Tribal Lines Are Blurred – New Mexico Residents and Police Share Their Views about Race. This series of photographs by Alma D’Arc Pellerin, a University of New Mexico professor of photography, explores the changing nature of race in a border region, as depicted by the faces and voices of local residents. At a recent presentation, several people who responded to the photos in Q&A sessions expressed concerns about the way that police are viewed in the community. “The police department here in Bernalillo County is very white,” said Mark Smith, who grew up here but now lives in Utah. “The people that are being arrested and incarcerated are mostly Mexican.” He added that he believes the police “hate” Hispanic people. “The police are targeting them. I hate to say it, but it’s my opinion that they are racially profiling them,” he said. Smith said he thinks there are fewer resources allocated for law enforcement in Hispanic communities, as well as lower pay and longer hours. “When they have to pay their officers less, they need to use them more,” he said. “The Hispanic community feels that the government is discriminating against them,” said Nelton, who worked as an FBI agent and became a professor of sociology at UNM. He said when he started collecting interviews for this project, he did not try to interview people who were connected to law enforcement. “But when I brought this up to other people here, they felt that I needed to ask the police what they thought of Hispanics,” he said. “They are the ones out there in the street, so what their views are is important.” In contrast, other interviewees talked about “wanting justice” for victims, or about family members who have served in the military and would never discriminate. “I support the police,” Nayes said. “I don’t know how they do it, but I know that they are doing a lot of investigating and are trying to do a good job.” “A lot of people are concerned about safety and racial profiling,” she said. “But I don’t see it. I think they are out there for the safety of the community.” Nelton said the police are not trying to punish people of color. “This is a huge step forward, as compared to what they have done in the past. When they profile, they don’t look at that as an evil thing, but that is their job, and that’s their responsibility. You can understand where they are coming from, if they go around looking at things as evil,” he said. “They have to do that to protect the community.” The issue of race and law enforcement is not just a concern of the people on the border. Two of Nelton’s students, Daniel Perez and Ava Mora, plan to document issues of race in law enforcement agencies throughout New Mexico. In addition, Nelton’s students plan to research how other racial groups within the city of Albuquerque define themselves in relation to others. “Often times they don’t see themselves as white,” said Paula Nelton, an associate professor of anthropology at UNM. A key part of this research is how people self-identify, she said. “The reality is that we are all mixed races, so when we’re talking about self-identification, it really becomes important to find out who are the mixed race individuals.” […] P.S. I know some of you will be surprised by these comments by a law enforcement officer. When I lived in rural New Mexico, the sheriff there told me that the local cops have “the same attitude” as the ones in this story. I knew him pretty well, and I have no reason to think he was lying or telling an untruth. In my opinion, racial profiling by law enforcement is only something that police do because they know they can get away with it. That’s why I am now on the verge of getting my concealed carry permit. The New Mexico sheriffs I talked to about concealed carry said that most of their deputies are going to be okay with it, but some may not like it. —- In other words, race in New Mexico continues to be a controversial issue. The people who have spent the most time thinking about the implications of race and law enforcement in the state include a variety of academics and law enforcement professionals who are in Albuquerque. It’s true that this is not necessarily representative of all of New Mexico. It’s also true that you never can tell how people will react to specific subjects when you just ask them to give you their honest opinion. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the residents of Albuquerque have long been unhappy with some aspects of racial issues related to police and law enforcement. I would like to note that I have lived in New Mexico for three months now, and I have never experienced racial profiling personally. Yet, I believe the stories I have read here and have seen in other media. Of course, I would prefer to hear from people who live in Bernalillo County. One person who commented on my story from the police said that he had “nothing but positive things to say about the Albuquerque Police Department.” On a separate occasion, I talked to a professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico who I know quite well. He expressed interest in talking about this topic, and we talked about it for over an hour. As I mentioned earlier, his father was a deputy sheriff who retired with a reputation for being very fair. Again, it’s important to reiterate that the residents of Bernalillo County are not a representative sample of New Mexico. It’s possible that more people who live in certain parts of Albuquerque experience racial profiling, while others don’t experience it. But what I did learn is that the Albuquerque area contains a large Hispanic community. Yet, it also contains a large Catholic community and a significant Mormon community. New Mexico is culturally mixed, as it once was. The story about Sheriff Ortiz reminded me of my experiences with local law enforcement in Bernalillo County. I know people who have been stopped on the side of the road simply because their vehicle had Utah license plates. Others have been followed while driving around on the reservation, which happens to have a large amount of money in it. In fact, New Mexico has a lot of money, which is one of the reasons many people moved to the state, whether they are Hispanic or not. In other words, the racial makeup of New Mexico means that a lot of people can “pass” for white. You may not think so, but most people who are Hispanic would not think of themselves as white. For some reason, if you have light skin color, you may not experience race as being a barrier to success. In other words, it’s all in how you see things. This is what I have heard over and over again in the United States, and it’s true here in New Mexico. Of course, there are some people who may feel the same way about black and white people. It’s also interesting that the issue of skin color also means that people who have blue eyes can pass as white, while some of them may pass for Hispanic. Also, the same applies to people who have freckles. For instance, I’ve known some people in California who were very fair skinned and had blue eyes. I don’t think you could ever mistake them for Hispanic. What I am saying here is that all of this is subject to interpretation, and you will find this to be true of all kinds of people throughout the world. It is a cultural as well as a personal issue, and it can only be understood from individual points of view. We each interpret things differently. This is something that I believe in, and it is why I think it is important to include the voices of individuals in the story. It was surprising to see what the New Mexico sheriff told me about some of his officers and about how he viewed racial issues. He even explained to me that one of the most difficult aspects of being a policeman in Albuquerque is dealing with a large Hispanic community. I don’t know how that will influence things if someone has had a past criminal record, but you can be sure that it will be used against some individuals if they are minorities. The police don’t like doing this, but it’s often necessary to protect themselves, to protect others, and to protect the community. After all, that’s their job. If they don’t do it, they will be held liable for all of the damage that results from racial profiling or discrimination. In the end, I have to wonder how much truth there is to these stereotypes. That’s why it’s important to explore the stories of people who actually experience these situations. I think it’s something that the average person in New Mexico will never fully understand unless they spend a lot of time in the Albuquerque area. —- I am going to make it clear that I have never been a victim of racial profiling, but I have often had contact with some of my students who did experience discrimination. This experience involves a personal story, but it is really about a cultural issue. I don’t mean this in a derogatory way. That’s why I didn’t include this part of the story in the last book. This incident happened over the Christmas holidays, which always brings an increased amount of police activity in some parts of Albuquerque. My wife and I were in this region because we were planning to travel to northern Mexico, which would mean taking