When it comes to improving race relations, America seems to be taking baby steps. The acquittal of four New York City police officers, accused of killing Amadou Diallo, a West-African immigrant, gives strength to arguments that 21st century police officers are only marginally different from their 20th century counterparts. The Diallo killing is a perfect example of the practice known as racial profiling that has become rampant in America's businesses, on her streets, and most often, in her inner cities. Unlike the blatant racism exhibited by members of hate groups, racial profiling indoctrinates officers in training, with a pre-determined model of an offender. Trained with a template for criminals, officers often rush to judgement about a suspect, purely based on visual cues. The use of racial profiling is much more likely to lead to unnecessary violence.
In a country where violence is so often countered by more violence, the protests over Amadou Diallo's death have been mainly peaceful. This was largely the result of a request by Kadiadou Diallo, Amadou's mother, that his name not be tarnished by violence. Another interesting element was that the staging ground for several protests occurred at the very Police Academy where the four officers were trained. This helped to underscore the fact that the protestors were not solely blaming the individual officers, but rather, pointing out their poor, or improper training process.
The story, as told by the four officers, Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy, is that while patroling the Soundview section of the Bronx, they spotted a "suspicious" looking black man, "darting" into the vestibule of a building. They claim to have approached him, announcing that they were police (although they were not in uniform at the time) who wanted to question him. When Diallo reached into his pocket and began pulling out a black object, they opened fire on him. After firing 41 shots (19 of which actually hit Diallo) the officers discovered that the black object was his wallet.
The job of a New York police officer is never an easy one. Patrolling dangerous neighborhoods is a harrowing and often thankless job. But it is a mystery, as to why the prosecution was unable to win a conviction on any of the 24 charges. Claims of fear, stress, and acting in the heat of the moment cannot bring back Amadou Diallo. Robert Johnson, the prosecuting District Attorney has called for the four officers' resignations. Perhaps if Mr. Johnson had argued a more compelling case, there would be no question of the officers' resignations. The whole situation shows that New York, and other cities need a serious reevaluation of their police training procedures.
Even though such lethal, repercussions of racial discrimination do not, thankfully, occur at Dartmouth, the Diallo case can provide a catalyst for discussion about campus race-relations, which are far from perfect. It is indicative of Dartmouth students' isolation and indifference, that there has been no student reaction to the Diallo case, despite the fact that racial profiling does affect Dartmouth students. The fact is that the much criticized Dartmouth bubble is even thicker when it comes to students' awareness of issues regarding minority groups. We don't seem to realize that what affects some, will eventually affect all, whether it's through direct discrimination, or a more subtle deterioration of community. Often, it is only through a department-sponsored event that students even have the opportunity to learn the facts, discuss with one another and reflect on events and debates facing our nation and our college.
Dartmouth needs a new tradition: a greater willingness to learn. The only way to remedy the problem of ignorance, and create proactive solutions to campus and societal intolerance, is through frequent dialogues. In the hopes of starting such a tradition, Karim Mohsen, a member of the Student Assembly, introduced a resolution last Tuesday that would create a Student Assembly-sponsored event, early next spring, to foster a discussion of the Amadou Diallo case. However, this is only a starting point. Minorities at Dartmouth should not feel like their only options are reactive. Minority and majority students should have ways of working together to eliminate intolerance, before it ever happens. Only by increasing the entire student body's ability to listen and to learn from each other, will Dartmouth achieve such a goal. Even if America is taking baby steps towards racial harmony, there's no reason for Dartmouth to not take adult-sized ones.
