It's Because I'm Black Isn't It?: ETHOS!

Racial Profiling and stereotyping has been heightening for the past two decades due to false allegations by law enforcement agents against people of color. It has increased in number and frequency. This isn’t just talking about African Americans; It’s is referring to Hispanics, Indians, and many more ethnicities who have a darker skin tone then that of our Caucasian associates. Quantitative and qualitative evidence has been collected at a federal, state, and local level, confirming that racial profiling persists even though it was deemed unconstitutional.

       I, being an African American female and teenager who has friends and family who love to joke around, hear stereotypes more often then I want to. For instance, not all black teenagers get pregnant at a young age. That stereotype is also portrayed with Hispanic teenage females as well. All black people do not like fried chicken either. I, myself personally know of a few black people who can’t stand fried chicken. Teenagers that are of Indian descent are not playing to blow up the school. Yes, that may sound ridiculous but I have heard a stereotype like that.

       Teenagers aren’t the only group stereotyped; you also have adults who are stereotyped as well. At airports, security guards are allowed to do random searches on passengers at any moment. They don’t have to have a motive or reason, just every once in a while they feel the need to do it. Why is it that when an Indian passenger goes to get on the plane, they are stopped to be checked for bombs or drugs or other substances of that sort? It isn’t right to treat people that way.

        As far as education goes, black people are not inferior to white people when it comes to learning. We have the same amount of capabilities to achieve high goals and surpass high standards. We can excel in Ivy League schools and go on to exceptional careers. Dr. Benjamin Carson did not start off as a good student. Because he was black and the only black kid in his class, he was expected to fail, but he over came the bullying and name calling. He became the first surgeon to separate Siamese twins successfully with out one child having to die.

        We, African Americans and other ethnicities of a dark skin tone do not like being racially profiled or stereotyped. We take offense to it even if we don’t verbally express it. Yes we may joke around with some stereotypes but truth be told some of us feel some type of way on the inside.     

It's Because I'm Black Isn't It?

        Racial Profiling has been heightening for the past two decades due to false allegations by law enforcement agents against people of color. It has increased in number and frequency. This isn’t just talking about African Americans; It’s is referring to Hispanics, Indians, and many more ethnicities who have a darker skin tone then that of our Caucasian associates. Quantitative and qualitative evidence has been collected at a federal, state, and local level, confirming that racial profiling persists even though it was deemed unconstitutional.

            In the year 2005, drivers of African American descent were 4.5% likely to be arrested during a traffic stop than a Caucasian driver who only had a 2.1% chance of being arrested. It is very sickening to know that the very people who we trust to protect us in this country are the ones that bring us down. Now you may say to yourself, African Americans and Caucasians are not the only races targeted here; and you are absolutely right. Hispanics play a huge part in racial profiling as well. Hispanic drivers were 65% more likely to receive a ticket than Caucasian drivers who had a 56.2% chance and African American drivers who had a 55.8% chance. Racial profiling doesn’t just happen on the open road, it also happens right here in a local community.  

         Imagine a teenage female with cocoa colored skin walking into Victoria Secret in a predominately white neighborhood. She is just like every other shopper only a different color. She wanted to buy some under wear so she began to look around trying to make up her mind of which pair she wanted to get. All while she was searching, she felt eyes burning her back. She knew the cashiers and even the retail ladies were watching her, thinking she would steal. One retail lady even asked her if she was looking for something in particular. That may sound like a nice thing to say to someone but the girl knew the truth. I KNEW THE TRUTH! I knew the truth because I was that teenage girl.

          It is very demeaning and belittling to feel as if you don’t belong and know that people are judging you based on the color of your skin. Would you like it if people looked at you and thought you were dumb, or a gang banger, or even a drug dealer, just on your appearance? No you wouldn’t, so why do it to someone else?

 

 

 

 

Sources:

1. http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html
2. http://www.racialprofilinganalysis.neu.edu/background/history.php
    

          

Speaking Like Kincaid

 

                                                                    KINCAID

 

You see a man, a taxi driver; you ask him to take you to your destination; he quotes you a price. You immediately think that the price is in the local currency, for you are a tourist and you are familiar with these things (rates of exchange) and you fell even more free, for things seem so cheap, but then your driver ends by saying, “In U.S. currency.” You may say, “Hmmmm, do you have a formal sheet that lists official prices and destinations? Your driver obeys the law and shows you the sheet, and he apologizes for the incredible mistake he has made in quoting you a price off the top of his head which is so vastly different (favouring him) from the one listed. You are driven to your hotel by this taxi driver in his taxi, a brand new Japanese- made vehicle. The road on which you are traveling is a very bad road, very much in need of repair. You are feeling wonderful, so you say, “Oh, what a marvellous change these bad roads are from the splendid highways I am used to in North America.” (Or, worse, Europe.) Your driver is reckless; he is a dangerous man who drives in the middle of the road when he thinks no other cars are coming in the opposite direction, passes other cars on blind curves that run uphill, drives at sixty miles an hour on narrow, curving roads when the road sign, a rusting, beat-up thing left over from colonial days, says 40 MPH.  

 

 

 

                                                                       MY VERSION

 

 

You see a woman, a retail worker; you ask her to show you a certain clothing item; she points you in a direction annoyed. You notice that the direction she pointed you in is wrong, for you are lost and confused (which is normal for you) and no one is even around to help you, the store is deserted, but another retailer appears and gives you a nasty look, “Are you gonna buy something” You reply, “Why, does it bother you that I’m just standing here looking at clothes?” She roles her eyes and walks away mumbling under her breathe, and then returns with the department manager and tells her that your just standing here not buying anything but loitering as if that is acceptable (belittling me) on this premises. You are given dirty looks by both of these white women equally, seeing that you are a black woman. The emotions that you are feeling are swelling on the inside of you, soon you will have to blow. You are extremely angry, so you scream, “Uggh, How dare both of you racially profile me just because I am a black woman in a predominantly white store.” (with, scarce, customers.) They turned bright red; they almost started to sweat but managed to keep their cool as some customers walked by staring at both me and them while walking through the aisle, the manager tells me to please lower my voice, you respectfully but abruptly say no, more tension, both workers tell me to leave now, You say NO.

What Really Grinds My Gears!

 

Racial Profiling

1) It is not right to follow someone around a store, watching them like a hawk because you think they will steal. Someone meaning brown skinned.

*Hint: me at Victoria Secret

2) Trayvon Martin Case

*The final decision was wrong

3) Walking through a predominantly white neighborhood and being stared at as if we don’t belong

4) Being called a N***** just because of my skin color

5) People saying that Racial Profiling is usually accurate

Criminal Justice

1) A guilty person getting off because they have a good lawyer

2) An innocent person being imprisoned for something they didn’t do

3) police randomly searching people under false accusation

4) A judge being allowed to sentence how ever he wants just depending on what mood he is in

5) Ex- prisoners constantly harassed by police when they are just trying to get there lives together

*Being in the wrong place at the wrong time

Children

1) Foster homes should only be allowed to children left on the street or in danger at their own home.

*Parents who just don’t want their kids but is more than capable of raising them should be made to raise them. You lay down and made them, now raise them.

2) How the government wants to illegalize abortion

*What if the female was raped and she’s like thirteen?

Finance

1) How ATM machines are allowed to charge you fees when withdrawing money but not from your own bank.

2) How banks won’t stop your card from working when they know you’ve gone over your account balance limit.

*they just let you go bankrupt

Just some Humor

1) How people think it’s OKAY to wear stripes and plaid together as an outfit.

*THAT IS NEVER OKAY!!!!!

From Slavery to D.C: The History of My Name

Most people who have outlandish names such as Ladasha or Shaniqua or even Tydashrone are presumed Ghetto and just out right crazy. But for me, I don’t mind their names because they are so rare that people won’t get them confused with others. Take my name for example, Briana Washington. I have a very common name. There are 22, 159 people in the United States, alone, with the first name Briana, well actually Brianna, but close enough.

        Because my name is so common, one of my older generation cousins almost gave my mother a heart attack when she told her that I was dead. She was watching the news and she saw that this other young lady named Brianna Washington was hit by a car and she past away. My mother, knowing I was home all day, still panicked and called my phone in a frenzy asking me weird questions like am I ok? Or you’re in the house right? So that is one downside for having my name.

      My mother claims that she wanted my sister, Sha’Quana and I names to rhyme, so that’s why she chose Briana. For the most popular names for births in the United States in 1997, Brianna was number 17 on the list. A coincidence? I think not.

       Now I would like to travel over seas to see what my name means. In Albania, Greece, and the Republic of Macedonia; Briana is a species of ray-finned fish which are threatened by habitat loss. In the Irish Origin, Briana means strong and honorable. My name gives me a highly sensitive, idealistic, and intuitive nature which I completely agree with. I see all of those ideals within myself on a daily basis.

       My favorite part of my name is my last name. My last name is widely known throughout the world because it is a state, the capital of the United States, and the last name of a former president. In the 2000 census, 90% of the Washington’s recorded were black. It’s very interesting how the last name Washington spread across the United States. Supposedly when George Washington freed his slaves after his wife died, majority of them took his last name with them, which was not uncommon in that time.

      So let’s recap. I was pronounced dead by my cousin, my name was near the top of the list for most popular names in 1997, I’m a strong, honorable fish on its way to extinction, and I’m a descendent of slaves; all just with my name. But hey, I’ve also been called Bri Bri from the D.C and George Washington’s granddaughter. How cool is that!