The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Sandhya Bathija or Mandy Simon (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

The Three Faces of Racial Profiling

The American Civil Liberties Union will host Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) at a policy discussion on "The Three Faces of Racial Profiling," Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, 915 15th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20005.

WASHINGTON

The American Civil Liberties Union will host Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) at a policy discussion on "The Three Faces of Racial Profiling," Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, 915 15th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20005.

The event will tie together the historical "driving while black or brown" profiling, the post-9/11 intelligence gathering and racial mapping, and the profiling of 11 million undocumented immigrants due to newly implemented deportation policies. In addition to U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), panelists will include ACLU Washington Legislative Office Director Laura W. Murphy, ACLU Senior Policy Counsel Mike German and ACLU Legislative Counsels Joanne Lin and Jennifer Bellamy.

"While Americans tend to think about racial profiling in isolated circumstances, the thread tying it all together is plain and simple discrimination," said Murphy. "Now is the time to convey what we know is true about racial profiling: it's ineffective, it erodes public trust in law enforcement and it violates the Constitution."

The End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA) was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 6. to prevent law enforcement from subjecting a person to heightened scrutiny based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. In addition to defining and explicitly prohibiting racial profiling, ERPA will mandate racial profiling training and data collection, authorize the grants for the development and implementation of best policing practices and require periodic reports from the Attorney General on any continuing discriminatory practices.

The bi-partisan legislation is also expected to also be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, following a House Judiciary Committee hearing on racial profiling Nov. 4.

The "Three Faces of Racial Profiling" event is the first of what will be a bi-monthly series of policy events at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. To reserve seating, please email RSVPaclu@dcaclu.org by Oct. 25.

What:The Three Faces of Racial Profiling
Where: 915 15th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20005, 8th Floor Conference Center
When: Thurs., Oct. 27, 2011 at 10 a.m.

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666