In the first chapter of New Black Man by Mark Anthony Neal, the author describes racial profiling and how the act of a single individual may affect the reputation of that individual's racial group. Neal uses a strong word, "demonization," to describe the effect that one black man's actions can have upon the entire race. Neal uses the example of Nushawn Williams - a black male who infected over thirteen young woman and girls with the HIV virus between 1996 and 1997 - to show how Americans applied racial demonization to all black males after word spread about Williams' "sexually perverse, predatory behavior (towards) unsuspecting and defenseless victims" (Neal, 7). Neal's point, I believe, is that people should not base his or her opinion of an entire race off of the acts of one individual or a group of individuals.
There have been times in my own life when I have had an unpleasant interaction with some type of person and jumped to conclusions about that race as a whole. In the moment, when you are the person doing the racial profiling, it seems justified. However, if you think about the racial profiles that other people may apply to you before speaking to you or getting to know you, you realize how unfair racial profiling truly is.
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