Driving While Black

Driving While Black, abbreviated as DWB, is a phrase in the contemporary American vernacular that refers to the criminalization of black drivers. An alternate phrase, Driving While Brown, is more encompassing, referring to the crime of being a non-Caucasian driver.

Derivation

"Driving While Black" is word play on the name of a real U.S. crime, driving while intoxicated. The phrase implies that a motorist may be pulled over by a police officer simply because he or she is black, and then questioned, searched, and/or charged with a trivial offense. This concept stems from a long history of racism in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries. The term refers to racial profiling, which is said to be used by police and other law enforcement officials.^[1]

Examples

In July 2009, a black Québécois named Joel Debellefeuille was pulled over by Longueuil police because, according to documents, "his Quebecois name did not match his skin tone."^[2] He was also questioned as to if the car was his.^[3]

Variations

The related concept of "shopping while black/brown" refers to the notion that non-whites are subject to increased surveillance while shopping. Other plays on the phrase include "walking while black" for pedestrian offenses,^[4] "learning while black" for students in schools,^[5] and "eating while black" for restaurants.^[6] Actor Danny Glover held a press conference in 1999 because cabdrivers weren't stopping for him in New York City; this was called "hailing while black". The phenomenon was investigated further on Michael Moore's television series TV Nation.

In 2001, the American Civil Liberties Union convinced the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to repay $7,000 that it had seized from a black businessman in the Omaha, Nebraska airport on the false theory that it was drug money; the ACLU called it "flying while black". A pain specialist who treats sickle-cell disease patients at Manhattan's Beth Israel Medical Center reported that for many years doctors forced African American sickle-cell sufferers to endure pain because they assumed that blacks would become addicted to medication; Time magazine labeled this "ailing while black."^[7][8]

Criticism of the term

On October 31, 2007, black conservative Thomas Sowell devoted an editorial column to rebutting the common claim that police officers stop black drivers because of their race.^[9]

Sowell refers to the book Are Cops Racist? by Heather MacDonald. According to Sowell, MacDonald examined the claim that police officers pull black drivers over because they are black, and found that the empirical evidence did not support the claim. Sowell claims that the mainstream media has ignored this book and its evidence.

See also

• Flying while Muslim
• Contempt of cop
• De-policing
• Police misconduct
• Race and crime in the United States

References

1. ^ Harris, D. (1999) "The stories, the statistics, and the law: Why 'Driving While Black' matters", 84 Minnesota Law Review. pg. 265-326. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
2. ^ Wyatt, Nelson (July 28, 2010). "Black man says Quebec police stopped him because of his skin colour". The Globe and Mail (Montreal). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/black-man-says-quebec-police-stopped-him-because-of-his-skin-colour/article1655204/?cmpid=rss1. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
3. ^ "Black man with 'Quebecois' name files complaint against Longueuil police". CTV Montreal. July 28 2010. http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100728/mtl_profiling_100728/20100728/?hub=MontrealHome. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
4. ^ Mosedale, M. (2007) Critics say a Minneapolis law criminalizes walking while black: What Lurks Beneath?" City Pages. 28(1369). Retrieved May 7, 2007.
5. ^ Morse, J. (2002) "Learning while black", TIME Retrieved May 7, 2007.
6. ^ Coolican, P. (2003) "Chief vows to root out profiling by Patrol," Seattle Times. 11/21/2003. Retrieved May 7, 2007
7. ^ Cloud, J. (2001) "What's Race Got to do With It?", Time magazine. Retrieved 5/17/08.
8. ^ Washington, J. (2000) U.S. Customs Applies A Double Standard In Two Directions At Once, JINN. Pacific News Service. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
9. ^ Thomas Sowell

Further reading

• Kelvin R. Davis (2001). Driving While Black: Coverup. Interstate International Pub. ISBN 093190403X. 
• David Harris (1999). Driving While Black: Racial Profiling on our Nation's Highways. ACLU. 
• Kowalski, B.R.; Lundman, R.J. (2007). "Vehicle stops by police for driving while Black: Common problems and some tentative solutions". Journal of Criminal Justice 35 (2): 165–181. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.01.004. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047235207000189. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
• Kenneth Meeks (2000). Driving While Black: What To Do If You Are A Victim of Racial Profiling. New York: Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-0549-0. 

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