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For Immediate Release
October 25, 2001
NEWARK, NJ — In the latest phase of its campaign to bring attention to the ongoing problem of racial profiling in New Jersey, the American Civil Liberties Union today unveiled a new advertisement aimed at raising awareness of the problem and informing victims of their rights.
“We want to send a message to the victims about their rights, and to the State about its obligations,” said Deborah Jacobs, ACLU-NJ Executive Director. “We need real police reform and we need to answer the suffering of the many victims of the New Jersey Turnpike.”
“Getting the State of New Jersey to stop racial profiling is like pulling teeth,” headlines the new advertisement unveiled today at a press conference in Newark.
The ad features Orange, NJ dentist Dr. Elmo Randolph, an African-American man who was pulled over approximately 100 times over a five-year period without ever receiving a ticket. In the ad, Dr. Randolph describes his experience with the police, stating that, “The police searched my car and I had to prove to the troopers that being an African-American man in a nice car doesn't mean that I am a drug dealer or car thief.”
The ad, which will premiere in the Newark Star-Ledger on Monday, October 29, encourages people who have similarly been victimized to contact the ACLU through its racial profiling hotline by dialing 1-877-6-PROFILE.
The ACLU has recently stepped up its efforts to call attention to racial profiling and enlist the public's help in holding police accountable for discriminatory and abusive practices. Those efforts include launching a paid advertisement campaign that incorporates a billboard and radio ads.
The ACLU has also created “Know Your Rights,” a pamphlet that offers guidance on how to behave when being questioned, detained, and investigated by police, INS, Customs or the FBI. The pamphlet should prove especially helpful now, when government officials are targeting many Muslim and Arab-Americans for investigation of the September 11 tragedy.
“As long as the practice continues, and as long as amends are not made to the victims, New Jersey will be known as a place of discrimination and fear of police,” said Jacobs.
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