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My First Police Stop

"My First Police Stop" by Hanif Willis Abdurraqib recounts the experience of a young black man who, after receiving a college scholarship for football, faces racial profiling during a police encounter. The essay addresses themes of police brutality and racial relations, aiming to humanize the experiences of black individuals to a prejudiced audience. Ultimately, it conveys that despite systemic injustice, African Americans can maintain a sense of humanity and hope without harboring hate.

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Patti Heard
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71 views

My First Police Stop

"My First Police Stop" by Hanif Willis Abdurraqib recounts the experience of a young black man who, after receiving a college scholarship for football, faces racial profiling during a police encounter. The essay addresses themes of police brutality and racial relations, aiming to humanize the experiences of black individuals to a prejudiced audience. Ultimately, it conveys that despite systemic injustice, African Americans can maintain a sense of humanity and hope without harboring hate.

Uploaded by

Patti Heard
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Last Name 1

Student Name

Instructor’s Name

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Date

“My First Police Stop”

"My First Police Stop" by Hanif Willis Abdurraqib is a story about a young black man

who gets a college scholarship because of his talent in football. The story describes how he

struggles to acquire a new car and subsequently how this car leads to an encounter common with

people of color in white neighborhoods. His run-in with the police and the subsequent fear is

common in people from his community.

The essay explores a complex topic of police brutality and racial relations between the

police and their victims. There have been several cases where the police have been accused of

racially profiling people of color. These actions reflect a history of racism and prejudice against a

minority that has been disenfranchised for decades.

The intended audience for this essay is white people who are still prejudiced against

black people. The essay provides them with a chance to explore the feelings of black people who

are constantly facing racism. It helps to humanize people who are feared simply because they are

black. It also helps to show them that not all African American people harbor feelings of hate

towards a justice system that is constantly punishing them.

The main idea that the author is trying to put across is that despite facing a justice system

that disenfranchises them; African American people can still exist without hate in their hearts.
Last Name 2

Two descriptions reinforce this idea. The first is a description of how the police held the narrator

down on the ground simply for reaching for his identification (Willis-Abdurraquib, 2016). This

is a clear depiction of the injustice that exists. The other description is how the narrator is seated

on the sidewalk after his encounter with the police alone with no one trying to help, and yet he

does not hate the police (Willis-Abdurraquib, 2016). It shows how he can rise above the

unpleasant experience.
Last Name 3

Work Cited

Willis-Abdurraquib, H. (2016). My First Police Stop (Published 2016). Nytimes.com. Retrieved

18 January 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/fashion/mens-style/my-

first-police-stop.html.

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