A black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics
Today, ColorOfChange.org members are joining with Presente.org in condemning the new law in Arizona that legalizes racial profiling and means that police will target Latinos in the state.
No matter what your views are on immigration, we hope you’ll join us in sending a strong, clear message that racial profiling is wrong, no matter who it targets.
You can sign the petition here. And please spread the word by sharing the petition URL on twitter, facebook, or any other social networks where you’re active:
There’s an email you can send to your friends and family here (modify it if you like).
Here’s the email we sent to our members this morning:
Legalized racial profiling?
A new Arizona law means police will target LatinosJoin us in condemning racial profiling — no matter whom it targets
Dear ColorOfChange.org member,
Last week, Arizona passed a new law that makes racial profiling legal and, in effect, requires police to stop people based on their race and ethnicity.
Arizona’s new law, SB 1070, says that police must question anyone they have “reasonable suspicion” of being an undocumented immigrant.1 Translation: police can now stop and harass people for no other reason than that they are brown-skinned or speak Spanish.
Black folks know all too well what it’s like when police treat an entire community of people as potential criminals because of what they look like. It’s demeaning, and it actually makes communities less safe by sowing distrust between police and community members.2,3,4
While ColorOfChange members have a variety of views about immigration, we hope we can all agree that racial profiling is wrong — period.
Please join us and Presente.org in condemning racial profiling, no matter whom it targets. We’ll present your signatures to Gov. Brewer of Arizona, as well as to President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano. It takes just a moment:
http://www.colorofchange.org/sb1070/
Thanks and Peace,
— James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Milton and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
April 28, 2010Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU — your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/
References
1. “AZ Gov Signs Immigration Bill,” TPM Livewire, 04-23-2010
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/az-gov-will-sign-immigration-bill.php2. “Why Racial Profiling is a Bad Idea — Top 7 Arguments Against Racial Profiling,” About.com
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/lawenforcementterrorism/tp/Against-Racial-Profiling.htm3. “US weighs court challenge to Arizona migrants law,” Reuters, 04-27-2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN27520715201004274. “Phoenix Mayor: City May Sue AZ Over Immigration Law,” TPM Livewire, 04-26-2010
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/phoenix-mayor-city-may-sue-az-over-immigration-law.php
Cheryl Contee aka "Jill Tubman", Baratunde Thurston aka "Jack Turner", rikyrah, Leutisha Stills aka "The Christian Progressive Liberal", B-Serious, Casey Gane-McCalla, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley aka "Marcus Toussaint," Fredric Mitchell
Special Contributors: James Rucker, Rinku Sen, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Adam Luna, Kamala Harris
Technical Contributor: Brandon Sheats