On May 26, 2005 Kingston Ontario’s Police Chief William Closs apologized to residents of the city for the results of a study showing Black and Aboriginal people being stopped by police more often than White people. The year-long gathering of information showed that 4 in 10 Black male youths vs. only 1 in 10 White male youths were questioned by police.

We have come to call this action “racial profiling.” And when people hear racial profiling, they tend to think of a person deliberately treating someone negatively due to race, colour of skin or ethnicity. I think there are a small number of Canadians who do just that, however, I would suggest most Canadians do not.

That doesn’t let us off the hook, because we often treat people differently, but we don’t think of ourselves as bigots, racists or rednecks. And we shouldn’t. However, our stereotypes have such an impact on us that we need to make sure we take deliberate action to ensure we don’t treat certain people negatively.

Stereotyping can be described as taking the characteristic of one person and applying it to all persons within a similar category. Such as all women love to shop, or all men refuse to ask directions (I know what you’re thinking, but stay focused). We pick up stereotypes from our earliest memories. They come from parents, friends, educational and religious institutions, all forms of the media and so on. We might accept we have stereotypes, but none of us would ever imagine that we pass them on, and certainly not deliberately. And yet it’s so easy to do.

Recently in the presence of friends and their two small children, my ears perked up. Walking along the beach, mother and daughter were lagging behind as “us guys” were a little further ahead. While his son was exploring all the wonders of small crabs and seashells, us two adults were chatting about a recent trip “Bob” had taken to an American city. He told me of one incident when he was separated from his group and suddenly noticed “three Black guys” who seemed to be circling him. He told me how he got out of there fast and safely reunited with his group. A moment later he noticed a “Black guy” lying on the street, not moving until police came to take him away.

Bob’s son was right beside us but who knows what he picked up in great detail. However, if we wonder how stereotypes are passed on to kids, I’d suggest this is a perfect example. If Bob’s son has had no negative experience with Black people, I’ll bet he’s shaped by the information he heard that day on the beach…along with many other incidents.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve seen these two parents raise these kids and I’d be hard pressed to find better parents who teach their children good, caring values. That’s not the point – there are lots of us who are good people, and yet we easily fall into the same traps of passing on stereotypes.

Are we expected to censor ourselves when we want to talk about real facts? I don’t think so, however, start listening to conversations (or listen to yourself) and find out how often skin colour, race or ethnicity is used when there is a reference to something negative. Then listen to how often these kinds of descriptions are used when a White person is involved.

You may hear that an Indo-Canadian, or Chinese or Aboriginal person, for example, did something bad or negative towards another person, but you’ll rarely hear the race or colour as a descriptor of the person this happened to (unless they are from the same ethnicity). I often find myself saying “what colour was the other person?” No lecture, just a subtle nudge about the impact of our words.

If we continually use the term “racial profiling” I think we’ll get most people too defensive to look objectively at themselves critically. Instead, I prefer to acknowledge my own stereotypes and then make sure I’m not treating people badly or negatively. It’s not always easy, but it’s a better start than denying they exist.

This issue is not just about policing. Certainly stereotyping will have a serious effect on the criminal justice system simply for the reason that people may be arrested and put behind bars. However, there are other ways stereotyping will have a negative impact in your workplace. You will miss out on good candidates for jobs or promotions if your stereotypes paint some people “lazy” or “not ambitious.” Or you may be watching out for crooks with your company’s goods. While you’re observing the “x” people due to your stereotype, you’re letting all the “y” people rob you blind. And when we catch more “x” people because we’ve been looking for them, then we get to smugly say, “I was right, and besides, look who’s filling up all the jails”.

Police Chief Closs did something very few employers are willing to do. He took the data and instead of saying “we can’t be prejudiced, all our best friends are…” he said he was sorry and wanted to get to the bottom of what was wrong. He wants to ensure all citizens of Kingston are treated as fairly and as equally as possible. It’s not an easy task, but one that is now a bit simpler because he’s not on the defensive.

At his media conference, he got a standing ovation from most of the people present. Leaders from the Black community and Aboriginal community have been waiting a long time to hear these comments.

Whether you’re paying attention to your own words or the words of others in your workplace, try to find those times where stereotypes are being re-enforced and do something about it. Then you won’t have to worry that stereotypes will lead to anything like racial profiling.

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