Driving While Black
Highways, Shopping Malls, Taxi Cabs, Sidewalks: How to Fight Back if You Are a Victim of Racial Profiling
1 of 1 copy available
Racial profiling does happen. And while cases where victims find themselves looking down the barrel of a policeman's gun make the six o'clock news, dozens of less extreme, yet troubling, examples occur every day. Cabs that whiz by only to be seen stopping for "safer"-looking people just up the block; being asked for multiple pieces of identification when making purchases with credit cards; being followed around a department store by salespeople and security while never being asked if they need any assistance; being detained for hours and extensively searched in an airport or train station—Driving While Black clearly defines the system officially known as CARD (class, age, race, dress) and offers advice about how to handle potentially life-threatening situations with the police, as well as recourse for readers who suspect their civil rights have been denied due to racial profiling.
A book written to save lives, Driving While Black is not just for people of color, but for anyone who likes to wear a baseball cap, baggy jeans, sneakers, and a tee shirt and finds they are often treated like a "suspect."
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 14, 2010 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780307433367
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780307433367
- File size: 2049 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 1, 2000
Meeks, the managing editor of Black Enterprise magazine, has written a practical guide for victims of racial profiling by police, security guards, and stores. Each well-written chapter begins with an anecdote showing how insidious racial profiling has become. Using official police reports from Maryland and New Jersey, among other states, he takes the reader inside the profiling process, arguing that police have manipulated crime statistics to justify the wholesale stopping of innocent black drivers and pedestrians. The book is divided into sections according to venue: driving while black, riding the train, shopping, and flying while black. Each chapter contains advice on how to respond to discrimination, including sample complaint letters, addresses of agencies to contact, and tips on information to cite. Particularly useful is the section on "what to do when you're stopped," with tips on how to respond from a New York City police detective who contrasts racial profiling with good police work. After citing the detective's advice, the author adds tips from the American Civil Liberties Union. An excellent handbook; for general collections.--Harry Charles, Attorney-at-Law, St. LouisCopyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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December 1, 2000
YA-An invaluable handbook filled with precise information on what to do in this situation. Meeks discusses whom to write (including exhaustive address lists), what to say, what to notice when the profiling is taking place, what your exact rights are regarding searches, what profilers concentrate on beside race (class, dress, and age), and steps to take to reduce the risk of being a victim. Interspersed with this information are well-written, infuriating case histories of the practice on all scales and in all kinds of situations, from a 10-year-old black boy riding his bicycle being stopped and taken home by police officers who assumed that the bike was stolen, to Danny Glover's infamous inability to get a taxi in New York, to a woman forced to undergo an invasive body search at customs because drug smugglers supposedly wore hats like hers. Meeks also includes a copy of the Bill of Rights and an appendix of national organizations currently fighting racial profiling. That this title will be an indispensable addition to any YA collection is without question. The only question is whether or not to purchase a copy for your own glove compartment as well.-Emily Lloyd, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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May 15, 2000
%% This is a multi-book review. SEE the title "Police Brutality" for next imprint and review text. %% ((Reviewed May 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)
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