The Uptown Chronicle: Stop and Frisk – A Daily Reality

Jahlanni Greene, 17, is a happy high school student. Aki Ferguson, 25, is a butcher. Jason Stewart, 32, is a maintenance worker. All three lead different lives and are different ages, but they are all black men, they all live in Hunts Point and they have all been stopped and frisked by the officers of the 41st precinct.

“I was just walking to school,” said Green.

“I was walking home from the grocery,” said Stewart.

“I was just getting some fresh air outside my home,” said Ferguson.

This is the daily reality for young males of color who reside in Hunts Point. “For us, it’s an everyday thing,” said Stewart, referring to his family and friends. No guns, knives or drugs were discovered on any of them. After they were each stopped and searched—without consent—they were immediately released. They had done no wrong…

While this decision from the courts was important, according to Robin Steinberg, the Executive Director and Founder of Bronx Defenders, the damage for the black and brown residents of New York City was already done. “It’s soul searing,” she said.

Read more here.