Police Brutality and Black Clients: Implications for the Counseling Profession

Dating as far back as the Slave Patrols and Night Watchers of 1704 (Kappeler, 2014; Nelson, 2000), violence by authorities against Black men and women has been pervasive throughout American history. This history has led to a systemic culture of oppression and marginalization of Black individuals, which transcends all socio-economic classes and permeates every social institution (excluding their own families and the Black church), including law enforcement (Cornileus, 2012). Black males and other People of Color are profiled in the media as criminals, deviant, unapproachable, and to be greatly feared. This profile often becomes a determinant of how Blacks are viewed and treated by others, and even how they begin to view themselves (Bell, Hopson, Craig, & Robinson, 2014; Hutchinson, 1996).