Is the disproportionate use of force on black men by law enforcement a legitimate concern in the African immigrant population?
From the moment I landed in the United States from Nigeria, my identity was formed by the African-American experience. This is an identity that follows me where ever I go, and it gives a false pretense about who I truly am. Due to all that has been happening with the racist views on black people in the United States, I have gone through some difficult experiences with law enforcement, which makes me question the safety of being a minority race in America. But, I’m African, and I have been my entire life. I find the need to clarify the difference between an African American immigrant and an American born black person.
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As stated in the Medill Reports Chicago website article Black, but not like me: African-Americans and African immigrants often have uneasy bond, “Constant tensions between African-Americans and non U.S.-born Africans refute the notion that the term African-American is interchangeable with black.
In the eyes of many native-born blacks and African immigrants, it isn’t.”
I came to the States with different traditions and culture that I’ve been familiar with my whole life, growing up in Nigeria in the Yoruba tribe. Those traits will stick with me as long as I live in the United States. For instance, when I call my family back home, I speak in our native dialect, because most of my family does not speak English. Also, I will always have my accent when speaking American English, and that is an obvious sign that my native country is not the U.S.A.
As you can see, something as simple as hearing the difference between and American accent versus a non-American accent, is all it takes to notice a difference between the two groups. Oddly enough, that simple difference is not noticed within our law enforcement officers in the United
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States. Matthew Feistner is a deputy sheriff with the Moody County Sheriff’s Office in South Dakota. He is a young officer with only one year of experience in law enforcement. When asked if he has ever dealt with a male African immigrant before, he stated, “I don't know if I have ever dealt with an African immigrant. I don't ask.” He also stated that, “There is no difference in my experience,” when asked if he noticed a difference between a male African immigrant and an American born black man. When asked if he would treat either party differently, he simply stated, “No.” My most recent experience when I thought I was being targeted because of my race, was when a police officer saw that I was a black person, because his lights lit up my face while he was waiting for me to pass so he could merge onto Highway 34. He immediately began following me. While he was following me, I became nervous. The winter weather was acting up that morning, so I was driving below the speed limit. I did slow down many times thinking he would pass, but the officer never passed me. Instead, he slowed down and chose to stay behind me. This went on for about 15 more miles. I kept checking the review mirror to see what he was doing. At one point, I lost focus on my driving because I was scared and felt like I was being stalked by the law enforcement officer. I remembered seeing the stories on social media and the news about other experiences of black men in the United States that have been in similar situations. During my glance at the rearview mirror, my car drifted over and my tire touched the white (fog) line for a brief moment. I touched the fog line, but did not cross it. When I realized what I had done, I slowly corrected my position on the road. Not even two seconds later, the officer turned on his lights to pull me over. The officer was polite during the stop, but I still felt on edge. He kept asking me if I was texting. In fact, he asked me three times. In the end, I was given a warning ticket for improper lane change. Even though I was given a warning ticket, I still think the reason for pulling me over was just an excuse of his racial profiling. Every day, I see people touch the fog line for some reason like strong winds, snow or other distractions. In fact, Deputy Feistner stated during his interview, “A person would have to commit a traffic offense in order for probable cause to be established for a traffic stop. It is certain that an officer would not follow an individual for no reason.” I interviewed a Dakota State University graduate student who immigrated from Somalia years ago. His family moved to Oregon after leaving Somalia, and have lived there ever since. In his report to me about his experience with law enforcement, he explained that he was a taxi driver in Milwaukie, Oregon. When he was pulled over by the authorities, he was in the process of transporting a customer to the hospital to be admitted, so he was in a hurry. He admits that he was driving in excess of the posted speed limit, but by no more than five miles an hour. After the officer gave him the speeding ticket, he put the ticket aside, because he was in a hurry to get his customer to the hospital. Later, he looked at the ticket. It stated that he was traveling over ten miles over the speed limit, and the fine was $150. He had proof of his speed because of his dashboard camera installed in his taxi. He decided to fight the ticket in court, and he told the judge about the video proof. The judge said he didn’t have time to watch the video and requested that he provide an image to prove his claim of his speed. At the time, that was not possible, so he requested to move the case to a higher court. They told him that if he wanted to move the case to a higher court, he would have to pay $200, which is a 50/50 chance of him actually winning the case, because that region is known for racial profiling. He chose not to fight it any further, and decided to pay the $150 fine. The disproportionate use of force on black men by law enforcement, specifically with the African immigrant population is all due to the history of the United States during slavery, and this history sticks to both the Caucasian and the African Americans which might never be over with, but it is also reflecting on African immigrants.
I understand that to simply forget about the past for African- Americans is sort of throwing their ancestors under the bus.
Even though the examples I’ve shared in this research are not physically violent acts from U.S. law enforcement, they are discriminatory in nature. From the law enforcement’s racial profiling I experienced to the abuse of justice towards the DSU grad student, it all builds towards a case of injustice and discrimination. One of America’s biggest virtues is freedom, but sometimes I question the belief of freedom. It seems that is doesn’t exist at all for some people, or maybe that the freedom they talk about doesn’t include every human, especially those with skin that isn’t white and born in the United
States.
African American’s still are thought to be discriminated against by law enforcement, according to recent scenarios which have occurred. For example, Eric Garner was seen to have been physically abused by police and many of the public believe this is because he was African American. Though racism is less common today, it is still relevant and apparent in society. Violence is still used by both individuals and law enforcement, as well as as a form of protest in some circumstances. Though there is still some violent-protests present today, for humanitarian reasons this form of protesting has become less common throughout all of the ethnic
The justice system is in place in America to protect its citizens, however in the case of blacks and some other minorities there are some practices that promote unfairness or wrongful doing towards these groups. Racial profiling is amongst these practices. In cases such as drug trafficking and other criminal acts, minorities have been picked out as the main culprits based off of skin color. In the article “Counterpoint: The Case Against Profiling” it recognizes racial profiling as a problem in America and states, “[In order to maintain national security] law-enforcement officers have detained members of minority groups in vehicles more than whites”…. “these officers assume that minorities commit more drug offenses, which is not the case” (Fauchon). In relationship to law enforcement there has also been many cases of police brutality leaving young blacks brutally injured, and even dead in recent years, cases such as Michael Brown, Dontre Hamilton, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Freddy Gray just to name a few. Many of these young men were unarmed, and the police involved had no good justification for such excess force. They were seen as threats primarily because of their skin color. Despite the fact this nation is trying to attain security, inversely they are weakening bonds between many of its
To illustrate, majority of blacks are stop by police more than any other racial groups. Police brutality is base on ethnicity. Officers seem to target black communities for many reasons. Racist cops might view blacks as less innocent compared to whites. Growing up as an African American you witness hearing your parents telling your male siblings to respect officers and to interact with them differently than they would do their families and friends. After the fatal shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The public wanted justice because the incident was not handled properly. The people wanted to express their concerns. After this incident I remember more allegation from black communities begin surfacing that the police use excessive force against them,
For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.
Many people claim that racism no longer exists; however, the minorities’ struggle with injustice is ubiquitous. Since there is a mass incarceration of African Americans, it is believed that African Americans are the cause of the severe increase of crimes. This belief has been sent out implicitly by the ruling class through the media. The media send out coded messages that are framed in abstract neutral language that play on white resentment that targets minorities. Disproportionate arrest is the result of racial disparities in the criminal justice system rather than disproportion in offenders. The disparities in the sentencing procedure are ascribed to racial discrimination. Because police officers are also biased, people of color are more likely to be investigated than whites. Police officers practice racial profiling to arrest African Americans under situations when they would not arrest white suspects, and they are more likely to stop African Americans and see them as suspicious (Alexander 150-176). In the “Anything Can Happen With Police Around”: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places,” Michelle Fine and her comrades were inspired to conduct a survey over one of the major social issues - how authority figures use a person’s racial identity as a key factor in determining how to enforce laws and how the surveillance is problematic in public space. Fine believes it is critical to draw attention to the reality in why African Americans are being arrested at a much higher rate. This article reflects the ongoing racial issue by focusing on the injustice in treatment by police officers and the youth of color who are victims. This article is successful in being persuasive about the ongoing racial iss...
This essay will bring to light the problem of racial profiling in the police force and propose the eradication of any discrimination. The Fourth Amendment 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, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Despite this right, multiple minorities across the country suffer at the hands of police officers through racial profiling; the singling out of a person or persons as the main suspect of a crime based on their race. Many people have also suffered the loss of a loved one because police believed the suspect to be a threat based on their races therefore the officers use their authority to take out the “threat”. Although racial profiling may make sense to police officers in the line of duty, through the eyes of the public and those affected by police actions, it is a form a racism that is not being confronted and is allowing unjust convictions and deaths.
What makes an American an American? Is it the accent, the clothing, the fact that you
Police Brutality Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a startling fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida, five men died while in the custody of the
Whether you have experienced a lot of traveling to other countries and continents or perhaps you have never left the East coast, it can be assumed; whether through school or a work environment, you have had at least one experience dealing with different nationalities and cultures. The realization is that we may come from different places and have different backgrounds but most people, cultures included, have more in common then we could imagine.
Weich, R., & Angulo, C. (2002). Racial disparities in the American criminal justice system. Rights at risk: Equality in an age of terrorism, 185-218.
Both my mom and my dad were born in Ciudad Juarez; they both grew up there and as a result, they embraced the Mexican culture. I was born in Roswell, New Mexico. We lived there for about two years, but my parent decided to return to Juarez. If we think about it, this probably was the beginning of my ethnic identity. While I grew up, I attended school in Juarez, and as any person that had the chance to attend school might understand, education is a powerful tool that shape people through the years. Though I was legally American, my parents taught me to talk in Spanish, have respect for the Mexican flag, the anthem and the different ceremonies, in addition of the Mexican holidays.
How would it feel if you woke up each day fearing for your life, just because of the pigment of your skin or the irrelevant opinion of someone who believes they are superior. since ancient times, Discrimination has been a great issue in our society, it’s always been, and probably will continue to be in the near future. Now that the discrimination among officers have been in the spotlight, the fact that they’re not getting proper punishments are allowing a great amount of people to realize that This is a serious issue; and innocent individuals are losing their lives from the careless opinions of others.However, this is consistently changing depending upon the area in which it occurs in.
Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may find it necessary to use excessive force to take control of a certain situation. Sometimes this makes an officer fight with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all cops in communities are great cops. At least once a year, the news covers a story about a person being beat by an officer. The article “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities” by Malcolm D. Holmes from the University of Wyoming, uses the conflict theory to explain why officers go after minorities sometimes causing police brutality. It explains the police’s tension with African American and Latino males. Those minorities are the ones that retaliate more against police officers which causes the officer to use violent force to defend themselves.
As we may all have once experienced, acculturation is one of the most common part of our lives, either by music, language or habits. In many occasions is more noticeable, but they are still a part of our entire lives. Through my own experiences and some of my classmates we were able to identified this topic in our own lives. I being born in USA but raised in Mexico until I was 16 years old, made my acculturation really clear when I came to this country without any previous knowledge of this language or society. Everything was completely different, but I was able to adapt to a new culture in a small period of time, learning a new language and successfully ending High School. Now that I came to college, I feel that I am going to a new acculturation process, not as harsh or obvious. But leaving and having many Asian friends have been acculturated me to their Asian culture little by little. Everything starts when you put in practice small customs as taking your shoes at the door, eating rice with anything and eating specially with chopsticks. I have been presented to this, and in my opinion have become acculturated to this culture. However, not everyone stories are the same. Lizandro Laverman experienced acculturation more indirectly by his parents experiences. His parents, basically, came to the United States to have a better lifestyle. He himself personally considers himself as an American. Although he is actually 75% Guatemalan and 25% German he considers himself to be 100% American. He also speak fluent in both languages, so the English and the Spanish, but speaks English more than anything. He also feels embraced when as Guatemalan dishes. In general, his parents are only used to a lifestyle that comes from Guatemala as train...
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve.