Racial profiling is seen all through my community and almost across the entire city of Chicago. Racial profiling is at an all-time high. In my community we have black on black crime everyday, non-black or non-latino/a police killing our black males, and harassment to our youth by authority. In my neighborhood, racial profiling is very bad. I witness innocent people standing on their porches or in front of their homes being harassed by police and other authority figures for looking a certain way, or even wearing a certain piece of clothing. I recently witnessed a young African-American man riding a bike being followed by police. A short time after, the two caucasian officers jumped out of their vehicle, snatched the young man off of his bike, and began searching him. When asked what he did, one officer’s response was “you look like a little motherf… we arrested once before” with a giggle behind it. According to Chicago Tribune ACLU article, “In Chicago African-American and Latino motorists were more than four times more likely to have their vehicles searched during traffic stops last year than white motorists, even though officers found contraband in the vehicles of twice as many white drivers according to the report.” This information gives pure evidence that racial profiling in Chicago is very harsh and dangerous. It is so bad to the point that our young children can’t even go out to parks and playgrounds without being targeted and not having to worry about their safety.
To put an end to this harsh act of violence, students in the community can partner up with our government, police officers, and even other schools to find a possible solution to ending racial profiling. Students can take action by writing letters of their suggestions to their local aldermen, community activist, and even local police stations. Extra-curricular programs to inform our youth to take pre-caution and be aware can be put into action, volunteer work could be done, and even simple meetings with local council member can be established. Doing these things can generate and connect ideas to put an end to racial profiling.