Black Muslim perceptions of police respectfulness and stop legitimacy

Abstract

There is limited understanding of how perceptions of racially discriminatory policing are complicated by ethnicity, particularly among Black Muslims. Given the dual-pronged discrimination they likely experience, this study examines how racial and Muslim identity, systemic racism, and knowledge of Black history influence perceptions of police respectfulness and stop legitimacy among a nationwide sample of Black Muslims. Results determined a negative relationship between perceptions of racism as a major problem in America and police respectfulness and a positive relationship between knowledge of Black history and illegitimate stops. These findings support the continued implementation of policies to eliminate racism and develop a broader understanding of American Black history, as well as speak to the benefits of ongoing police reforms in this regard.

Keywords:

• Black Muslims
• perceptions of law enforcement
• procedural justice
• stop legitimacy
• theory of African American offending

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Funding

This work was not supported by any source of internal or external funding.

Data availability statement

This study utilized data from the Yaqeen Institute for Muslim Research’s Racial and Muslim Identity Survey, available here.

Notes

1 Due to the categorical nature and non-normal distribution of this variable, the natural log of age was used for the purposes of this study.