Racial Profiling

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees every person the right to a fair trial.  However, if the prosecution is making racist remarks and presenting racially-charged evidence throughout the trial, this right is violated.

Last month, Seattle Metro buses were running a disturbing ad.  Funded by the U.S. State Department, the ad featured pictures of 16 men wanted around the globe for terrorist activities.  The pictures of the men, all appearing to be Muslim with turbans, beards, and brown skin, were right below the large, bold message “FACES OF GLOBAL TERRORISM.”

Recently, a group of community organizations released Facing Race, a report that assesses that the voting records of Washington state legislators in promoting racial equity. Notably, the report recognizes ending the death penalty is one change that our state representatives should make to advance the goal of racial justice in Washington.

A recent report prepared by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project sheds light on the tremendous amount of resources Washington State has devoted to marijuana law enforcement over the last 25 years. There have been over 240,000 arrests for adult marijuana possession, consuming over $300 million in taxpayer money, since 1986. And people of color are the more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Washington state. Disturbingly, racially disproportionate enforcement is getting worse. Using data from the Marijuana Arrest Research Project report, the ACLU of Washington has produced an infographic that visualizes this increasing disparity,

The Dept. of Justice and the City of Seattle have agreed on a proposed consent decree with a  court-appointed monitor to improve policing in Seattle. The agreement is an historic opportunity for Seattle to ensure all residents receive equal and fair treatment by its police force.

The ACLU-WA’s Shankar Narayan joined immigrant rights allies and elected officials in speaking out against Arizona’s racial profiling law, SB 1070, a press conference on the steps of the federal courthouse in Seattle. He pointed that such laws fly in the face of our fundamental values.