Driving while Black or Latino
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2026 Blog #25
July 20, 2026
Driving while Black or Latino
Recently I heard from the news outlets that ICE has suspended traffic stops but I then heard that the President overturned this decision and ICE will continue to do traffic stops. I continue to grieve the killings of citizens by ICE agents, several of which came from traffic stops. During these events, the common reason given by these agents is that the car was “weaponized.” I haven’t seen the evidence in any of these cases, but I wonder why, when stopped, did the drivers not turn off their engines. These stops and shootings remind me of what black friends of mine have told me about “driving while black.”
These black friends tell me that they are frequently pulled over by police officers in certain, all white, communities. One man in particular I knew when I lived in Albany. He told me that almost every time he drove his car in a white suburb south of Albany, he would be pulled over. He was a well-dressed professional with new cars. He was never given tickets on these encounters. He was stopped, had his registration, license and insurance checked and left to go on his way. This happened, he told me, on multiple occasions. In contrast, I drove through this same suburb frequently and was never Once pulled over for a traffic stop. Were my friends’ frequent traffic stops race based?
Fortunately, my friend survived these stops. He obeys the protocol that I was taught to use during traffic stops. When I first received my learners permit, my police officer uncle, and a deputy chief of police who was a family friend, each told me what to do if I was ever pulled over. I had and still have, white privilege but they still took the time to give me these instructions. They called these “how to survive traffic stops” instructions. What they told to do during a traffic stop was:
1. Turn your engine off
2. Turn off the car radio
3. Take off sunglasses
4. Keep your hands visibly on the steering wheel
5. Always address the officers as “sir.” There were no female officers when I was taught this.
I wonder if some of the shooting victims of ICE would still be alive if they had abided by these rules. I’m not justifying the shootings by ICE agents, but I wonder if the victims might still be alive if they had deescalated the encounters that they had with these agents.
Whether or not we are pulled over for a good cause or a bad one, our first responsibility is to stay alive. In at least one ICE shooting, the victim was in her car, the car was running and she and a passenger were taunting and insulting the ICE agents. How can such behavior add to the safety of the situation?
I’m not endorsing the aggressive actions of these agents. I’m not endorsing the actions of people who enter a nation illegally without proper papers. I am, however, convinced that all of us who operate motor vehicles and are stopped, can survive. I was taught these procedures even though I have white privilege. I feel that it is horrific that black folks and Hispanics are more likely to get stopped than I am. A traffic stop can be deadly. Let us all do what we can to avoid fatalities from traffic stops. Let us all learn, and practice, the ways to deescalate potentially dangerous situations. Fair or unfair, proper or not, let us all do what we can to preserve life.
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