Racial Justice: Black Breath

This was originally written after the shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, and in response to Mr. Bill Johnson, Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organizations. In response to the death of George Floyd, I decided to post it with minor updates.

There are Americans who are not directly touched by the events that have been transpiring in our nation, as such, they do not care.

There are people whose political perspectives will only allow them to see in denial, so historical facts and truths escape their purview.

There are American people whose ideologies only allow them to juxtapose Black Lives Matter and Police Officers upon a zero sum foundation, so meaning is misinterpreted while content and context becomes distorted through misunderstandings.

I HOPE those people are reading.

Mr. Bill Johnson, what your words reveal in this moment is Black Lives Matter and Police Officers are pursuing two of the same goals.

The first is Validation.

A Washington post article quoted you as saying:

“I think right now, the overriding emotion collectively is one of sadness, I think it’s one of anger and I think it’s one of resignation in the sense that I still have a job to do.”

The Black Lives Matter movement can relate to these sentiments. That collective sadness includes us. Lives were taken in Minnesota. A life was taken in Louisiana. Lives were taken in Dallas. Unless the value of a life is conditional, surely you can see sadness permeates us all. So I agree and acknowledge the sadness of which you speak. Do you acknowledge ours?

Yes, anger abounds. You are angry about the senselessness of what happened to your fellow officers and the unjust actions taken against them. The peaceful protesters share in your anger about what happened in Dallas.

Black Lives Matter asks, does that anger extend to victims of unjust cop killings or is your anger selective in its outrage? Cops have to continue their jobs and we have to keep living our lives knowing that again our paths will eventually cross.

"But there’s got to be a fear, a concern, that because of the job, because of the uniform I wear, I’m being targeted.”

Your uniform is blue. Our uniform is black or brown. Your uniform can be removed. Skin color is kind of difficult to take off. Trust that any African American, particularly males in this country know the feeling of being targeted. We gain experience-dependent learning in it the same way a seasoned officer is able to profile a suspect.

African Americans are racially profiled, disproportionately arrested and are more likely to be the victim of a police shooting. Black Lives Matter seeks to highlight and change this behavior, not denigrate cops. We too want the police force to be the best it can be; often our lives depend on it.

Given the current hostile climate that officers are facing and our shared feelings of being targeted I ask; are you starting to gain a better understanding of the Black Lives Matter perspective?

Can you acknowledge that targeting of African Americans exists, even if it is implicit? Is it possible to critique an officer who abuses the badge or simply makes a mistake, while still offering support for the police force?

And yes, the fear is real. Police may fear stopping us while we fear being pulled over. Police may fear black males while we particularly fear white cops. Police may feel a heightened fear of unknown citizens. African Americans have historically felt and contemporaneously feel a heightened fear of known authority figures. See we dance to the same song. Black Lives Matter asks, do you acknowledge being a partner?

Johnson also said that police, who have been caught in the outcry surrounding two fatal shootings of black men less than 48 hours apart, “feel unfairly painted with a broad brush.”

Prejudice, racial-stereotyping, racial-discrimination and oppression; Black Lives Matter is partly birthed from these unfair practices. Unfortunately, African Americans know these experiences so well we could educate officers on how to face, manage, respond and hopefully overcome their effects. Yes, all cops are being judged due to the actions of others within their group.

Black Lives Matter asks, in having this experience does it allow you to hear our cries in the streets more clearly? Can you offer the beginnings of an empathetic understanding of our experience? Is there common ground for us to better relate?

Mr. Johnson, we exist on two sides of a swinging pendulum whose weight is a badge I hope stops at a fixed point of justice. Uncritical eyes see that badge swinging and say; Black Lives Matter and Police Officers swing in opposite directions. Critical eyes acknowledge the momentum between them reflects the illusion of separation. As the momentum slows, the weight rests at the center of justice.

Justice is the second goal both parties seek.

Unfortunately, this is where momentum begins again forcing Black Lives Matter and Police Officers apart. One main reason this occurs is because there is a power differential between us.

Police officers have the authority to arrest, wield lethal power and are an extension of the justice system at the ground level. Black Lives Matter has a voice, a message and our resistance. When injustice is allowed to unbalance the scales of our justice system, while complicit silence is heard loud and clear, movements such as Black Lives Matter will rise up.

It starts with validation! It ends with justice!

Respectfully,

An American Citizen.