Norton to Announce Racial Profiling Bill at Trayvon Martin Forum Tonight

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will announce at the start of tonight's D.C. Commission on Black Men and Boys forum, "Lessons from the Life and Death of Trayvon Martin," that she will introduce a bill to reestablish a federal grant program for states to develop racial profiling laws, to collect and maintain data on traffic stops, to fashion programs to reduce racial profiling, and to train law enforcement officers. Norton, a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, got a similar program included in the last surface transportation bill in 2005, but that program expired in 2009. "The Trayvon Martin tragedy did not involve a law enforcement officer, but his death reminds the country that every jurisdiction, including the federal government, has a responsibility to exercise its authority to eliminate practices that brand, on sight, Black men and especially our youth as criminals," Norton said. "Reports of racial profiling on federally funded highways, for example, are frequent. If we are serious about eliminating this form of racial discrimination, concrete steps are overdue. My bill does not require states to participate and does not penalize them for failing to do so, but it would help states to develop the necessary tools to control racial profiling."

The forum will be held this evening, Tuesday, April 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the D.C. Armory. The Commission, which Norton established a decade ago, holds roundtable hearings and works to help resolve the issues that affect Black men and boys, including criminal justice, education, and chronic unemployment. The Commission consists of men with strong credibility in the community on issues affecting African American men and youth.

Published: April 10, 2012