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Eric André is known for wearing suits, weird humor, and going out of the way to show his audience his genitals. The newest addition to that list of associations? Racial justice in airports. Atlanta’s, specifically.
Remember when Alabama PD was doing traffic stops to fund their police department? This is like that, if it involved making a million dollars off of people trying to make it to the next city’s baggage claim in one piece.
Comedians Eric André and Clayton English are challenging a police program at the Atlanta airport they say violates the constitutional rights of airline passengers, particularly Black passengers, through racial profiling and coercive searches just as they are about to board their flights.
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The police department calls the stops “consensual encounters” and says they are “random,” but in reality the stops “rely on coercion, and targets are selected disproportionately based on their race,” the lawyers argue…402 stops also yielded more than $1 million in cash and money orders from a total of 25 passengers. All but one were allowed to continue their travels, and only two — the ones who also had drugs — were charged, the lawsuit says.
Given that one of Mr. André’s most popular sketches involve him repeatedly shooting someone before asking the crowd who was responsible, it is refreshing to see the comedian take up some communal responsibility.
André said he felt a “moral calling” to bring the lawsuit “so these practices can stop and these cops can be held accountable for this because it’s unethical.”
“I have the resources to bring national attention and international attention to this incident. It’s not an isolated incident,” he said. “If Black people don’t speak up for each other, who will?”
In my opinion, this is a great bit of activism. Better than what Kanye has recently been up to, anyway. Unsolicited advice to André — if this does make it to court, please try to keep your pants on. Even if it would be really funny if you didn’t. Fight the temptation.
Comedians Sue Over Drug Search Program At Atlanta Airport [Associated Press]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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