Is this the right way to fight racism?
Is this the right way to fight racism?
In recent years, controversies over black men and women being singled out for police harassment in everyday situations have become common
especially after the arrest a year ago of two men at Philadelphia Starbucks for not making a purchase while waiting to meet with a business contact Now the issue has erupted at Columbia University where a video shows a black student being manhandled by campus security in what has been described as a racial profiling incident on April 11 The story has made national headlines and sparked protests on the campus But is this a case of insidious racism or of misguided outrage The student 23-year old senior Alexander McNab was headed to a free canteen at a student center at Barnard, the undergraduate women’s college shortly after 11 p.m He walked through the gate without showing his student ID when a public safety officer followed him and asked for his ID he refused to comply Several more officers arrived and in the ensuing dispute McNab ended up being physically restrained and pinned against a countertop Eventually he produced his ID and was released but not before a Barnard student shocked by a scene that she found reminiscent of police brutality had filmed the confrontation.