Home : Racial Justice : Racial Profiling

Oakland Police Department Announces Results of Racial Profiling Data Collection Program (05/11/2001)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The ACLU of Northern California today applauded the Oakland Police Department's data collection program, but expressed deep concern abut the results of the initial data collection efforts that shows that African Americans are 3.3 times as likely to be searched during a traffic stop as whites. The ACLU calls on the Oakland Police Department to ban consent searches and pretext stops that likely contribute to the discriminatory results.

ACLU of Nebraska Wins "Flying While Black" Case (05/02/2001)
LINCOLN, NE -- A young African American businessman emerged victorious today in the ongoing battle against the practice of racial profiling. The Drug Enforcement Agency has agreed to return more than $7,000 that it seized from him while he was waiting to catch a plane at Omaha Eppley Airfield. 

Annapolis Will Not Appeal Federal Court's Rejection Of "Loitering While Black" Law in ACLU Challenge (04/26/2001)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today commended the Annapolis City Council's decision to not appeal the March 30, 2001 federal court ruling striking down the city's loitering ordinance. 

California Highway Patrol Bans Consent Searches (04/20/2001)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The California Highway Patrol's commissioner ordered a ban on some car searches Thursday, a move that civil liberties groups say is a tacit admission that officers single out minority drivers for unfair treatment, the Associated Press reported. According to the AP, CHP Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick ordered a six-month moratorium on "consent searches," which officers can conduct only if they receive permission from a driver. 

Reacting to Cincinnati Riots, ACLU Calls for Calm and Restraint on All Sides, Seeks Dialogue on Racism (04/12/2001)
CLEVELAND--The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio expresses its sincere sympathies to the family of Timothy Thomas, and to all those who have suffered through the tragic loss of his life. The outpouring of grief surrounding the latest death of an unarmed African American at the hands of police underscores a deep and pervasive problem with which the citizens, officials and police in Cincinnati must come to terms. Justice demands no less. 

ACLU of Michigan Joins "Bicycling While Black" Lawsuit (04/10/2001)
DETROIT-Acting on behalf of 21 young African-American men who were stopped by the police while riding their bikes, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today joined in a racial profiling lawsuit against Eastpointe officials and police officers. 

D.C. Police to Study Racial Profiling (03/31/2001)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey met here yesterday with civil rights advisers and outlined his plans to begin collecting data for racial profiling studies that the advocates have requested, The Washington Post reported.

Citing 30-Year Pattern of Racial Profiling, ACLU And Rights Group Sue Cincinnati Police Officials (03/14/2001)
CLEVELAND, OH--A coalition of civil rights groups sued the City of Cincinnati today in federal court, citing a 30-year pattern of racial profiling by police. 

ACLU, Civil Rights Groups in Texas Urge Lawmakers to Pass a Statewide Ban on Racial Profiling (03/05/2001)
AUSTIN, TX--The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a host of other civil liberties organizations in the state announced today that two state representatives have agreed to sponsor bills that would prohibit racial profiling by police officers.

ACLU Applauds Ashcroft Move on Racial Profiling; Calls on Attorney General to Examine Other Racial Justice Issues (03/01/2001)
WASHINGTON -- Calling it an encouraging first step, the American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Attorney General John Ashcroft for calling on Congress to pass racial profiling legislation that has languished on Capitol Hill for years but encouraged the Justice Department to do more to combat racial injustice. 

CA Civil Rights Groups Praise Strong New Racial Profiling Bill (02/28/2001)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups today heralded the introduction of new piece of legislation that will move California forward in its effort to curb the pernicious practice of racial profiling in traffic stops, an issue that persists throughout California.

ACLU Applauds Louisville's New Racial Profiling Policy, Urges Additional Measures (12/05/2000)
LOUISVILLE, KY-- After two months of meetings with community representatives, the Louisville Division of Police announced today a policy and data collection plan to end racial profiling of motorists.

ACLU Demands Immediate End to Racial Profiling By KY Police Department (10/30/2000)
LOUISVILLE, KY --In coalition with more than 30 community and religious organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky today demanded an end to police racial profiling practices, citing two studies by the Louisville Courier-Journal strongly suggesting that African American motorists are at least twice as likely as Caucasian motorists to be stopped by police officers.

NAACP, ACLU Charge"Ethnic Cleansing" in Mass Arrests of Black Residents of Tulia, Texas (10/13/2000)
AUSTIN, TX-- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the NAACP of Texas today announced the filing of a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, charging racial discrimination and prosecutorial misconduct in connection with mass arrests of black residents in small-town Tulia.

ACLU Welcomes Final Ruling in Court-Approved Plan to Prevent Racial Profiling in Highland Park, IL (09/27/2000)
CHICAGO-- The City of Highland Park and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today welcomed a federal judge's ruling approving a consent decree that establishes precedent-setting initiatives designed to prevent racial profiling.

Civil Rights Groups Denounce California Governor Davis' Racial Profiling Bill (09/26/2000)
Civil rights organizations today denounced California Governor Gray Davis' new racial profiling legislation as useless and vowed to continue working for a data collection bill. Although data collection is widely understood to be essential to track and prevent racial profiling, Governor Davis has adamantly refused to sign a data collection bill, and instead pushed through the legislature a "diversity training" bill for law enforcement. Davis' refusal to sign a data collection bill has been condemned by national civil rights leaders, and his veto of a data collection bill last year ignited grassroots organizing efforts across California.

Three Senators Targeted by ACLU As Pivotal To Passage of Bill To Combat Racial Profiling (09/11/2000)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union has identified three senators as keys to passage of legislation to help end the discriminatory police practice of racial profiling -- known as "Driving While Black or Brown" -- and is launching a media and grassroots campaign to raise awareness of the issue in their states. 

Civil Rights Groups Deplore "Swimming While Black" Incident at Ann Arbor Pool (08/28/2000)
ANN ARBOR, MI - The American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and other civil rights leaders are speaking out at rally this weekend protesting the unjustified search and detention of six African-American youth at a public pool here.

ACLU's Call to Redeem the Dream and End Racial Profiling (08/25/2000)
WASHINGTON--At a national rally here tomorrow, American Civil Liberties Union leaders and activists will join in calling for an end to racial bias in the criminal justice system and passage of legislation to address racial profiling, referred to as "driving while black or brown" or "DWB."

California Civil Rights Leaders Applaud Demise of "Toothless" Racial Profiling Bill (08/24/2000)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Civil rights leaders today applauded the demise of a watered-down piece of legislation that purported to address racial profiling but lacked the enforcement mechanism of data collection to make it effective.