Driving While Black
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Driving While Black (DWB) is the name given to the "crime" of being a black driver. An alternate name, Driving While Brown, is more expansive, referring to the crime of being a non-white driver. The phrase comes from a so-titled article by University of Toledo law professor and prominent legal scholar David Harris.[citation needed]
"Driving While Black" is a parody of the real crime driving while intoxicated; it refers to the idea that a motorist can be pulled over by a police officer simply because he or she is black and then [questioned or searched and] charged with a trivial or perhaps non-existent offense. This concept stems from a long history of racism in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries. It is generally a reference to racial profiling, as employed by many police forces.
A related concept is "shopping while black/brown", which refers to the notion held by some that non-whites receive increased surveillance while shopping.
[edit] Use in Pop Culture
- The term was used by Martin Lawrence's character Earl in the action / comedy movie National Security.
- In Michael Moore's Stupid White Men he gives a list of techniques a black man could use to evade detection for DWB.
- In the WB's Angel (TV series), character Charles Gunn and some friends set out to monitor police officers suspected of brutality to see if they would draw their unprovoked ire. When asked why he thought they would succeed, Gunn responded, "Cause we gonna do some walking while black."
- In the film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle a man is arrested "just cause he's black."
- In Jay-Z's song, "99 Problems" he writes: “I pull over to the side of the road, I hear, ‘Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?’ Because I'm young and I'm black and my hat’s real low? Do I look like a mind-reader, sir? I don't know.”
