Race, Ethnicity and the Transnational Reach of Domestic Law—Maher Arar

Many of you are familiar with the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria who later emigrated to Canada. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in computer engineering, Arar worked in Ottawa as a telecommunications engineer. On a stopover in New York as he was returning to Montreal, Canada from a vacation in Tunisia in September 2002, U.S. officials detained Arar, claiming he had links to al-Qaeda, and deported him to Syria, even though he was the holder of a Canadian passport.

There is evidence that the United States may have been acting on misleading information from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in seizing Arar. Arar’s removal was initially described as a deportation. However, his removal was not validated by the United States department of Homeland Security and hence his removal was more in the nature of an extraordinary rendition, a United States extrajudicial method involving the removal of suspected criminals or terrorists to third countries to undergo what are often abusive interrogation techniques. Arar is not the only person to have been subjected to this process. Another well-known case is that of Khalid El-Masri, a German born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents. El-Masri was detained by Macedonian officials at the border when he sought to enter on a vacation trip. He was handed over to American security officials and flown to Afghanistan where he underwent abusive interrogation techniques. No charges were ever brought.When Arar returned to Canada more than a year after being seized, he, too, indicated that he had been tortured during his incarceration and accused American officials of sending him to Syria knowing that torture would be practiced. Click here to listen to Arar telling his own story.

On January 26, 2007 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology to Arar on behalf of the Canadian government and announced that Arar would receive a total of 12.5 million dollars to settle his claim. In the United States, United States Senator and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy has indicated that he will hold hearings into Mr. Arar's case. Senator Patrick Leahy has called the United State's removal of Mr. Arar to Syria absurd and outrageous, noting that instead of sending Mr. Arar a "couple of hundred miles to Canada and turned over to the Canadian authorities, . . . he was sent thousands of miles away to Syria."

Is this a case of impermissible racial or ethnic profiling? Some have argued that in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, discrimination against people of apparent Middle Eastern background has become commonplace throughout much of the West. In the first few years after the attacks, any person from the Middle-East had to be fingerprinted and photographed before gaining entrance into the United States. It has been reported that of all the people searched or otherwise stopped at the security checkpoints, people with passports from a Middle- Eastern country or a specific stereotypical “Middle-Eastern” look made up the largest percent. In response to the criticism of this increased scrutiny, some have argued that a failure to look closely at those appearing "Middle-Eastern" would be a bow to political correctness and would endanger the public.

For the most part, prior to September 11, 2001 those profiled as criminals in Western countries, especially the United States, were typically of African or Latin ancestry. Phrases such as “driving while black or brown” (a DWB), and “walking while black” became part of the lexicon as persons of color were far more often stopped, questioned and searched while in motor vehicles or on foot than their white counterparts. Prior to September 11, the principal crime concern in the airports of the West was illicit drugs, and very often African and Latin-ancestored women and men were questioned , harassed, and even strip searched by airport security officials in search of drugs.

Subsequent to September 11, as race and ethnicity based security profiling broadened to include those of apparent Middle-Eastern descent, many blacks and Latinos engaged in sarcastic jokes whose punch lines centered on the fact that they enjoyed new “company” in racial and ethnic security scrutiny. Middle-Easterners had, up to September 11, enjoyed the status of honorary white in some Western venues; or at least, it was clear that they were not to be feared in the same way that blacks or other racial minorities were. However, in a post September 11 world, “flying while Muslim” (based on the obviously erroneous assumption that every Middle Easterner is a Muslim) has joined the panoply of imagined offenses of the members of the “Other Brotherhood”.

What do you think?

The Clark Doll Experiment and Racial Self-Esteem

Click here to watch the video

In the 1940s psychologist Kenneth Clark, along with his wife psychologist Mamie Phipps Clark, performed experiments in which they offered black children the choice of two dolls identical in all but skin color. The Clarks' doll experiments grew out of Mamie Clark's master's degree thesis titled "Development of Consciousness of Self in Negro Preschool Children" . The Clarks found that Black children often preferred to play with white dolls over black, thought the white dolls prettier than the black dolls, and characterized the white dolls as "nice" and the black dolls as "bad". Moreover, when black children were asked to fill in a human figure with the color of their own skin they frequently chose a lighter shade than was accurate. From this evidence the Clarks inferred that the children had internalized the racist views of the society around them.

The Clarks testified as expert witnesses in several school desegregation cases, the most noteworthy being Brown vs. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954). In Brown, the United States Supreme Court held that racial segregation in public education facilities violated the U.S. Constitution. The testimony of the Clarks in Brown is said to have been a significant factor in the Court’s decision. Indeed, some portions of the Court’s decision in Brown have been read as a reference to the harms of segregation demonstrated by the doll experiment: “to separate them [black children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.” Brown at 494.

The use of social science data in legal cases was relatively novel at the time of Brown and engendered some controversy, particularly since close examination of the data suggested that more black children in the less segregated Northern states favored the white doll than did black children in the highly segregated American South. Recently high school student Kiri Davis reprised parts of the Clarks’ doll experiments in a short documentary. In Davis’ documentary, an overwhelming majority of the black children presented with the two dolls, one black, the other white, preferred the black doll. A number of observers have suggested that the outcome of the reprised experiment indicates that black children continue to suffer from internalized racism, and that the law should go further in addressing race-based school inequalities. Other observers have remarked that black children’s preferences in dolls may not be a clear indicator of the children’s self-esteem and that such data should be excluded from legal assessments of educational policy.

I think that social science data in general has been and will continue to be a useful source of evidence in legal cases. However, the Clark doll tests, both then and now, may be a test not of self esteem but of what black children believe is the "right" answer to such questions. The proliferation of media images depicting the the dominant white culture is bound to affect what children understand about what society says is "nice" or "beautiful," but may not be a fully accurate indicator of what they themselves think. Of course, if black children think that society believes that white is "better" this may ultimately affect their own beliefs; the tyranny of majority opinion is hard to resist.

Nonetheless, one of the earliest lessons that young children learn in school is to dissemble, not to lie per se but rather to suppress their actual thoughts and beliefs in order to adopt the answer deemed correct by the teacher or other questioner. Heck, I'm still smarting from the time in Kindergarten when Mrs. Johnson told me that October started with an O and not an A as I insisted. She said that if I listened carefully I could hear the O sound and that it was nothing like an A sound. To me, October sounded more like amen (we pronounced it ah-men in my house) than over and open, words whose spelling I was pretty sure I knew (I prided myself on being the smartest kid in Kindergarten). But after that public correction, from there forward I dutifully recited that October started with O, that it sounded like it started with O, and that it didn't sound like it could start with anything else. I kept my actual opinion to myself.

What is your opinion?

Are Qubecers "Racist"?

Jamie Greenberg forwarded the following link:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/15/mtl-racism.html

Professor Inniss writes:

Do the results of this survey mean that Qubecers are "racist" ? Post your comments.

Congressional Black Caucus Racist?

Please read the article at the link below, read the comments that follow and then submit your comments.

Jamie Greenberg submitted the following link:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0107/2389.html

Prof. Inniss replied:

*Very* interesting. Do you think that members of the Congressional Black Caucus should be allowed to exclude Representative Cohen?

Jamie Greenberg wrote:

Well as a representative of a majority African-American district I
think it is in his constituents best interests that he join the
caucus, and furthermore I could only imagine the uproar if the
situation was reversed (an African-American member of congress
rejected from an all-white caucus).

On the other hand, it does seem anachronistic having a "white" member
of a "black" caucus, especially (and I'm inferring here) because rep.
Cohen is likely Jewish may not consider himself "white", and very
likely may be unwelcome in a "white" caucus should one ever
hypothetically exist.

I'm not sure what I think of this, except that it seems to be aimed at
maintaining a boys club, and not acting in the voters' best interests,
which would be to include a non-"black" house member who is ostensibly
involved in the "black" community and represents a mainly "black"
riding.

Prof. Inniss wrote:

Thanks for your opinion; I'm torn myself for some of the same reasons. The history of blacks in the U.S. Congress and in other government leadership positions in the U.S. has been one of exclusion. Even when blacks were included, they remained on the periphery and continue in that position today. The CBC is meant to be a "safe space" which exists in response to such problems, and I sympathize with the desire of the members to remain all black.

On the other hand, if Representative Cohen's desire to join was to serve his majority black district, I understand his efforts to join, assuming that he believed that the primary goal of the CBC was to provide constituent service and not to serve as a vehicle to support blacks in Congress. Over time, the goals of many such groups evolve. So, for example, in many Canadian and U.S. law schools (maybe all), the Black Law Students Association now welcomes students of all backgrounds who are interested in and support issues of concern to black law students. Also, I'm concerned with what appear to be some of the tactics of the CBC. The article seems to suggest that they have in the past and will continue in the future to support black candidates over non-black candidates based mostly on race, even where the white candidate is the incumbent. If a goal of the the CBC is to promote the interests of blacks overall, they should ideally look first at how a particular candidate serves black constituents.

In the end, though, I think that the CBC, while perhaps having a broad mandate, is principally a "safe space" type of organization that exists in response to the continued racial separations that exist in the halls of power in the U.S. I'm surprised (and maybe concerned) that Rep. Cohen did not "get" this before trying to join. The big problem here as I see it is not that Rep. Cohen was barred but that there are legitimate, significant reasons for a group like the CBC to desire an all black "club" even in 2007.

Jamie Greenberg wrote:

I guess I'm looking at this from a Canadian perspective, I didn't even
think of the black caucus acting more as a "safe space" then a
lobbying vehicle.

"Racial Profiling" on York Campus?

The following materials were brought to my attention by Sidra Sabzwari. Please read and comment on the article and the letters to the editor that follow.

January 10 Excalibur (York University Student Newspaper)

Student arrested while protesting alleged profiling

A York student was arrested after vocalizing his opinions about racial profiling on campus and waving around an object that appeared to be a gun.
Jon Boadi, a York student, was arrested by the Toronto Police in York Lanes last Wednesday, Jan. 3 at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Ten police officers from 31 Division arrested Boadi outside of the York bookstore after they received an emergency call from York Security and other bystanders that he was holding a gun up in the air.
It was later confirmed by 31 Division that the gun reports were false. Boadi is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
Jayson Young, a York student, was sitting in a nearby restaurant when he noticed Boadi talking loudly outside. He described Boadi's actions as an attempt at a political statement rather than as a threatening act.
"To me, it seemed at first like performance art," Young said.
Witnesses said that Boadi was suggesting that the recent York Campus Alert was an example of racial profiling on campus.
York University posted a public alert around campus in mid-December after police issued a composite sketch of a description of who they believe committed the sexual assaults in the area.
The campus alert displays the police composite photo at the top with a written description underneath: "Male, black, 25 to 35 years, 6'0", medium build, bald or shaved head, red shirt, black ballcap."
"He was proving a point; he was drawing attention to the fact that this is kind of a farcical example of justice by the university," Young said. "He was commenting on whether this is an effective way to deal with some terrible behaviour that's been going on on campus."
Although emergency calls placed to police stated that Boadi was brandishing a gun, Young finds it difficult to believe that this impression could be given.
"He wasn't even holding it like a gun."
Ellyn Sylvia, a York student, saw police and York security march past her to the bookstore.
Young believed that Boadi's actions were not criminal, adding that the only thing that might have provoked anyone was that "he seemed to stray a bit from the point."
Saada Awaleh-God, vice-president of media relations for the York University Black Students Association (YUBSA), suggested that the police responded with unwarranted force.
"He wasn't causing any harm. The amount of force put on him was not necessary. Ten officers for one man is not necessary."
Young said.
"It took about eight or 10 cops to subdue him even though he was being completely peaceful," he exclaimed. "This huge parade of police officers coming to talk to this man who wasn't doing anything criminal."
Sylvia agreed that Boadi was not strugging when police and York security led him outside. "He was pretty docile," she stated.
Young also noted that during the incident, York Security blocked off a section of York Lanes from Indian Flavour to the bookstore.
"There were two security guards saying, �You can't walk past here.'"
When Young asked why, he said he was simply told, "You just can't."
Alex Bilyk, director of media relations at York, defended York Security's decision to involve the police and block off the area.
"Nobody wants to fool around when they think there's a weapon involved," he stated. "York Security took the measures they needed to take in order to allow the police to react to this case.
"If someone is causing a disturbance, and there is reason to believe a weapon may be involved, we'll take the necessary action to involve the police as soon as possible," continued Bilyk. Bilyk, however, suggested that students should be wary of possible police involvement when considering taking similar actions to Boadi's.
"Use your own head," he suggested. "In today's environment, people are all on edge and it's not an appropriate action."
Meanwhile, some students believe that the incident was provoked by the sexual assault campus alerts on campus.
The secretary of YUBSA, Yolanda Abrahams, suggested that the composite on the campus alert is not descriptive enough to be effective.
"The sketch looked very ambiguous. Any black male could fit that description," said Abrahams.
"Racial profiling still exists on campus," she continued.
Other students have suggested that the campus alert borders on issues of racial profiling and that they could have done without the composite photo.
"It's a hard call," said Tanja Joelsson, a York student, upon viewing the composite. "I think we don't need the picture; it doesn't give enough information."
Students around Tanja agreed, suggesting that the police composite was too general to be used as an investigative tool.
Professional opinions differ on the existence of racial profiling.
Thomas Lynch, a detective sergeant overseeing sexual assault crimes in the Toronto Police Sex Crimes Unit, believes that the process used in developing composite photos is highly scientific; however, he would not provide details.
"That's a long process that we use through our forensic identification people, and that's a process I'm not willing to discuss right now, but basically we use the victims' memory of her assailant to prepare a composite."
Lynch was quick to defend the process.
"We would never solely go prosecute on a composite. We would have other evidence too."
He continued, "We would use different kinds of identification for down the road, whether it be forensic or whether it be a photo of the actual suspect identified."

Letters:

Wednesday, 17 January 2007

Dear Editor,

As I read the article by Carl Meyer "Any black male could fit that description," it really hit a nerve.
I was angered by the actions of Jon Boadi and the reactions by others around him. While Boadi can have all the freedom of speech he likes, it's the fact that it was based on ignorance that bothered me. You know what, there should be more police sketches out there on campus posted for everyone to see.
As a female student, I like having them there so I know what to look for if I'm walking by myself. And it was obviously not a form of racial profiling if the victim gave the description. So what if he's black? I know that if the suspect was a white male, no one would have anything to say about that. Would it be racial profiling then? Why do ethnic minorities get to call on racial profiling? That's racist.
I do not accept it when racial minorities pull out the race card at every stop.
Maybe the black community should put their efforts into figuring out why crime plagues their youth instead of causing unnecessary scenes of disturbance at York.
Boadi clearly has his definitions mixed up. The campus alert is not a form of racial profiling. That is the description the assaulted victim gave to the police �- it's what they saw- and to not alert other students of the dangers of this person is wrong.
So York, good job with the campus alerts. Keep them up and if there is anything else the student body should be aware of, post them up.

-Susan Macri


Allegations ludacrous
RE: "Any black male could fit that description," News, Jan 10, 2006

Dear Editor,

I was absolutely disgusted by the suggestions of York students that the composite sketch of the alleged perpetrator of the recent sexual assualts on campus was "ambiguous" and that we "could have done without the composite photo."
Are we to be so sensitive to racial profiling that we must not even issue composite sketches of alleged criminals for fear of offending certain communities? This is ludacrous. Furthermore, Tanja Joelson's suggestion that the composite photo did not "give enough information" is laughable at best. Is she inferring that all black males look alike? To me, the individual in the sketch looked like a very distinct human being, just as we all are. So much so, in fact, that two different women with whom I am personally aqquainted, recognized the suspect as someone who had frequented their neighbourhood before.
Get a grip people. Quit overdosing on political correctness and realize that there are lives that have been viciously affected here. By nitpicking and complaining about the composite sketch, we are ignoring the real victims of this situation.
Racial profiling is undoubtedly a serious and problematic issue. Let us not diminish its gravity by tossing it around in a completely inappropriate situation such as this.

-Britt Aharoni