Race and Racial Profiling
Social Policy Assignment SOWK 2030 July 28, 2003 Camisha Sibblis The Webster’s New World Dictionary defines race as: “Any of the major biological divisions of mankind, distinguished by colour and texture of hair, colour of skin and eyes, stature, bodily proportions”. It also acknowledges that there are three primary divisions: “Caucasian (loosely white race), Negroid (loosely black race) and Mongoloid (loosely yellow race), with various subdivisions”. At the end of the definition, the dictionary notes that the term race has acquired so many unscientific connotations that it is often replaced with other terms such as ethnic stock or group. Interestingly, the definition infers that the term race is a loose one, based on physical characteristics. This is because race is a social construct and not in any way supported by science. Yet, though race is not real, racism is all too real. ... This paper will discuss the origins of racism/racial profiling, how racial profiling oppresses the racialized ‘black’ community and the policies in place to combat the oppression. ... History of Race Centuries ago, European scientists felt that races were natural divisions among humans. ... It was also a popular belief that these divisions were supported in the Bible: “traditionally, Biblical scholars have concluded that the three races were the progeny of Noah’s three sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham” (Abrams, III, 1979) Each son was believed to be the father of one of the ‘races’ and some have interpreted Genesis 9 to be the Scriptural basis for discrimination of one race to another. ... Because of this, many believed that these “racial” differences justified social inferiority, colonial control and slavery: “The indominable, courageous, proud Indian[in] – how very different a light he stands by the side of the submissive, obsequious, imitative Negro, or by the side of the tricky, cunning and cowardly Mongolian! ... ” (Louis Agassiz, Professor, Harvard University, 1850) As early as we can find reference to race, we can find prejudice associated with it. The idea that the Caucasian race was the most intelligent and that the Negroid race was the least intelligent originated from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution that man is a descendent of primates. He felt that the Caucasian race looked the least like the primate thus was the most evolved, and the Negroid race more closely resembled the primate hence were the least civilized and intellectual—the lowest on the evolutionary chain (Rensberger, 1995). ... Today it is known that more differences exist within racial groups than between them: “90% of human genetic variation exists within “racial groups”— almost no consistent genetics differences exist between members of different groups” (American Anthropological Association). ... It does not substantiate what society calls ‘race’. It was found that less than 1/100 of 1% of our genes is related to what society calls race and this is due to migration, evolution and gene inheritance (Rensberger, 1995). Racism Despite the general knowledge that race has no scientific justification in human biology, people still utilize that means of classification for social and political reasons. ... The group that benefits from racialized identity is the empowered so-called white race (the ‘us’): “racialized whiteness operates as a property interest…because it yields material benefits or dividends (e. ... Racial Profiling Though racism takes on different forms, namely: individual, systemic and cultural racism, for the purposes of this paper racial profiling occurring within systemic racism (concerned with policies) will be examined. Yet the personal, structural and cultural levels of oppression, which occur because of this profiling, will also be discussed. There are several conflicting views on racial profiling. ... According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, racial profiling is “any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection, that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin…rather than on reasonable suspicion [criminal profiling] to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment”. In these cases, ‘race’ is illegitimately used as an indicator of the criminal propensity of an entire ‘racial’ group. ... It is argued that racial profiling is a myth and that racialized blacks being targeted fit criminal profiles and are usually the people committing the crimes that they are suspected of. ... Policies In Canada there are policies in place at the Federal and Provincial levels to ensure equality rights, as well as municipal/regional policies to guide police in the eradication of racial profiling.