Racial profiling

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Racial discrimination represents a situation when an individual is mistreated because of their color of skin, ethnic or racial origin. Individuals can discriminate against members of a particular group by declining to conduct business with, associate with, or share resources with them. Racial discrimination has become a chief virtue in the current society. Racism has a lengthy history in human history. This has been manifested through genocide, enslavement, and the colonialism of indigenous peoples at its most extreme. Even though we now quickly detect and reject overt acts of racially charged hatred, racism continues to thrive in our culture. It is not just visible through individually mediated acts, but it is also ingrained in our structures, hidden in our everyday encounters, and carved into our subconscious. Racism is indeed a trauma that impacts everyone, especially young people of color who have been oppressed in the past. Given the recent tides of chauvinism, tribalism, xenophobia, and overt displays of racism, combating racism is crucial for those who care about humanity and peaceful coexistence. The story of Brent Staples represents a classic example of how racial profiling remains deeply rooted within our society; most of the times, individuals, especially of color, undergo instances of racial profiling perpetrated either consciously or subconsciously by different people. The sheer fact that Staples was huge and of black American decent formed the basis for his continued discrimination, even though he had no control over his appearance. The article will discuss different instances where I witnessed different forms of racial profiling in society.

Children are always considered a blessing in every community globally. The arrival of a new child is usually accompanied by celebrations, families, and communities coming together to celebrate a new life. A child depends on the family and the society for virtually everything provisions and security included. It is the duty of a family or a community to bring up a child properly to ensure their safety and wellbeing. However, society at times is a cruel and dangerous place for any child. For example, growing up, we mainly visited the community playing ground where we would interact with other children through play. It was a safe and fun place for children from different backgrounds, at least that is what my parents used to say until one day, as we were playing soccer, we were supposed to have two teams to play against each other. The coach’s responsibility was to select the teams and balance them in terms of abilities and strength. Amongst us was a boy of African American descent, who was huge compared to us. As the coach was selecting the teams, he continuously overlooked him and made him stay out of play without any explanation. On this particular day, the boy was accompanied by his father and elder siblings, who continued to interact with other parents as we were playing. From a distance, the father noticed that the coach overlooked their son. As the boy was crossing the field and making his way toward the pitchside bench, he became emotional and cried, which prompted his father to run towards him. The boy looked sad and deflated as opposed to when they arrived in the field. A conversation ensued between the child and his father, after which the father requested to talk to the coach who was at the moment refereeing the game. This prompted the coach to stop the game to answer the request of the father, who at the same looked irritated and disturbed. I could not hear their conversation, but from a distance, you could see the anger in the face of the father. Within no time, the two gentlemen did not seem to come to an agreement, and their voices rose high and higher after every word. This prompted the other parents to walk in the field to offer a solution and prevent a physical fight between the coach and the boy’s father. The two men were separated, and one of the parents asked them to give the side of the story so that the other parents could understand what was going on.

The first one to give the side of his story was the boy’s father. He painfully questioned the community coach credentials and his ability to foster diversity among kids growing up. He lamented that his son would always come home angry due to the lack of playing time in the field and how the father would always encourage the son to go to the field even when he had completely lost interest in it. He said that he feels his son was racially being profiled for some reasons not known to both of them and when the coach was told to explain the side of his story. He began by justifying why he did not find it fit the boy playing with us. He said that the boy was physically more significant than another child in the field, and he feels the boy is older than us, so he did not want him to play with us. The father refuted the claims and furnished his son’s birth certificate, which indicated that indeed the boy was among the youngest children amongst us. At this moment, I was also shocked and realized that the playing ground was not safe or equal for all of us.