Driving While Black on Robert E. Lee Boulevard? An Investigation of Racial Profiling in Traffic Stops and Searches on Streets Named for Confederate Figures in the United States South

Abstract

In recent years, the United States has experienced much debate regarding public displays of Confederate iconography. However, empirical psychological research on the issue is scarce. Drawing upon official traffic stop data from seven police departments across the South, we tested whether racial profiling of Black drivers is more pronounced on streets named for Confederate figures compared to streets not named for Confederate figures. We employed two tests that have been previously developed to detect racial profiling in traffic stops and searches: the veil of darkness test and the outcome test, respectively. To assess Southerners’ familiarity with certain Confederate figures, we distributed a pilot survey through the platform Prolific. Contrary to predictions, we did not obtain support that suggests that Black drivers are more likely to be racially profiled in terms of either traffic stops or searches on Confederate-named streets vs. non-Confederate-named streets. These results held true even when Confederate-named streets were categorized as only the streets that included the full names of the most recognizable Confederate figures. When not taking street name into account, our analyses also did not consistently indicate racial profiling of Black drivers according to the veil of darkness and outcome tests. Limitations and implications are discussed.