These cases involving unarmed Black men being murdered by police have gotten a lot of attention, due to the fact that there is a significant repeating pattern where White policemen practice enforcement and racial profiling.
The reason why these cases are so important is that they uncover a long history of tensions born from decades of discrimination and inequality. We have to move back to the point when the African Black men and women were brought to America as slaves. They meant free labour in the times of industrial development. There were clear rights differences between the Black and the White. Examples of these rights include the housing, education, health services, and protection.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a big movement in favor of the Civil Rights started. During that period, many nonviolent demonstrations and civil disobedience produced crisis between activists and government authorities. These situations made public the clear inequities of the African American community. As a consequence, official action took place to improve this situation.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination based on "race, color, religion or national origin" in employment practices and public services
- The Voting Act of 1965 allowed and protected voting right
- Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing
But this movement of understanding cooperation and understanding between races was accompanied with violent riots in the 1960s and 1970s. Extremists African American requested political and economical self-sufficiency through the Black Power Movement. This undercut the support of the White community, who moved away from the problems. The Black population lost access to good education, which limits their career opportunities. This led to lack of resources, discrimination and poverty in the Black communities, which is the perfect bed for criminality. This vicious cycle has been developing for generations, and it is gradually difficult to get out of it.
There has been a lot of discussion about this latest events. It is understandable, since it is a civil problem that is still open. But some arguments shared in the public are not practical to find a path of common understanding and to end discrimination.
One example, some people condemn the Ferguson case, claiming that Brown was "such a good kid". Despite this might be true, it is not the reason why Brown shouldn't have been murdered. The reason is that he was a human being and his life mattered. It doesn't matter if he was good or not, it only matters if he acted against the law or not.
On the other hand, there are some people that argue that if Black men are being condemned, they surely where at the wrong spot. Their advice to Black men and women is "Stop giving them a reason to kill you". This could sound like a logical thing to do. However, the argument gets easily dismissed when we look at the statistics. There is significantly more conflicts between the police and Black men than any other race, even in communities where the percentage of black is significantly lower than anything else. In a recent Michigan Radio report, it was stated that 60% of the traffic citations in Ferndale due to speeding in a 16-month period were given to Black. However, the Black population of the town is 10%. These two numbers are too far apart to represent reality. And like this, there are many other similar facts that imply a higher tendency to see Black men as "no good by default". Thus, the argument that "Black men should get away from troublesome situations" is not helpful; it can't solve all the unfair cases, where policemen were moved by racial profiling, and not real justification that explains their enforcement.
Because racial discrimination is an important social issue, it has moved many activists to demonstrate in the street. In Ferguson, as well as many other places, people started marching in peaceful protests, some of them became less peaceful. While violence is not the path to gain justice, it can be understood that people are angry, and this may arise emotional tension that leads to some conflict. But all they are claiming is that they don't want to keep on living in fear. However, the word 'riot' has been used to call these manifestations. A riot is a violent disturbance of peace by a crowd. What is happening all around the country are not riots, but claims for justice, the end of oppression and racial discrimination.
There are two main factors in this equation: racism and excessive law enforcement. To address the first one: anti racism movement is a struggle for generations, and changing the system won't happen overnight. This practice involves access to information (from as many channels as possible, to prevent getting biased reports), acknowledging the problems and searching for common solutions. To the second one: there is no definition of "excessive law enforcement". Policemen have to use their judgement to considered themselves threaten and take corrective action. Maybe the needed action is to increase the training and define more concretely the need for action under all possible circumstances. Also, allowing policemen to get the experience in the job gradually will enable them to act avoiding unnecessary violence unless completely necessary.
Thanks for reading
Lita & Andres
