"It's a war going on outside, we ain't safe from"
I’m not sure if having my hands up while being detained by police will keep me from being killed, but I know that men have been killed for obeying such commands. I’m not sure if the police will try to slant the facts in a way that will justify them killing another person, #TerenceCrutcher—another Black man, but I can point to numerous cases where the prosecution failed to secure an indictment from the grand jury. I’m not sure if the media and Facebookers will try to dehumanize the person being shot and killed—broadcasting his rap sheet or saying “He was reaching for a gun”— to feel better about killing another person, but I know that Trayvon Martin was called a thug for wearing a hoodie or Eric Garner was selling cigarettes outside the store before being choked to death #ICantBreathe or Sandra Bland suffered from mental issues which is why she committed suicide while in police custody. I’m not sure if the system wishes to indoctrinate our children into the criminal justice system, but I know that Black and Brown children are two to three times more likely to be arrested by school police than white children for throwing Skittles, being “disruptive,” or fidgeting in class. I’m not sure if non-persons of color receive preferential treatment by police, but I know they are disarmed, charged, indicted, and allowed to have their day in court. As James Baldwin once said while being interviewed onDick Cavett Show, “Now this is the evidence . . . You want me to make an act of faith risking myself, my wife, my woman, my sister, my children, on some idealism (equality), which you assure meexistsin America, which I have never seen.”
These are the facts presented.
The overwhelming weight of the evidence points towards a war that has been waged on Black and Brown bodies in this country. This is shown through data kept byThe Guardianwhich provides an updated list of those killed by police, excluding the most recent killing of #TerenceCutcher. With the death of #TerenceCutcher, 787 have been killed in 2016. The statistics also illustrate that Native Americans are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than non-persons of color, and Blacks are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than non-persons of color. So, yes, while it is true more non-persons of color have been killed by police, when compared to the population of the group, their case for disparate treatment ismoot.
In the “land of mootness” where arguments are left to die for their lack of merit, some non-persons of color hang on to what I like to call “black-hole” facts. Black hole facts are those that exist in a vacuum, lacking in context. For example, the black community will say something to the tune of “Hey, police, stop killing us.” The rebuttal, like a broken record, sounds something like this, “Hey, black community, why don’t you just stop killing one another.” Okay, cool. Not sure where that came from and then left wondering what does that have to do with Black and Brown people being killed by police? I’ll wait . . . still waiting . . . right, nothing at all. See, black hole facts, which have no teeth. Not one black person with a straight face will tell you Black-on-Black crime is not an issue, however, adding salt to the open wound doesn’t help with the healing process.
Another issue I have and what I can’t seem to wrap my head around is why some non-persons of color have this addiction to play the “woe is me” card. It’s like their affirmative defense to deflect Black and Brown issues. A pattern, if you will. Then when given relevant facts, there is an attempt to supplant irrelevant facts in hopes of winning the argument. Let me let you in on a little secret—this isnota debate. Itneverwas andneverwill be. Here are the non-negotiables: freedom, equality, and justice. The way this ideal of “with liberty and justice for all” works is there must be actual “liberty and justice for all.” And certainly that has never been the case. For anyone claiming otherwise is lying to themselves and part of the problem.
These issues aren’t new. In fact, they’ve been around for decades upon decades. Not until open hearts and minds come to the table coupled with a spirit of understanding will things change. Let’s end patriarchal ways of telling people of color how to obtain their equality, because “Denial of the opportunity for participation is the denial of human dignity and democracy.” —Saul Alinsky,Rules for Radicals.
