"...a young brother got it bad cause I'm brown."
Whenever things like this happen (way too often) I think of O'shea Jackson. I think of walking with my boys on new years eve and seeing my friends get patted down, while I pretend my elementary knowledge of freemasonry will prevent me from harm. I think of the generations of men and women who have to teach their sons how to deal with the police. At the same time I think of those who don't have to think of this 'rite of passage' and for them dealing with the police is not a life or death situation.
There has never been a time in this country where Black men were NOT the target of police brutality. It's not a daily occurrence where the police kill an unarmed man. However when it does happen you can pretty much guarantee that the victim is Black. In writing this entry I did a google search for the numbers of unarmed men killed by police in the US and every answer on the first page was a Blackman. I didn't ask for Blackmen but that's what I got because that's who they kill. A Blackman's life has never been worth much on US soil since the first slave ship arrived. Yet here we stand less than two weeks before the first Black President is sworn in (I'll be there) and a 22 year old Black father is shot dead on the ground like a dog...again.
The folks in Oakland are taking this both "lying down" and standing upright. I've been told a number of protesters layed out in the street in the same position as the victim Oscar Grant. Another group of folks took to the streets on foot starting out peaceful, ending with smashed windows and police chases. The latter is what you see in the following pictures.
There has never been a time in this country where Black men were NOT the target of police brutality. It's not a daily occurrence where the police kill an unarmed man. However when it does happen you can pretty much guarantee that the victim is Black. In writing this entry I did a google search for the numbers of unarmed men killed by police in the US and every answer on the first page was a Blackman. I didn't ask for Blackmen but that's what I got because that's who they kill. A Blackman's life has never been worth much on US soil since the first slave ship arrived. Yet here we stand less than two weeks before the first Black President is sworn in (I'll be there) and a 22 year old Black father is shot dead on the ground like a dog...again.
The folks in Oakland are taking this both "lying down" and standing upright. I've been told a number of protesters layed out in the street in the same position as the victim Oscar Grant. Another group of folks took to the streets on foot starting out peaceful, ending with smashed windows and police chases. The latter is what you see in the following pictures.
I'm not going to ask the usual why questions because I feel like between Diallo and Sean Bell I've exhausted those in my own mind. Honestly after Sean Bell I just felt tired. Tired of all the weight, of people not understanding or not caring. Tired of feeling powerless to stop something that's been going on for generations before me. I wonder if having more people of color in higher positions in politics will change the face of this American tradition. In NY the city council just signed a resolution requiring police officers to fill out detailed reports when a weapon is discharged. (http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/91831/council-votes-for-longer-reports-on-police-shootings/Default.aspx) In 2009 this is just NOW being addressed? I guess progress is progress. I would love to hear your view points on this whole ordeal. Please leave a comment to express...whatever you want to express.
For more info (and video) see this link.
http://tinyurl.com/7vlzgj
Photo's courtesy of Thomas Hawk and mashget.
posted by Dashaun From Brooklyn at
11:59 AM
1 Comments:
I think what other people don't understand is that these extreme incidences can be felt in the everyday life by those it affects. How many times have you been followed around a store? How many times has someone screamed English in your face, assuming that your skin is much too dark to know the language? How many times has your intelligence been questioned when the minority gets the promotion or the spot in the Ivy League classroom over the next white kid? How many times have you been pulled over for looking suspicious? And, how many times have you been told to just get over it? I agree with D, that events extreme enough to make it on to the 10 o'clock news such as Sean Bell and Dialo and, hell, I'll even take it back to Rodney King, may not be daily occurrences, but the impact can be felt in everyday lives, and people can not just get over it.
Obama will not just get over it. From a political standpoint, I believe that Obama is someone that has been affected and hurt by these issues more than any President before. He has a particular understanding of these feelings and will find it natural to be sensitive. For the first time in history, a President will understand. Progress has staggered in the past, but I believe it will pick up. It has to. Obama has too many people counting on him and he knows it. Wish him luck, support the cause and be active. He can't do it alone and everyone is watching. Don't let him fail.
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