After the USC incident, she says she decided to send her son to Howard University instead:
“Then he’s at University of Southern California, the school that I was going to transfer him to, when police stopped him for having his hands in his pockets."
Very unlikely. Parents always like to think of their children as innocent, little darlings. If he was stopped, it would have been for something other than having his hands in his pockets.
I’m white and have been stopped by the police. It happens to everybody.
Well,
@simba9 - that was an extremely helpful but unenlightened comment. In light of the UVA incident - where even the bar stated that the young man was cordial and pleasant before cops showed up and threw him to the ground for no reason - I’m glad you “think” it happens to everyone. But statistics show it doesn’t. Sorry. “Your” experiences aren’t relevant in evaluating whether the actress made the right decision for her son.
In light of the recent pressure on USC to get more involved in crime against students, I can certainly see the wrong person overreacting to a young black male walking on campus. It doesn’t taint the whole school, but it only takes bad apple with a badge to create problems rather than de-escalate.
@ArtsAndLetters, so you honestly think the kid was stopped because “he had his hands in his pockets”?
Let’s assume he was profiled. USC has a tiny black student body so it’s unsurprising. Ironically, he would have been safer at USC than Howard, one of the most dangerous colleges in America, according to the Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2010/09/13/most-dangerous-colleges-2010.html#slide6
Why assume he was profiled? It’s possible he was, but maybe he was doing something that looked suspicious and warranted questioning. People need to stop jumping to conclusions when they have very little information.
That the mother claims the “police stopped him for having his hands in his pockets” tells me she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Therefore, her story has no credibility with me.
I hate to use such a strong word, but you are delusional if you think it happens as often to whites as it does to blacks.
I’m assuming that not because it happened but because even if true, it’s far more innocuous than being in a dangerous environment. Profiling isn’t illegal per se, and arguably it’s indicative of how much USC cares about security. So long as her son was not abused or arrested, being offended is a small price to pay for safety.
At what point did I say it happens to whites as often as it happens to blacks?
My point, which I didn’t do a good job of getting across, was that police stop people for reasons other than their skin color. To jump to the conclusion that a black kid got stopped because he was racially profiled is careless thinking.
Careless thinking is you posting that the mother doesn’t know the facts, when you’ve admitted you are not in that situation, and don’t know what happened. Since it is clear that black boy are often profiled - and in some cases arrested for stupid things like “manner of walking” and recently at UVA a student was thrown to the ground and bloodied for no reason,
don’t assume you know anything. Certainly your vantage point makes it clear you don’t know and therefore have an invalid right to pass judgment on her decisions.
USC has one of the most racially diverse student bodies in the nation. White students, according to university statistics, are in the minority. Also, it was stated in the article the individual was stopped by Los Angeles police. USC uses a campus police force in uniform, not members of the Los Angeles police department. Officers from the LAPD are called when needed, but are not a presence on campus.
Many articles are written today without proper investigation. I would be interested to read an article from someone who did a thorough investigation of this claim.
I’m just wondering why we can’t take the woman at her word, rather than question her motivation or rally in support of the other side. It speaks volumes about our empathy. LAPD has been cited for some of its problematic officers in the past. I say let the article stand as is. Her perception is her reality, not ours. She deserved support - not ridicule from a person from another race who uses his/her own vantage point to decide what is true or not true.
^ So you just automatically believe any accusation that someone makes?
USC/Department of Public Safety (DPS) had a thoughtful response in the Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/usc-responds-taraji-p-hensons-784350?facebook+20150326
I’m very proud of the way USC is handling this news by seeking out the source for facts and a resolution. I wonder if the actress made any complaints to USC officials before implicating our diverse institution publicly.
My, my how people love to jump to conclusions:
Now Taraji is apologizing to the Glendale police:
“I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department,” she said in an Instagram message with the hashtag #TurningANegativeIntoAPositive #LoveTarajiPHenson. “A mother’s job is not easy and neither is a police officer’s. Sometimes as humans we overreact without gathering all the facts. As a mother in this case, I overreacted and for that I apologize. Thank you to that officer for being kind to my son.”
I have to whole-heartedly agree with @SeattleTW on this one.
Was being stopped/profiled by USC DPS a separate incident? Or does Taraji still owe an apology to USC?
Wow, the officer in that video couldn’t have been nicer or more polite to the kid.