- 46 -
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, summarized the historical
significance of race relations in America, observing:
It is an issue that, in many ways, has defined us, divided us, and
perplexed us since the very beginning of our nation. The influence of
race has been particularly acute in policing — indeed, in the entire
criminal justice system... . Despite tremendous gains throughout
this century in civil rights, voting rights, fair employment and
housing, sizeable percentages of Americans today — especially
Americans of color — still view policing in the United States to be
discriminatory, if not by policy and definition, certainly in its day-to-
day application. And despite tremendous reforms in policing itself —
with more women and minorities in our ranks and more attention
paid to cultural awareness and sensitivity — race continues to loom
large over much of what we do — from everyday traffic stops, to drug
enforcement and interdiction efforts, to long-term criminal investiga-
tions. And the importance of race relations will only grow in
significance, as our society continues to grow and become more
diverse.
[?Overcoming Fear, Building Partnerships: Toward a New Paradigm in
Police-Community Race Relations,” presentation by Charles H.
Ramsey, Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Summit, East
Rutherford, New Jersey, December 11, 1998.]
Racial profiling and other forms of disparate treatment of minorities at the
hands of government actors has had a devastating effect on African-Americans
and other persons of color because such treatment reminds them of the
continuing discrimination that they face by virtue of their race or ethnicity. Racial
profiling leads African-Americans and other persons of color to live with the threat
of detention simply because of their heritage. Over the long term, the situation
leaves persons of color with a sense of powerlessness, hostility, and anger.
As Harvard Law School Professor Randall Kennedy recently noted, “nothing
contributes more to these poisonous feelings than a knowledge that, as a matter