Respected music producer and Harvard and Duke University lecturer 9th Wonder—who has worked with acts like Little Brother, Jay Z, Destiny’s Child, and Mary J. Blige—was pulled over while driving through South Carolina on Monday.
The encounter, as detailed by 9th Wonder in a Facebook post, stemmed from a police officer’s claim that he had been driving erratically and had a visibly cracked windshield.
When questioned by fans about the legitimacy of being stopped because of a cracked windshield, 9th Wonder posted photos.
Being stopped for “driving while black” is a phenomenon far too familiar to the majority of black Americans. It is an occurrence that places many in a state of fear and paranoia during routine traffic stops, and causes the assumption that they are being targeted because of their race—even when they are being stopped for legitimate reasons.
9th Wonder’s Facebook fans were divided on the topic of his stop and some even accused him of crying wolf and race baiting.
9th Wonder clarified that the reason for his post was to highlight his belief that “the system” is corrupt and leads to encounters like the one that he had. He further clarified that he doesn’t believe that all white people are guilty of racism.
While there is some ambiguity surrounding the events as detailed, the racial profiling of drivers is a hot topic in South Carolina, and 9th Wonder’s apprehension about stepping out of his car is certainly justified less than a month after a South Carolina state trooper shot unarmed man Levar Jones during a routine traffic stop. It’s also not the first time entertainers have spoken out about their treatment by South Carolina police and claimed to be racially profiled during a traffic stop.
Photo via DeShaun Craddock/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)