Driving While Black: Highways, Shopping Malls, Taxi Cabs, Sidewalks: How to Fight Back if You Are a Victim of Racial Profiling

by Kenneth Meeks

Book Overview

A practical handbook for people who want to be safe and do something. Racial profiling does happen. And while cases where victims find themselves looking down the barrel of a policeman's gun make the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767905490
• ISBN13: 9780767905497
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Life skills material

This book provides some valuable information, not only for Blacks, but other minorities, as well as people in lower economic communities. I am using it as a small part of a life skills curriculum, for at-risk youth. It certainly presented more concepts than I expected.

Very informative

Driving While Black give accounts of racial profiling that blacks go through in shopping malls, taxicabs, and being stopped by the police for no good reason. What I think was helpful was that at the end of every chapter were addresses that's included for victims that experience profiling to write, and complain.

This book meets its stated objective well

I think the earlier review by Mr. Cooper missed the point of this book: What to do if you are stopped by the police, and more importantly, what NOT to do. The book was not written as a dissertation on race relations.I personally have not been stopped by the police because of my race (to the best of my knowledge). However, as a Black woman who commutes to an upper class Anglo neighborhood every workday, I thought the book was very well done and informative. The section on your legal rights when you are stopped is worth the cost of the book alone. There is also a chapter called "Living While Black", which contains helpful information about what to do when dealing with the police in everyday situations.The author is also careful to point out that one should not just jump up and say "I've been victimized because of my race", but should be careful to gather information that will be needed when making an official complaint. This is the smart thing to do. Which is better: To conduct yourself well (even in the face of stupidity on the part of a racist officer or store clerk) and be able to make a strong official complaint later or to be "right", indignant, and get arrested, ignored (who will listen to the complaints of an "out of control", angry Black person?) or even killed? We must rise above and be better than those who are so ignorant and ill-bred that they behave shamefully.Should we have to put up with racial profiling? No! Have we gotten to "the promised land" over the past few years by simply complaining that things are unfair? No! Mr. Meeks is not trying to solve all of America's racial problems with his book. He is arming Black Americans with the knowledge they need to deal with racial inequities. For this effort, I applaud and recommend this book.

Very IMportant Book

MR.MEEKS DOES AN Excellent Job of Mentioning a TImeLess Problem.Driving WHile Black.it really does happen time & Again.No Matter what Type OF Clothes Or Car You Drive it can Happen.The Book Does A Fantastic Job on The Do's & Don't's.Being Calm is The Most IMportant thing.Being Civil is also Important.Having all of Your Paper Work & Identifications is a Must as well.it's easy too get caught up in the storm but you have too be Leveled Headed about the Matter.but at times it's easier said than done.MR.Meeks Covers everything really well here.Sadly Everything he Mentions Goes on TOday & We are in a New Century?