WASHINGTON — The Senate has been looking at racial profiling by law enforcement since early 2001, when then-President George W. Bush called for its end, and then immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the practice targeted many Arab-Americans and American Muslims.
A decade later, the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin has renewed focus on the consequences of racial profiling, not just for the young black men who are often its target but also for the effect it has on illegal immigration and air travel.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights invited several members of Congress — mostly from minority groups — on Tuesday to testify about problems with racial profiling in their communities. Among those testifying were Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who represented Martin in Congress, and who told the committee that his death affected her personally.
Martin died Feb. 26 when George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer in the gated community where the high school junior was staying, spotted the hooded teen walking slowly in the rain and called police. Last week, Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, but only after a national outcry and intense pressure from Martin’s parents and their legal team.
“I have buried so many young black boys — it is extremely traumatizing for me,” Wilson said. “Black boys and men are valuable to society. They should not be profiled or shot dead for no reason.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee’s chairman, called racial profiling “un-American” and asked fellow senators to pass legislation sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., that would prohibit the practice by federal, state and local law enforcement.
Also Tuesday, first lady Michelle Obama told NPR that her “heart goes out to the parents” of Martin and that all parents understand “the tragedy of that kind of loss,” The Associated Press reported.
