Legal Studies Academy

Senior Project Proposal

Red, Brown, and Blue: Racial Profiling by Law

Enforcement

Lauryn Reed

October 7, 2016
A. Abstract

The name of my paper is Red, Brown, and Blue: Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement.

I named my paper this as a spin on our nations colors of red, white and blue. The red represents

the bloodshed caused by the racial profiling and prejudices of law enforcement, brown to

represent the minorities that are being chastised by law enforcement,and blue to represent our

law enforcement since they wear blue uniforms. Everyone has racial prejudice although with all

the heightened awareness and reality of police brutality amongst minorities, many people have

been questioning the racial prejudices of police officers and most law enforcement.

I chose this topic because I feel like there is a disproportionate amount of minorities

being shot and killed by police compared to whites, and I feel that many of the motives are due

to racial profiling. The effects are not just killings; it includes unjust traffic stops, unreasonable

searches, stop and frisk, and overall unfair treatments. For my project I would like to do an

experiment with children, teens, and adults that would display their racial prejudices and show

how unconscious bias start at a young age. My experiment would be the Brown-Eyed,

Blue-Eyed experiment and/or a doll test as evidence of the stereotypes many people have

conjured up in their minds about minorities that lead to racial profiling. For the Brown-Eyed,

Blue-Eyed experiment we will discriminate participants based on eye color and treat the group

with brown eyes better than the group with blue eyes, although we will not let either group know

the point of the experiment before the session begins. For the doll test, I would take each

participant into a room by themselves with dolls ranging in four different shades from light to

dark and ask them multiple questions like; which doll is pretty/ugly, which doll would you play

with I will pre-record the experiments then play them at my seminar/open forum.
 My seminar/open forum will consist of professional guest speakers, hopefully one being

Jane Elliott (an anti-racism activist, best known for creating the Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes

exercise), two active police officers (one minority and one caucasian), a psychology professor

that teaches about racial bias or the psychology of racial bias, and college students from Norfolk

State University to do presentations of artistic expression. I have requested from Norfolk States

Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority that they assist me by volunteering and participating in

my event. The goal of my project is to heighten peoples awareness of their own racial biases in

an effort to not make these cognitive assumptions of minorities.

My goal is to get people to actually learn about cultural differences. I would like for my

consultant to be my cousin Mrs. Brittney McCree (Norfolk State Graduate/Special Education

Counselor) because I feel like she understands my views of the topic and would help me a great

deal in developing my project. Knowing her intelligence on the issues of our criminal justice

system and her connections, I think she will be a good fit for my project topic.

My project will take place in March at an auditorium in either Virginia Beach or Norfolk.

The success of my project will be evaluated by me giving my participants an implicit bias quiz

through a combination of paper or electronic copies made available so everyone will have quick

access to it. The goal is to see if they have kept in mind any ways to prevent their prejudice and

even statistics we have gone over throughout the presentation. I will need material that gives me

access to technology like a computer and/or smartboard, microphone, pens, paper or pamphlets,

food/beverages,tables,chairs, etc.

B. Learning Skills

New Skills:
 I will learn how to plan an event and advertise for an event.

I will learn how to use new technology.

I will learn project management.

I will learn to improve my design skills

I hope to learn how to create a survey for my audience to take after the seminar/open

forum.

Enhanced Skills:

Skills I will enhance include my ability to communicate with people, especially people I

do not know because I am slightly shy when meeting new people.

I will enhance my public speaking skills by talking to a large audience.

I will enhance my planning skills and organization.

C. Marketing Plan/Facilities/Audience

The target audience for my project should be non people of color, minorities, police

officers, people interested in learning about racial bias and ways to correct them, and people who

want to lessen or understand the modern police state. I feel like they would use this seminar/open

forum to address some feelings or questions about racial profiling and the current police state

that we face in America. This would be a good opportunity to hear all sides of the issue of racial

profiling and possible ways to fix this problem. My audience will benefit from this project

because they will have a heightened awareness of their racial bias. This information could then

possibly be used to spread the information in efforts to decrease the lack of understanding by

people who misconceive the topics of racial profiling and the causes of the misconduct of law

enforcement.
 I will ensure that I have the appropriate demographic in my audience by advertising in all

areas and ensuring people that the seminar/open forum will be an open discussion therefore all

opinions will be acknowledged. My marketing strategies will be to use advertising and promote

my event in various ways such as physical flyers throughout the Norfolk State University

campus and First Colonial, social media flyers, and word of mouth. I will also make short video

clips advertising what all will be offered at my event to post on social media and create a hashtag

that could go along with my project. The display of performances, strong social media presence,

and strength of the sororities existence and connections on campus will bring people from many

different demographics. I would like my venue to be held at Norfolk State University because the

access to all my resources are already there on campus.

D. Project Steps

Preliminary Steps Meet with consultant, write 9 hours

proposal, contact Sigma

Gamma Rho event

coordinator at NSU, contact,

guest speakers, research NSU

school schedule for second

semester to coordinate an

event date

Midway Steps Meet with consultant, create 20 hours

an agenda for my event, meet

 with Sigma Gamma Rho

event coordinator, review

rooms to hold myevent, start

advertisements, check-up

with my guest speakers,

complete and pre-record the

experimental videos which

will be the doll test or

Brown Eyes-Blue Eyes

experiment, create agenda for

the event,find and contact

performer (poets/musicians),

ADVERTISE-create flyers,

videos, etc.

Later Steps Set up venue, print all 11 hours

pamphlets, buy food for the

event, check technology in

the venue to ensure it is

working, rehearse with

performers, run through the

entire event with my

 consultant and venue

coordinator, speak with guest

speakers

Follow Up Take down all decorations, 7 hours

send thank you letters to my

guest speakers and the Sigma

Gamma Rho Organization,

write a reflective essay about

the successes and room for

improvement in my event, get

review from participants of

the event

Total Hours 47 hours

E. Project Documentation

My senior project will be documented through various forms of technology and paper

documents I used to record down information, proof of purchases, and any possible contracts or

agreements I may need to have in order to use a venue.

My documentation will include: a blog, pictures, videos, text messages and phone calls,

emails, a time log, a copy of all flyers and advertisement I used to promote my event, receipts

used to buy things I need, and notes from my experiment, meetings and from my consultant. I
will keep a binder filled with my paper documentation and a folder on my flash drive dedicated

specifically for the photographs and videos used throughout the duration of my project. I could

also print my emails, text messages, and call log to show my communication with various

people, especially my consultant, and organizations that I have been in contact with for my

event, which will be included in my documentation binder.

F. Project Justification

My project is of quality and challenging in many aspects because of how current and

pressing of a topic this is. These revolutionary movements today by the younger minorities are

helping them to be recognized and tearing down the American traditions in which they were not

being acknowledged. In addition, there is a heightened concern and awareness of police

misconduct and a new fight against the oppression of minorities.

The most challenging part of my project will be keeping people open-minded and

changing minds, especially with all the point of views people have on this issue. Hopefully my

topic will get people to realize that racial bias and racial profiling have been embedded in our

society through music, history, the school system, TV shows, news, movies, etc. because we live

in a society that repeatedly typecast this segment of people with negative associations. My desire

is that the audience will walk out of my project with the realization that they cannot be ignorant

to the issues people of color face with law enforcement and the protections minorities have under

the law against irrational suspicions.

G. Project-Paper Connection

The link between my legal issue I will address and project will remain consistent

throughout the duration upon their completion. My legal issue is racial profiling by law
enforcement and my project will be a seminar/open forum consisting of guest speakers, two will

be in law enforcement, victims of racial profiling, and a college psychology professor who can

really delve into the psychology of racial profiling and racial bias to not only help law

enforcement, but communities and government officials understand the effect it has on

themselves and especially the psychological effects of the victim.

Tackling this issue of racial profiling and racial bias in professional areas, such as the

criminal justice field, will put the laws behind racial profiling and having reasonable doubt to

suspect someone of illegal activity at the forefront of my project. The open forum part of my

project will also display my legal issue because we will discuss the experiment, previous

information of my speakers and from then on I feel like the conversation will snowball into an

effective and captivating discussion.

H. Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is any form of cheating that takes place during the duration and completion

of any academic assignment, especially including plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of cheating

where you copy the work or ideas of someone as your own without giving credit to the original

author ad using it as you own. I understand the concept and the repercussions I will face if I do

chose to cheat.

I understand that any academic dishonesty by me on any part of the project will result in failure

of the Senior Project and forfeiture of the Legal Studies Seal on my High School diploma.