Profiling The Bengals (Or "Oops")

On Wednesday of last week Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis appeared on Dan Patrick's ESPN radio show. Asked by Patrick if a traffic stop of Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for not signaling while turning was an indication of profiling, Lewis responded, "I think there's profiling, no question. [Cincinnati] is a small place, our guys stand out, and they know that and you've got to do things the right way, but when you are arrested for, or you are pulled over for not putting on your turn signal, there's something wrong there. Many people make right turns without putting on their turn signals and that's unfortunate that we've had a guy that's pulled over for not putting on his turn signal."

Lewis the next day: "Yesterday, I gave a radio interview and made some comments that did not illustrate the high regard I have for the Cincinnati Police Department. I apologize that what I said did not reflect my true feelings." "I have spoken with [Cincinnati police chief] Tom [Streicher] to express my regret. I do not believe the Cincinnati Police Department is specifically profiling our players." "At no point did I say or mean to imply that these issues had anything to do with race. Broadcast comments to the contrary are simply not true. When I spoke of our players being perhaps more subject to scrutiny than others, I was referring to their standing as public figures."

Oops, I did not mean what I said and explained in detail. Yeah, right.

More People Of Color

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2006 100. 7 million persons in this country (one in three Americans) is "Hispanic," black or of Asian descent. Minority-majority states: Hawaii (75%), New Mexico (57%), California (57%), and Texas (52%). Number of African Americans in the United States: now over 40 million.

Racial Culture?

A federal district court in Charleston, South Carolina recently ruled in favor of a white teacher who was verbally abused and subjected to a racially hostile work environment by her students who happened to be black. The teacher was called a white b__, a white m___ f___, a white c___, and a white h_. When she complained, school officials responded that the slurs were part of the culture of the students and advised her to find another school if she could not handle the language. A jury awarded the teacher $307,500 in lost income and emotional distress damages; when the judge affirmed the liability ruling but required a new trial on damages the parties settled the case for $200,000.

It's not "black culture," it's ignorant and abusive and indefensible behavior.

Alright Paula Zahn!!

Tonight's Paula Zahn Now featured three people of color discussing--not Don Imus or hip hop or Al Shartpon--but Rudy Guiliani's position on abortion and the ramifications of his pro-choice stance on his election prospects. Let's hope that more media folks recognize that persons of color know and can discuss and are interested in more than the "black story" du jour.

White Males And Company Diversity

The Wall Street Journal Online recently ran a story on the enlistment of white males to head company diversity initiatives. "It's part of an effort to get diversity programs off the sidelines and into the mainstream of the business" and "can help bring other white males on board, the theory goes." White males head up diversity programs at Coca-Cola and other major companies.

Barack the Magic Negro

Rush Limbaugh has been airing a parody entitled Barack the Magic Negro on his nationally syndicated radio program. Focusing on Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama (Limbaugh refers to Obama as a "halfafrican-american"), the parody includes the following lyrics by an Al Sharpton imitator: "vote for him and not for me 'cause he's not from da hood."

Recent news accounts report that Obama has been receiving hate e-mail and letters, that CBSNews.com decided not to enable comments on Obama stories after some commentators posted racist remarks, and that members of the United States Congress have recommended that Obama be provided with Secret Service protection.

A colorblind society indeed.

America's Next Black Leader

Columnist Clarence Page has written about Reverend Paul Scott's "America's Next Black Leader" YouTube contest. Page writes that "Americans since [Martin Luther] King don't seem to find out who their black leaders are until the media tell them." Scott has invited persons to post a video on YouTube "if you feel that you are sharper than Sharpton, bring more action than Jackson and create more drama than Obama." Only four persons have posted videos so far.

Traffic Stops And Race And Ethnicity

According to a special report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 19% of U.S. residents age 16 or older experienced a face-to-face contact with a police officer in 2005.

In that same year 8.8% of all drivers in the United States were stopped by police. The stoppage rates for whites was 8.9%; blacks, 8.1%; and Hispanics/Latinos, 8.9%.

The race/ethnic demographics of those drivers who were stopped by the police and were then searched: white, 3.6%; black, 9.5%; and Hispanic/Latino, 8.8%.