Racial and Religious Profiling

Using a person's race or perceived cultural background as a primary reason for suspecting criminal activity is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment. Though the laws and policies that affect them may be different, many groups are adversely affected by racial and religious profiling, including African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. 

In addition to unjust laws, negative public perception can also have an impact on profiling. Citizens reporting suspicious activity to authorities often do so based on a person's appearance rather than specific suspect behavior. In the post-9/11 landscape — in which Muslims have been demonized as terrorists — a woman wearing a hijab and taking a cell-phone video in a public park or a man boarding a plane in traditional Muslim garb becomes "suspicious" to average citizens and police officer alike. Poor policy and negative public perceptions are a dangerous combination.

UUSC works to change unjust policies and confront negative stereotypes by inspiring citizens to take action in their own communities. 

Partnership in action

Building Bridges

In 2009, UUSC began bringing together Unitarian Universalists with local Muslim communities to learn about the civil-liberties violations Muslims face in the United States and to develop strategies to address these injustices. The goals of the Building Bridges program are centered on both education and action:

• Addressing and confronting the negative stereotypes of Muslims in the United States
• Encouraging strong relationships between faith communities based on a critical social-justice issue
• Learning about the specific policies and laws that result in profiling and unfairly target Muslims
• Developing action plans to secure local legislative protections from police profiling

UUSC supports congregations to plan and host workshops that bring these two faith communities together. Since 2009, we've held workshops in four major U.S. cities and plan to expand into new areas and strengthen existing work.

Learn more about past workshops and watch our Building Bridges video to find out how you might bring this program to your congregation.

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

In addition to being a key ally in the Building Bridges program, UUSC partner the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) organizes marginalized groups affected by racial profiling to restore civil-rights protections at the local level. UUSC works with BORDC's Local Civil Rights Restoration Campaign to mobilize activists across the country to confront unjust policy and make positive change at the local, state, and municipal level.