I’m not a political pundit, talking head, sociology expert or even a celebrity whose opinion might carry weight on this particular issue. I am however, the mother of two young black boys and I think what I have to say is worth listening to.
The United States government cannot currently function because of our inability to have an honest, open dialogue about race.
The president is right: what happened in Ferguson, New York and now Cleveland and what continues to happen to poor communities of color in America is not a black problem; it’s an American problem. Until we can address the fundamental causes of racial inequality in this country: i.e. inadequate schooling, housing, social and economic injustice and perhaps most importantly the rate at which we are killing ourselves. Not only through direct violence but the way many of us allow ourselves to be heard. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, much to the chagrin of my own people-we must take responsibility for ourselves and our communities otherwise we are doomed as a race. That doesn’t have to be the case.
It is quite possible that Michael Brown would be alive today had he not been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a society that believes black men are predisposed to violence-(a prejudice helped beautifully along by urban culture these days) it is suicide for a young black boy to brandish toy guns. In the case of Erick Garner, we all saw that he did not cooperate with the officers and he was in fact resisting arrest. If he had cooperated, he would have been alive today. Unfortunately Akai Gurley was in the wrong place at the wrong time at his home in the projects, simply walking up a staircase-and he was shot in the chest by a rookie officer for it.
Here’s my question, or maybe it’s more of a statement: black men are 21 times more likely to die at the hands of police. Why? Fear? Prejudice? If so, then anybody considering a job as a police officer must seriously consider his true feelings about the community he/she is sworn to protect-most likely they will be facing the people that you are fearful of, and as Giuliani said: it’s not racism, it’s statistics: cops are placed where there is the most crime. How would we react if the majority of police officers were stationed on Park Avenue and not in East New York or Harlem? There would be outrage if there were no cops where they were needed. So, a cop who has prejudices (and it’s nothing to be ashamed of-we all have them-it’s why the intelligent among us become educated, or participate in training-to dispel the ignorance that binds us) and holds the power of life and death in his hands is a dangerous person to have patrolling the streets of high crime areas.
People will call Giuliani a racist but hear him out. He makes a valid point. Some of us don’t like to hear the truth, and that’s just as destructive to us as racism.
When are we going to stop killing, selling drugs to one another, robbing and harming each other and then expect the same cops we vilify to serve and protect us?
Can sensitivity training help? Is community policing the answer? Would an independent prosecutor taking these cases away from the grand jury really make a difference? Are more laws, bureaucracy, red-tape, press- conferences, civilian review boards, and proselytizing going to solve America’s race problem? Talk is cheap. One mother speaking at a Ferguson community meeting after the riots put it best; “we’re tired of rhetoric and innuendos.” She’s right, but this works both ways. What are we going to do about this?
We’ve tried community policing- broken window theory approach to deterence-after school programs, etcetera, etcetera yet, here we are days, months, and years after Anthony Baez, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, and the list is as long as history. Young black and brown men are still dying at the hands of police.
Anybody who is arrested has the right to a trial by their “peers.” They have a right to let the justice system run its course; to prove beyond a “reasonable doubt” the accused’s guilt or innocence. They have rights as human beings, as citizens of a country that prides itself on justice and equality whether it’s an officer accused of a crime, or someone who is arrested for allegedly committing one. We are a nation of laws and no person or institution should be above the law.
However, the right to trial was taken away the moment the officers decided to take matters into their own hands, tragically and I assume unexpectedly killing the perpetrators of the crime they had been accused of. They assumed they were above the law and so far they are- all of the officers have been acquitted of any wrong doing. They continue to get away with it.
Denis Hamill wrote about how important it is for the community of victims of these tragedies see the wheels of justice turn-however slowly. He stated that the outcomes in the cases of Abner Louima, Amadou Dialo, and Sean Bell-all similarly egregious crimes produced no rioting because the officers involved were tried in a court of law. The community felt as though their anger, frustrations and unanswered questions were addressed in a court of law where justice should prevail. There is dignity in that, regardless of the outcome, it lets victims and families know that their loved ones mattered.
In the case of Ferguson, and now New York, questions were unanswered: I mean how is it the world could see that a man was telling the officer he could not breathe, yet that officer continued to choke the life out of him? Somebody should answer for that.
As a mother, it is my responsibility to make sure aren’t ever in the wrong place at the wrong time-iI can’t guarantee it, but I have to try-especially if you live in a sundown state like Ferguson Missouri, or countless other southern states. I pray my boys will never, find themselves in such a situation –it’s my duty to prepare them, to teach them so that they know better; but if they do not, I will warn them that America is not as safe for them as it is for white boys and I will show them the evidence. If a 12 year old boy gunned down by the police for simply playing with a toy gun doesn’t put the fear of God into them, I don’t know what will.
So far in New York the protests are peaceful, but in Ferguson we watched the city burn. Sadly, Ferguson is already plagued by racism-it was simply a matter of time before the bomb went off.
I will never condone the willful destruction of property- especially property belonging to the very community burning it down-nor can I condone the violence that claims lives-black, white or other. It has not eradicated racism- it never will.
We will never fix racial disparity until the system changes, until we address the fact that schools require adequate funding to keep young black men (and women) in school, increasing the likelihood that they will go on to college and earn decent salaries thereby eliminating the possibility they’ll get shot for participating in illegal enterprise.
If they happen to be fortunate enough to be drafted by a professional sports organization without finishing their education, they will be educated and informed enough to not look foolish standing in front of cameras on national television, apologizing and begging for their jobs back because of they did something they never would have done if they had proper guidance or training. They wouldn’t be reliant on an organization that promotes and profits from the perceived innate savagery of black men. (Hello Ray and Janay Rice)
My emotions are as scattered as this piece. My heart breaks for black men in this country-especially the most important negro in charge-Barack Obama, the half-white black man-(I always have to point that out so we can see just how deeply entrenched racism is in this country) who has fought and is still fighting to defy the angry black man stereotype that plagues black men who dare to achieve, or like him, do their jobs-but can’t because at the end of the day, all they really are to most of America are thugs, and criminals whose lives are meaningless. Blacks, especially black men should sit down, shut up or be put down. Isn’t that the desired outcome of censuring the President of the United States of America?
Is it me, or a coincidence that in the latter days of Obama’s presidency we are seeing an increased amount of violence against young black men? I was never one for conspiracy theories but lately, they seem to make sense.
Until we discuss race-honestly-then and only then (I’m thinking house and senate republicans -some democrats too-really need to sit in a room and air out why the just can’t seem to agree with the black man) can this country progress and live up to its ideal: one nation under God indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All. Only then can we heal and get to the important business of safeguarding this sacred republic.
God Bless America. God bless us all.
