threatening and

polite manner when questioned by law enforcement personnel.

To help students to be better prepared when they are stopped and/or questioned by the police, we have engaged in several role-playing scenarios during class over the years. Many of the students complain about their episodes with police harassment. After some discussions it was transparently clear that they did not know how to conduct themselves under certain circumstances. In an effort to equip them with the necessary skills to manage these experiences properly without causing additional problems for themselves, we practice the recommendations suggested by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU, "Protecting Protest" website). These role-playing exercises proved to be quite helpful in giving the students confidence in responding to law enforcement officers' questions. I had a personal feeling that they would be more comfortable in the future when confronted by law enforcement officials. I found some significant suggestions on this web site concerning how to conduct yourself when questioned by police officials. They are:

Stay calm and in control of your words, body language and emotions.

Don't get into an argument with the police.

Never bad-mouth a police officer.

Remember, anything you say or do can be held against you.

Keep your hands where the police can see them.

Don't run.

Don't touch the police officer.

Don't resist even if you are innocent.

Don't complain at the scene or tell police they're wrong.

Do not make any statements regarding the incident.

Ask for a lawyer immediately if you are arrested.

Remember the officer's badge and patrol car numbers.

Write down everything you remember ASAP.

Try to find witnesses and their names and phone numbers.

If you are injured, take photos and get medical attention, obtaining medical records.

Also if you are stopped for questions, remember the following points: Police may stop and detain you only if they have a reasonable suspicion that you have committed, are committing or are about to commit a crime. You can ask if you are under arrest or free to leave. If you are arrested, you have a right to know why. Police can't lawfully require that you identify yourself or produce identification if they don't reasonably suspect you are involved in a crime. But use your judgment- refusal could in reality lead to your arrest even if it's unjustified.

The unit will address several of the Content Standards for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Specifically, the unit will fulfill the following standards focusing on Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening:

    #5) all students analyze and make critical judgments about all forms of communication, separating fact from opinion, recognizing propaganda, stereotypes and statements of bias, recognizing inconsistencies and judging the validity of evidence;

    #6) all students exchange information orally, including understanding and giving spoken instructions, asking and answering questions appropriately, and prompting effective group communication.

It will also assist students in meeting these Citizenship standards:

    #3) all students describe the development and operations of economic, political, legal and governmental systems in the United States, assess their own relationships to those systems, and compare them to those in other nations;

    #4) all students examine and evaluate problems facing citizens in their communities, state, nation and world by incorporating concepts and methods of inquiry of the various social sciences;

    #5) all students develop and defend a position on current issues, confronting the United States and other nations, conducting research, analyzing alternatives, organizing evidence and arguments, and making oral presentations; and

    #9) all students demonstrate an understanding of the history and nature of prejudice and relate their knowledge to current issues facing communities, the United States and other nations (Pittsburgh Teachers Institute Handbook, 2005, pp.25, 27).