I must pause for a moment to address the recent news about the shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of police officers in Kenosha, WI. Jacob Blake was shot, at point-blank range, multiple times in his back as he walked back to his vehicle that contained three of his children in the back seat. Let us not be confused, this was a highly excessive use of police force and it was not justified. This is yet another scathing example of how police brutality haunts the lives of black and brown people, their families, and communities. Not only is Jacob Blake fighting for his life right now, his children must grapple with and unpack the trauma of watching their father be gunned down by law enforcement officials like an animal. We must acknowledge that the impacts of police brutality against minority groups has the potential to affect the overall quality of life and health of an individual long-term with additional effects at the family and community level.
Being and living Black in America requires a protocol for survival that comes with no guarantees. Black folks must strategically prepare their families and children to operate in a society where there is an unspoken target on our backs. We are tasked with grooming our children to thrive in a society where their value is often diminished and carelessly thrown away. We prepare our children and loved ones to navigate a criminal justice system that is designed to keep our people oppressed. These strategies that are introduced to our children force them to have an awareness about themselves that robs them of their innocence.
While that is the reality, placing the full accountability and responsibility on someone for being severely or fatally wounded unjustly by law enforcement is short-sighted and too much of a burden for any one person to carry. This accountability and responsibility is often placed on the shoulders of the individual when they’re Black or Brown. When Black men, women, and children succumb to the unjust murderous acts perpetrated by police officers, they are criminalized and often stripped of the dignity of being laid to rest peacefully. We must call this what it is… racially motivated, white supremacist fueled, white privilege glorified, and brutal conquests for power and control. Racism and the quest for white power demonstrates no partiality. They do not discriminate against the guilty or non-guilty, docile or aggressive, aware or unaware, safe or unsafe, young or old, male or female, child or adult. The color of one’s skin either increases or decreases the risk for the sudden loss of life because of police brutality. Black lives are viewed as disposable by far too many pulling the strings of systemic and structural oppression. There are far too many people to name that did everything correctly and complied that are sleeping in their graves right. Let us not forget Emmett Till, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, or Breonna Taylor…to name a few. The killing of black men, women, and children has been normalized for far too long. Following every order given by “those in power” is not enough to save Black lives or keep the skin on our backs. White people get apprehended “safely” all the time for doing far worse. Black Americans are 2.5 times more likely than Whites to be killed by police.
The argument of being compliant and accountable is tired. It fuels racism, white supremacy, and white privilege. Whether compliant or not, there are some law enforcement officers who snuff the lives of black men, women, and children with entirely too much ease and little to no consequence. This is not about being anti-police. This is about being anti-police brutality. Black folks just do not have the same luxuries and privileges with their lives as other Americans. We are a resilient people and we travail against many obstacles but that does not give anyone license to treat our lives like they do not matter. #AllLivesMatter is tone deaf and will not make these realities go away. We demand justice and we want it now because #BlackLivesMatter!
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