Tall, Dark and Dangerous? Study Finds Tall Black Men Are In More Danger Of Biased Policing

[MrScorpio]

By Cecilia Smith -March 10, 2018

Entangled in controversy, you would think the infamous New York Police Department would have enough things to worry about, including a recent leaked file that revealed hundreds of officers had been allowed to remain on the job following a string of fireable offenses. According to a new report however, research indicates that there’s something else on the minds of some officers, namely, a fear of tall African-American men.

Yes, you read that right.

Published by the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, the study — conducted by University of North Carolina psychology professor Kurt Gray and social psychology graduate student Neil Hester — concluded that being a tall Black man increases the likelihood of being profiled by white New York Police officers.

According to the study, “Young Black men are stereotyped as threatening, which can have grave consequences for interactions with police. We show that these threat stereotypes are even greater for tall Black men, who face greater discrimination from police officers and elicit stronger judgments of threat. We challenge the assumption that height is intrinsically good for men. White men may benefit from height, but Black men may not.”

It also found that, “Height seems beneficial for men in terms of salaries and success; however, past research on height examines only White men. For Black men, height may be more costly than beneficial, primarily signaling threat rather than competence. Three studies reveal the downsides of height in Black men.”

http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/03/10/study-proves-race-height-plays-factor-police-discrimination/

[irisblue]

1. 🤔🤦‍♀️ nt

[Chitown Kev]

2. I have a rather strange opinion about this

I'm a 5' 7'' gay black man, a bit effeminate, who has worn glasses for most of his almost 51 years on this planet.

If my experiences with the police (of any color) indicate anything, the OP is correct...I do think that in encounters with police, I am not perceived as being threatening at all...I don't think that my height has necessarily been an advantage over other black men, I don't think that it's a disadvantage when it comes to a lot of things, though.

And you are talking to someone who DID go to jail for minor offenses when he was in his 20's, someone who has encountered LEO's in NYC, Washington DC, Chicago, and Boston..

...knocking on wood, though, to be sure

...EDIT- I do think that my height may have something to do with my experiences, I think that the fact that I wear glasses is even more significant...I did wear contacts for a couple of months and leaving aside the fact that I did not like the way that I looked without wearing glasses, I did notice a few more purse-clutchings as I would walk by some white women...for example

I also think that the fact that I don't drive and that I have used public transportation all of my life has something to do with the fact that I simply haven't been in some situations that make black drivers vulnerable to racism...this is a topic that I have thought a lot about, actually

[Kind of Blue]

3. Interesting. I have to show this to my brother who has

always felt particularly targeted because of his height since his early teens. I'm glad that the article mentioned same for black women as well because my brother's wife, also very tall, felt the same throughout her life.