The majority of Americans believe racial profiling in terrorism-related investigations is acceptable, which is quite a change from the nation’s view of profiling before the Sept. 11 attacks.
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll indicated that a vast majority of Americans said they approve of law enforcement officials “randomly stopping people who may fit the racial profile of suspected terrorists.” In a more recent Gallup poll, 71 percent of African-American respondents said they wanted “Arab-looking” travelers singled out for extra security at airports.
At The University of Memphis, sophomore journalism major Yasmine Zaki said she was profiled because of her ethnicity.
Zaki said an FBI agent came to her house in late October and flatly asked her if she was a terrorist. The agent asked her about her daily routine and her views on the events of Sept. 11.
“I told the agent that I am an American, and that I was just as worried as she was about the Sept. 11 attacks,” Zaki said. She said the FBI has not contacted her since the visit, and that they gave no reason of why the agency suspected her of any wrongdoing.
This type of singling out is something U of M International Programs director Calvin Allen said he has seen repeatedly at the airport.
“Every time I’ve flown recently, everyone with a Muslim name has been ‘randomly’ selected,” Allen said.
Before Sept. 11, numerous lobbyist groups, such as the NAACP, had pressed lawmakers to eliminate racial profiling. More than a dozen states had enacted laws requiring the collection of data involving traffic stops and ethnicity with the expressed intent to end discriminatory law enforcement. 2000 presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush both spoke against racial profiling in their presidential campaign speeches.
But since Sept. 11, initiatives such as the Patriot Act allow more investigation based on race, an action civil rights groups are decrying.
“I think we have two minds on the issue,” Allen said. “We reject domestically the idea of racial profiling when it’s someone stopped on the highway because of skin color or stopped and questioned about drug trafficking if of a certain nationality.”
Allen said unless there is significant evidence that the person in question is connected to a crime, they should not be stopped by law enforcement because of appearance.
“It’s simply a witch hunt,” said Allen, who added it was wrong for all people of a nationality to be under investigation because of a few of their nationality who committed crimes.
Although the majority of Americans may approve of some racial profiling, many civil rights groups across the country and in Memphis have concerns that racial profiling of any group endangers First Amendment rights.
Julie Rogers, 41, director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, said she recently encountered profiling when trying to obtain a permit of public assembly to protest at the federal building in downtown Memphis. According to Rogers, Deputy Chief Charles Cook told her that “since groups like yours are popping up all over the country,” he wanted the group to let the FBI and police know if they had any Arab members.
James Thornton, 35, who has worked at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center for four years, said that over the 20 years of the organization’s existence, it has supported human rights.
According to Thornton, all people need equal protection under the law.
“Being an African-American male, I know there is plenty of African-American profiling,” Thornton said. “Sometimes profiling is necessary-the officer has to go on his or her instinct, but when it’s you and you know you did nothing wrong, it’s dehumanizing.”
Stella Warren, U of M sociology professor, said that racial profiling is a dangerous precedent for American society.
“If we give up all of our freedom to combat terrorism, what are we protecting?” Warren said. “It was wrong when it was aimed at minorities within the country before, and it’s still wrong now.”
