Ma 1

Hang Ma
Ms. Kenney-Quinn
English 3
22 October 2014
Ending Injustice With Peace
As human beings, our emotions can get the best of us. Resorting to violence would be
easy, but peaceful solutions are ways to overcome injustice without violence.
A problem such as racial profiling is one that can be overcome peacefully. The effects of
racial profiling can be severe, such as in the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black
teenager from Ferguson, Missouri. Michael was walking down the street when he was told to
move to the sidewalk, Darren Wilson, the police officer, assumed that he was the burglary
suspect from earlier so they had a struggle against his police cruiser, but afterwards, Wilson
chased him, shooting him 6 times total. The arbitrary stop of Michael Brown is an example of
racial profiling. It puts into perspective the hardships of being a minority in America. According
to data from ProPublica, black teens were 21 times more likely to be killed by the police than
their white counterparts. A solution to this would be eliminating prejudices by educating people
about minorities. The requirement of taking African American History as a course in high
schools in Philadelphia could help end racial profiling by exposing everyone to their culture and
history. In New York in 2012, thousands of protesters marched against its Stop and Frisk
program, which they felt targeted minorities. Even though their goal was only slightly achieved,
it still sent a strong message and reduced the amount of arbitrary stops against African
Americans and Hispanics.

Ma 2
After the 9/11 attacks, many people had a tremendous increase in Islamophobia, a man
was not permitted to board a plane after getting through the security checks because he made
people feel uncomfortable. Because of racial profiling, he could not get on his flight, which
goes to show how it can affect anyones life. Due to ones ingrained presumption of a member of
a racial group, life can be very hard for some. Some automatically assumed that people of
brownish skin color, or wearing something Middle Eastern, were definitely terrorists, harassing
them by asking how they planned 9/11 or any other terrorist-related activities. To someone who
does not receive this type of treatment, it can be very hard to understand or relate to.
To be subjected to mistreatment because of the color of ones skin is an insult. It
dehumanizes people and makes them less. It divides America, and as Abraham Lincoln said, A
house divided cannot stand.