Dear Future President,

The United States of America is a country with no unity. Discrimination and racism has always been part of this country’s history and it still exists till this day. Even some police officers who are supposed to protect the people have been discriminating against African Americans. The law doesn’t exist for these law officers. They commit crimes and get away with it most of the time. It is unfair to African Americans that they are treated differently by some law enforcers. The government needs to make sure that laws are being followed by both the people of the country and the police.

Cases of racial discrimination by police officers against Blacks can be found everywhere. Black people are more likely to be pulled over by the cops on the highway even if they are just a minority of the people who use the highway. Police departments claim that they are not engaged in racial profiling, however studies of highway stops has shown racial profiling happening across many states. According to one source, “In Florida 70 percent of vehicles pulled over in highway stops were against blacks, despite blacks constituting less than 10 percent of the driving population. In Maryland, 18 percent of all people pulled over were blacks, although they represented 70 percent of individuals who had their cars searched” (www.counterpunch.org). Black people are a mere part of the people that use the highway. But they are pulled over the most by the cops and they have a high number of times having their vehicles searched by the cops.

Black people are less likely to be found with drugs, or guns on the highway when compared to whites. According to the New York Times, “Across most states examined in traffic stops and searches, police officers consistently found drugs, guns, or other contraband more often if the driver was white [than black]” (New York Times) Research shows that there’s more white people that are found with drugs and guns than black people that are pulled over on the highway by the cops. As mentioned before, black people are a minority of people who use the highways, yet they are the group that is pulled over the most. This is happening despite the evidence that other groups of people are actually caught with more drugs and weapons than black people.

Some people may argue that it’s only a few “bad” cops that are engaged in the shootings. This is true. Most cops are doing the right thing and protecting the people. However, even a few police officers engaging in racial profiling is raising fear in the eyes of people against the cops. People can’t trust the cops when everyday what they see is news of some shooting and cops killing someone. Also, some might say that justice is blind to racial prejudice. However, studies show that this is not the reality. “A 2012 working paper found 'robust evidence' that black male federal defendants were given longer sentences than comparable whites. Black men’s sentences were, on average, 10 percent longer than those of their white peers. This is partly explained by the fact that prosecutors are about twice as likely to file charges against blacks that carry mandatory minimum sentences than against whites.” (www.slate.com) Based on the evidence, it shows that Blacks are twice as likely to be charged with minimum sentences compared to whites. Also they are given longer sentences for the same crime compared to a white person.

Actions need to be taken to bring the people of the country together and stop the racial discrimination that has been going on for years. Police officers should treat all groups of people the same way. People should be sentenced based on their crime, not their race. Please make this an important part of what you do as President.

Respectfully,

Harmanjit Singh