Ending Racial Profiling in the United States

WHEREAS, according to the End Racial Profiling Act, racial profiling is defined as the practice of a law enforcement agent or agency relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religion in selecting which individual to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial investigatory procedure, except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links a person of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religion to an identified criminal incident or scheme; and

WHEREAS, racial profiling is an issue that has plagued our nation for decades, specifically targeting the African American communities and African American men in particular; and

WHEREAS, in the 1990s, "Driving While Black or Brown" and racial profiling were recognized as issues of national importance, and the End Racial Profiling was introduced in 2001 with bi-partisan support in the House and Senate; and

WHEREAS, our nation's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the conversation on racial profiling to make it permissible in our nation's consciousness, and thus racial profiling now impacts Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities in the name of "national security" as well as Latino communities and other immigrant communities through unfair targeting in immigration enforcement; and

WHEREAS, there has been recent national attention on the issue of racial profiling as a result of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP seeks to promote understanding and build alliances among the many directly affected communities fighting against racial and religious profiling.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP, at all levels continue to oppose racial profiling of any group; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NAACP Units work locally on issues related to racial profiling and endorse the Racial Profiling: Face the Truth Campaign; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NAACP Units contact their congressional members and encourage them to co-sponsor and pass the End Racial Profiling Act of 2011; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP reaffirms its 2000 Resolution on "Calling Upon the Attorney General and the Department of Justice to Investigate the Abuse of Fourth Amendment Rights."