"This compromise is an insult to our intelligence. Racial profiling is already illegal in California under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution," said Michelle Alexander of the ACLU of Northern California. "This is a smoke screen and just one more tactic to avoid mandatory data collection by law enforcement. We don't need a bill outlawing something that is already illegal, and we don't need police officers' business cards when we are stopped by police on the basis of race. What we demand is police accountability. We demand data collection that will allow us to prove discriminatory police practices."

Over a thousand people gathered at the State Capitol to protest racial profiling and to urge the Governor to sign the Driving While Black or Brown Bill SB 1389. The protest was sponsored by the newly formed Racial Justice Coalition which includes the ACLU, NAACP, California League of United Latin American Citizens, United Farm Workers, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, and numerous local organizations. Today's demonstration was endorsed by more than 70 churches, unions, civil rights and grassroots organizations throughout the state.

"It is especially cynical that Senator Murray would announce this offensive compromise at today's protest urging the Governor to sign SB 1389," said John Crew, of the national ACLU. "Senator Murray buckled under Governor Davis' pressure to abandon the bill, and it is stunning that he would try to pass it off as a victory at this event."

"The compromise brokered by Governor Davis and Senator Murray today is a betrayal of communities of color and their families who have suffered discriminatory police practices," said Michelle Alexander. "The bill is largely symbolic, and Governor Davis is sorely mistaken if he thinks that people of color are going to be fooled by this. We are not going away and we will continue to demand that mandatory data collection by law enforcement become law."