Robyn A. Porter

Last year, state Rep. Robyn Porter was interviewed by The Undefeated and National Geographic about racial profiling during traffic stops. After she was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 2014, Porter was pulled over by a New Haven police officer. Before she could ask why she was stopped, he said “I need to make sure your plates aren’t stolen.” The officer took Porter's license and registration and warned that if the legislative plates on her car were stolen, it would be a “serious federal offense.” Her plates were not stolen and she was ushered off in style. Nonetheless, the damage had been done.

As Porter raced off to make an appointment that she was going to be late for, she was fuming – fuming at the fact that she had been pulled over and harassed for no other reason than being black while driving. Last year when asked, Porter agreed to share her story with Michael Fletcher of The Undefeated for the April issue of National Geographic, which explores how race defines, separates and unites us all. This article puts a spotlight on what it’s like to be racially profiled during a traffic stop, and the subtle and not so subtle effects such incidents have on families and communities that are already suffering from some degree of urban trauma.