UCLA law students, faculty and police representatives gathered to discuss racialized policing practices that affect some racial minorities at a panel at the UCLA School of Law Thursday evening.
The Muslim Law Student Association hosted the event with the Critical Race Studies Program and several other law student organizations. More than 115 individualsattended the event, where panelists discussed several policies that they said were racially charged.
Such policies include the New York Police Department’s stop and frisk policies that allows police officers to approach, question and pat down people they deem “suspicious” of possessing weapons and other contraband. Organizers also discussed a Los Angeles Police Department’s Suspicious Activity Reporting program, which helps police collect information about terrorism and outlines which specified activities and behaviors relate to terrorism.
Devon Carbado, a professor of law at UCLA and a nationally recognized figure in the field of Critical Race Theory, said at the panel he thinks that the stop and frisk program normalizes racial profiling.
He said police have used this policy to justify stopping people at an immigration checkpoint based on their apparent Mexican ancestry.
Hamid Khan, an organizer for Stop LAPD Spying and panelist at the event, said LAPD’s program normalized racial profiling and promoted a culture of fear and suspicion by assuming non-criminal activities such as taking notes and walking into an office and asking for hours of operation as “suspicious activities.”
Some law students said they hoped the event would better inform the community of the potentially harmful police practices that promote racial profiling.
Zainah Alfi Mir, co-president of the Muslim Law Student Association, said she thought this panel would be an opportunity to have a relevant discussion that affects more than just members of the law school.
“This event was not a response to other race issues in the law school and (we) intended it to be a coalition event,” said Alfi Mir, a law student.
The panelists also spoke about the distinct experiences of African Americans, Latin Americans and Muslim Americans, and the intersectionality of these identities when interacting with law enforcement.
Hussain Turk, a law student and member of the association, said he hopes the discussion generates a more engaged and meaningful dialogue about race and racial issues.
He continued to say that the idea of lawful practices needs to expand further than black and white race issues and needs to also include the perspectives of all racial minorities.
The event highlighted issues in law that panelist Amna Akbar said are often overlooked. The event also provided a jumping off point for students to learn more about these issues, said Akbar, a visiting assistant professor at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
“There is an intimate relationship between race, gender, law, class and inequality—one that’s under excavated,” Akbar said. “(Therefore), events like this are important to hold for students that are interested in learning more about the relationship between law and inequality.”
Khan spoke about UCLA’s history of political activism that he said resulted in the surveillance of student organizations by the LAPD in the 1970s.
“Students have always been on the front line in resisting tyranny and oppression, and UCLA has it own history and place in this,” Khan said.
Muslim Law Student Associationsaid they faced opposition to the event before it happened – an example of how the school is sometimes a negative environment.
About two weeks ago, a poster advertising the event on the main hall bulletin boards was put up and ripped down the same day, said Hammad Alam, a law student and co-president of the Muslim Law Student Association.
“It’s a big issue facing the community right now,” Alam said. “This sort of conduct creates an environment of disrespect.”
The person or persons involved have not been identified but the law school administration responded to the vandalism by sending out a student body wide email, Alam said.
After the panel, students and faculty engaged in a question and answer period with the panelists. The Muslim Law Student Association will host other events in the coming months.