Don't drive while black

By Akilah Monifa

Most folks are familiar with the acronym DWI, driving while intoxicated, but not DWB, driving while black.

Take Aaron Campbell, an African-American police officer from Miami, whose arrest and recent trial have drawn some media attention. Campbell was off-duty when he was stopped in Orlando, Fla., in January 1997. The state says that Campbell failed to signal a lane change. The officer who stopped Campbell was white.

Campbell screamed and swore at the officer. He was subsequently arrested and charged with five counts of battery and resisting arrest. At trial, Campbell said that the initial stop was illegal since he said he had put on his signal when changing lanes. He said he was guilty only of the unwritten crime of DWB.

Earlier this month, a jury found him not guilty of four counts and guilty of a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

DWB is a common charge.

A recent Orlando Sentinel survey reveals that African Americans constitute 16 percent of the drivers on the Florida turnpike but account for more than 50 percent of the traffic stops. A Maryland study of Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Delaware shows that 73 percent of traffic stops were of African Americans, though that group comprised only 14 percent of all drivers on the highway.

Surveys also show that lighter-skinned blacks don't get stopped as often. "Nightline" recently devoted a two-part series to the issues of crime and being black in America. A major issue discussed was that of DWB. Former prosecutor Christopher Darden, now at Southwestern School of Law, stated that he has been stopped at least once annually since getting his driver's license in 1972 _ not for committing any traffic violation but apparently for driving through a predominately white neighborhood, or in a fancy car.

"They can't stop someone solely because of their race, but in most of these situations, it seems that the dominant characteristic or factor is the motorist's race," said Darden.
It's not limited to driving. Another crime is SWB, shopping while black: Those of us of a darker hue get closer scrutiny while shopping.

We are suspects solely because of skin color. Let's have a real dialogue about that.