Chapter 6: Driving While Black or Brown: The Mathematics of Racial Profiling

In the dramatic film version of the life of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Denzel Washington plays Hurricane, the great middleweight boxer from Paterson, New Jersey who spent 20+ years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the following story: In 1966, two gunmen invade a Paterson bar and shoot fatally three people. At about the same time, Hurricane and a young friend, John Artis, are leaving a party not too far away. As they drive home, the police pull them over. The officers shine their light inside the car and recognize Hurricane, a local hero. One of them says quickly, “Oh sorry, Mr. Carter, we didn’t know it was you. We were looking for a couple of Negroes in a white car.” To which Denzel dryly responds, “Any two will do?”