Monday, May 17, 2010

The Saggy Profiler


State Senator Eric Adams, the man who started 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, has started a "Stop the Sag" movement by putting the billboard above in six locations in Brooklyn.

The message: "Raise your pants, Raise your image.”

The Stoop is troubled that that Adams is clearly profiling these young people. Why does he say they need to raise their image? How can he stereotype this people? They could be straight A students, doctors, or firemen for all he knows. Yet, without even knowing them, or taking the time to learn about them-he is critical of them-simply because of their clothes.

Most troubling is the fact that Adams is clearly is targeting young black men with this negative billboard. Look at where the billboards are located:

214 Rockaway Parkway
841 Franklin Avenue
1306-1310 Nostrand Avenue
2331 Bedford Avenue
848 Fulton Street 747 Franklin Avenue

Why are there no billboards in neighborhoods where there are majority white people? I see white kids wearing saggy pants all the time. They are in neighborhoods/districts where Adams is their State Senator. Don't they need to hear Adams' message as well? By placing the billboards exclusively in black neighborhoods Adams is saying that in his mind, blacks who wear saggy pants are doing something wrong but whites who do so are OK.

Sounds like profiling, right?





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