Racial Profiling Writing Samples

Write an essay that presents your opinion on racial profiling. Begin with a debatable thesis statement. Then follow the guidelines for writing an argument essay. As you write your essay, be sure you support your opinions with reasons.

Sample student essay with a score of 6:

Negative Impacts Caused By Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is a negative action displayed throughout the nation. Many people across the country have experienced this sort of treatment leaving a demoralizing effect on the citizens. Racial profiling is an act of discrimination that causes much grief upon the country. This heinous act gives a negative impact to the society. A person should not be judged due to their appearance.

In New York, many pedestrians and loiterers have been stopped and frisked for no apparent reason. Bob Herbert’s article, “Hounding the Innocent,” states that more than forty-five thousand people have been stopped. The ironic part of this statement is that less than ten thousand arrests were made. The majority of these harassed citizens were Hispanic or black. These frisks are believed to be from racial profiling. Other incidents across the globe have made an impact on the society.

An incident in Oklahoma also proves that racial profiling is indeed active in the United States. Herbert’s story of Sergeant Gerald and his son’s encounter with racial profiling shows how degrading this act can be. Sergeant Gerald was ordered out of his car and handcuffed before the police started dismantling parts of his car. This implies that racial profiling is displayed all over the country. Law enforcement now has a terrifying image from the views of Hispanics and blacks. These actions must be reported to restore order to the country’s police force.

In Chicago, more than forty-two thousand arrests during a three year span were carried out. These arrests were made toward suspected gang members. No one can really determine the appearance of a so called gang member. Being Hispanic or black does not complete the persona of a gang member. These arrests are examples of this act of hatred aimed at minorities. Most of these arrests are perceived to be unconstitutional.

Americans should be aware of racial profiling, especially Hispanics and blacks. This issue should be addressed among police agencies across the country in order to stop racial profiling. The country will be more at ease the sooner this issue is resolved. Citizens of different ethnic backgrounds should not be worried about humiliation from law enforcement. Sample student essay with a score of 5

Racial profiling has many negative impacts. Those impacts include the discomfort and humiliation of many minority citizens, the lack of unity in the American people, and the possibility of a real criminal getting away because he is not a minority thus becoming a threat to society. Racial profiling is all of America’s fears surfacing; America needs to overcome these fears in order to stop racial profiling.

There are many cases, though not all cases, where police use their authority to shame members of minority groups. Statistics show that if a black man in a nice care and a white man in a nice car drive by a police officer speeding at the same time, the police officer is more likely to pull over the black man. This is just a scenario, but it happens every day. This can be shameful and humiliating, to be judged by the color of skin or an accent. Its not fair, its not equal, and its not just. Police officers are supposed to be protecting and serving everyone, not just white people.

When people are judged daily because of skin color and nationality there will be a lack of unity. How can people unite if they can not look past the surface? They can not. Racial profiling is a great divider among the people in America. There is a saying, “United we stand, hut divided we fall”, If America can not look past its differences, and this problem worsens, then America, the land of the great, will fall.

When police officers choose who to search or harass by skin color, accent, or nationality, they may be letting real criminals get away, while searching innocent people. While not all people from minority groups are innocent, neither are all white people. Searching a man simply because he is black takes time away from catching a real criminal, maybe a white man, who may then become a danger to society.

Racial profiling is something that may never stop in America. It is wrong and unjust, but many will forever be ignorant to the problem and its possible solutions. Still, it is something worth fighting for, for the many who suffer because of the problem and for this country in general.

Sample student essay with a score of 4:

Racial Profiling is Crude

Racial profiling has become a huge problem since 9/1l. Bob Herbert in his essay believes that all forms of racial profiling are disgusting. Ethnic profiling against innocent people should not be tolerated at any time because it is discrimination against those who are of a different race.

Racial profiling is unjust because innocent people can get arrested just because they look a certain way. “In the summer of 1998, sadistic members of the State Police in Oklahoma spent more than two hours humiliating Rossano Gerald, a 37-year-old Army sergeant, and his 12-year-old son, Greg” (Herbert 3). The police believe that judging someone by the way they look will solve their problem in the search on terrorist, however, it is also putting other people’s lives in jeopardy. The State Police of Oklahoma did not have a legit reason to pull him over therefore they let him go after they searched his whole car and cuffed him. That is not okay in any way, shape or form and
it should not be allowed.

The consistence of profiling continues to take over lives of those that are “colored.” “No people of color are safe form this treatment anywhere, regardless of their obedience to the law, their age, the type of car they drive, or their station in life” (Herbert 4). Are the police saying that if they are driving while it is black outside that only white people can be out? That is the most ridiculous thing anyone could ever say. It is unjust and not fair. Racial profiling is intended for a good reason, which is to find suspected terrorist, however it is unconstitutional to pick on someone just because they are ‘‘colored.’’

Ethnic profiling should never be tolerated regardless of the purpose. It is not fair and nobody deserves to be picked on just because they are a different color. Herbert in his essay believes the same.

Sample student essay with a score of 3:

Racial Profiling

Everyone has different opinions on Racial Profiling, some people say there are benefits or others have negative impacts on racial profiling. There really are not any benefits on racial profiling, because racial profiling is completely wrong no matter what. I-low can it be right to see a black or Hispanic person in a car and pull them over because they think they are doing something illegally and then finding out nothing was wrong, they were innocent? It is so sad to see that happen to someone innocent.

Racial Profiling is taught not inherited, nobody is ever born to hate, but everyone learns racism from parents, friends, family, or adults. Hate can not be stopped, nobody can change anyone else, but it does not make sense that people want to teach their kids racism.

Harassing perfectly innocent black and Hispanic motorists on streets and highways is just completely dumb. “No people of color are safe from this treatment anywhere, regardless of their obedience to the law, their age, type of car they drive, or their station is life” (Herbert 4). Supposedly most of the stops that are being done to black and Hispanic people are driven by the descriptions of the person who committed the crime. But, seriously the majority of the stops are in no way connected to the commission of a specific crime, and everyone knows it. More than half of the Americans have no idea of the extent of the race-based profiling that is carried out by law-enforcement officials.

Sample student essay with a score of 2:

Racial profiling is a despicable act. Its has been always as a negative affliction to the society. Bob Herbert tries to persuade its readers that law enforcement agents should not take no action base on race alone. Multiples of law enforcement agents in the United States are humiliating people due to the color of their skin. This is racial profiling an is simply unjust. This has to be stop no matter what in the United States. Is embarrassing what people are living through in the U.S, which holds mostly the best constitution in the nation.

In the summer of 1 998 state police in Oklahoma spent more than two hours humiliating Rossano Gerald, a 37-year-old Army sergeant, and his 12-year-old son, Greg. Gerald was interrogated and was search without permission. Agents also separated Rossano from Greg, which he was put in the patrol car. Patrol agents made damage to Rosanno’s car by searching for illegal stuff he didn’t carried at all. Two hours have passed and no arrest was made and the patrol agents told Rossano and Greg that they were free to go.

Many Americans are not being well informed with racial profiling. Bob Herbert in his article is explaining everything at its best. With facts and opinions he has achieve the eyes every reader. His stories are a strong reaction of life in the U.S. Herbert also state the fact, which the vast majority of these stops are in no way connected to the commission of a specific crime. Herbert’s article also proves laws and courts that had happen, due to racial profiling.

Racial profiling has to be stop in every way there is, is humiliating to see and is strongly unjust. Many people cannot believe how many patrolmen have done these acts in all the states of the nation. Is hard to learn the truth, but people live in racist world that might never end. Herbert’s article is a perfect text of writing for people to read in order to receive information that is hard to believe that it happens in the United States.