Two consecutive years with the same brutal narrative, compounded with America’s widely acknowledged history of brutality against black bodies, is not a track record deserving the benefit of the doubt, let alone calmness and diplomacy.
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To truly reflect on the recent conversations in America made public about police’s interaction with black citizens is to be both dismayed by the repetitiveness and polarization of such discussions—not to mention efforts by some black pundits to placate their counterparts during them—and delighted by the fact that a systemic, longstanding issue is finally getting the attention from national media it deserves.
The overkill of a black teenager by law enforcement has, for two consecutive years in the U.S., consumed the national narrative: in November 2014 it was the death of 18-year-old Mr. Michael Brown, moreover the acquittal of his killer, that prompted nationwide protest, and in the same month of 2015, our country is watching an uprising in Chicago due to the fatal officer-involved shooting of 17-year-old Mr. Laquan McDonald.
Both stories prompted the same style of black youth activism—shutting down city streets, highways, retail stores and the lighting of Christmas trees—and, for those who align themselves with the values of the Black Lives Matter movement, the civic engagement is heartening to see.
But it’s the dissenters—both in the media and those who troll Twitter—and their repetitive critiques, that aim to steal that joy, causing jubilant activists and allies to become jaded, due to the fact that, despite the national prominence of the subject matter, we as a country may be no closer today to actually understanding the problem and the reactions to it than we were this time last year.
Responding to the recent marches in Chicago, critics have asked why the protests have continued despite Mr. McDonald’s murderer being charged.
And last year, those who see Black Lives Matter as an irritant, asked why people were still marching in the name of Mike Brown despite the claim of him having his hands up being disproved.
Viewing circumstances through such a narrow frame causes those societal observers to miss the bigger picture. The reason for the outrage in 2014 is also the catalyst for today’s uprising in 2015: Black lives don’t matter to the bureaucracy, no matter the locale, because of institutional racism.
A year ago today in Philadelphia, CNN Commentator, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, expressed this idea in the most succinct way while detailing his trip to Ferguson following Mr. Brown’s killing:
“Our collective outrage, for me, was rooted in sense of disposability,” he told Reverend Mark Tyler, the pastor of the historic Mother Bethel A.M.E Church, once a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Dr. Hill—who noted he left Ferguson not knowing the name of Mr. Brown’s killer because of how the local government aimed to protect the officer—that Sunday said it wasn’t just that Mr. Brown was killed that inspired outrage, but the fact that he was rendered disposable.
“He (Mr. Darren Wilson) was worthy of protection, that corpse on the ground wasn’t worthy of protection,” Dr. Hill said.
Protecting the government at the expense of black life is what Chicagoans are raging against, not just the shooting itself. Residents of the nation’s third largest city are outraged, and rightfully so, that a video existed proving malfeasance in the police force and it was covered up because it was an election year, among other reasons.
That type of disrespect and indifference towards black life could’ve sparked more than peaceful protests, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, who urged for calm ahead of the video’s release, and those in his Administration, should consider themselves lucky a City Hall still exist for them to work out of.
Given society’s conditions, what’s the incentive to remain calm? Why does the government deserve peace if its constituents are repeatedly facing injustice?
Two consecutive years with the same brutal narrative, compounded with America’s widely acknowledged history of brutality against black bodies, is not a track record deserving the benefit of the doubt, let alone calmness and diplomacy.
I don’t condone violence against government or destruction of public property, but I wouldn’t demonize it if it happened, given the circumstances. I believe people should be innocent until proven guilty, but I can totally see why police nationwide are increasingly being blanketed with suspicion. I favor strategy and outcomes, but I wouldn’t frown at chaos and rage.
There’s a gross malady in American policing and it won’t be eradicated by tip-toeing around the issue as to not offend unions, broadcasters or power brokers. We need to combat the issue with the same level of aggression in which it’s materializing in communities. Passivity by the American public—particularly black publishers, philanthropists, and pulpiteers—will not lead to either policy reform nor liberation and justice.
And those who are oppressed must fully understand the dynamics of their oppression and fight rigorously against it. There’s certainly a time for prolonged pontification and dignified dialogue about police’s interaction with black citizens, but the present-day isn’t it.
The current moment calls for obscene outrage and an attitude of aggression towards solutions, anything less would be disproportionate to the grim reality, anything less would send the message that what happened to Mr. Brown in Ferguson and Mr. McDonald in Chicago is normal.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
Spoken solely from an activist viewpoint where it’s not in his best interest to actually discuss how to get somewhere except for stomping one’s feet. I’ve asked Chris to come out from behind the keyboard on many occasions but he drops this stuff out there and just disappears. This is not what a good man does. I suppose this will get deleted.
Peace is not born of violence, nor order of chaos, nor love of hate. There is your incentive.
Over four hundred murders in Chicago this year, the majority black on black violence. A 9 year old black youth gunned down by a rival gang. Where’s your outrage in these crimes? It’s simply far easier for you to blame police for all of society’s ills than to truly address the problem.
The case of the 9 year old boy has been completely hid or ignored. Not only retaliation, he was set up to be murdered. And not a word. The only ones that are really talking about it are news groups that lean to the right. The assumption is made that because they lean to the right, they must be whites and represent whites. Allen B West is a great source for information. And it’s not just the 9 year old. I still get sick to my stomach when I think of a former client who was gunned down on his… Read more »