Police Profiling: A White Cop & A White Minister

I, even I -light-skinned as I am- have been a victim of racial profiling.  I will never forget it.  I got pulled over in a white suburban area of Georgia after a black student conference.  I had a car full of black students and quite simply, we looked out of place.

I posted this picture not to make light of the issue or offend anyone.  It’s definitely oversimplified (and wrong) to say that all white cops profile, but it’s equally wrong to say that it “doesn’t happen”. Several of my black friends & I have had it happen to us or someone we know.  Many of our black students at WMU have been victims of this in the Kalamazoo area.  It’s just awful.

I think the picture exemplifies the one sad truth that so many of my black friends have told me: if your black you learn how to be pulled over at an early age.  Black parents are teaching their kids how to respond even if your not driving, even if your 5 years old sitting in the back seat you need to learn how to interact with white cops.

I’m also not trying to be a Debbie Downer on white cops in general.  My mom, my flesh and blood was a white cop.  She was a Detroit Police Officer for several years and did her job well.  But this sad phenomenon is still alive & kicking.

The other day, unfortunately, we saw it happen…

Dave & I were having lunch together at Fazoli’s.  A police car pulled  into the parking lot, the officer got out & signaled for a young black teen-aged boy who was walking by.  The kid pointed at himself as if to say “me?”  Affirmative.  When the kid comes over the cop starts asking him questions.  Of course Dave & I couldn’t hear because we were inside, but it’s obvious he was saying, “no, no, no” & pointing to where he was and what time it was.  The whole scene seemed a little fishy so we were watching intently wondering if the kid was in trouble for being black at the wrong place at the wrong time.

A few minutes later the kid is escorted into the back of the police car.  Then, another squad car shows up. Then, another black guy walks by & he too is apprehended.  As the two men are being questioned in different cars, Dave asked if I thought he should go out there & talk to them if they are let go.  I thought it was a great idea.  Long story short, I had to go so I prayed for Dave, we prayed for the men & then they were released.

After I left, Dave went out there & talked to them as they waited for the bus stop.  Apparently, there had been  a store robbery about a mile up the road and they were looking for two black males.  As Dave talked to them they told him they were in town from Flint just visiting their cousin who goes to WMU.  They were a bit shaken up.   Dave apologized to them.  He said he knows when you experience something hard from a different race or culture of people that its often really helpful to have a positive association of that race or culture as well.  They seemed genuinely thankful.  He sat and talked with them for awhile and they ended up missing their bus to the train station.  Dave offered to take them.  On the way to the train station one of them asked Dave what he did for a living.  He responded that he’s a minister on campus and one of them said, “I knew it! I knew you had to be a Christian!  This is not something that happens every day.”

I could be mistaken but I’m assuming he was implying that Dave apologizing -essentially on behalf of white cops- for what happened to them, engaging them in real conversation and then giving them a ride was shocking enough, but then for him to be a white guy — well, it’s just a little over the top when your a kid from Flint.  I was super proud of Dave for having that conversation.  I hope & pray that in some way Dave’s interaction with them will comfort them as they consider the hard situation they went through that day.