GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ACTION ALERT

Call Congress and Urge Them to Cosponsor the End Racial Profiling Act of 2001

Issue: The End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 (H.R. 2074 / S.989) was introduced with strong bipartisan support on June 6, 2001. The bill’s principle sponsors are Representative Conyers (D-MI) and Senator Feingold (D-WI). Currently, there are 83 House and 15 Senate co-sponsors.

Legislative Intent: The End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 addresses the insidious practice of racial profiling by law enforcement on three levels: (1) It creates a federal prohibition against racial profiling; (2) It provides funding for the retraining of law enforcement officials on how to discontinue and prevent the use of racial profiling, and (3) It holds law enforcement agencies that continue to use racial profiling accountable. Numerous studies over the past few years have provided the civil rights community with ample evidence to support what has been known for decades. Data collection on racial profiling in Montgomery County, Maryland, St. Paul, Minnesota, and San Jose, California illustrates that Black and Hispanic people are stopped at rates disproportionate to their respective populations. Research from Northeastern University, concerning traffic stops, intimates that ethnic minorities have legitimate reasons to complain about disparate detainment by local law enforcement officials. This evidence unequivocally indicates that law enforcement agencies, at all levels, have consistently used race, ethnicity, and national origin when choosing which individuals should be stopped, searched, and detained. At the most elementary level, it is difficult for our faith in the American judicial system not to be challenged, as our belief in the importance of civil liberties is confronted when ethnic minorities in the United States systematically encounter racial profiling with its degrading improprieties. NASW affirms that legislation is essential to retard the insidious practice of racial profiling and to restore confidence by communities of color throughout the nation in federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Action Needed: Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to co-sponsor the End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 (H.R. 2074 / S.989).

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What is Congress Web

Social Work Action: Racial profiling is prevalent at all levels of American law enforcement; moreover, one study has shown that approximately 72 percent of all routine traffic stops on an interstate in the Northeast occur with African American drivers, despite the fact that African Americans comprise only 17 percent of the driving population. H.R. 2074 / S. 989 is critical because it not only prohibits racial profiling, but it allows victims to seek injunctive relief and withholds federal funds from state and local governments who persist in this odious practice. H.R. 2074 / S. 989 also provides imperative training to state and local jurisdictions to help them address racial profiling issues. The horrific events of September 11, 2001, and its aftermath have severely disrupted the legislative process. However, advocacy for H.R. 2074 / S. 989 does not trivialize the global conflict that presently exists, or the genuine sacrifice and national commitment required to sustain U.S. efforts to end terrorism. The End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 is significant legislation that will inhibit social intolerance and racial inequity. Please call, write or e-mail your Members of Congress and encourage them to support this legislation.