One Year Out

Around the time of the George Floyd murder, we watched the movie Just Mercy as a family.  It tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard educated lawyer who travels to Alabama to found the Equal Justice Initiative, a program to help fight for poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation.  Much of his work takes the form of appeals for death row inmates, including Walter "Johnny D" McMillian.  McMillian was an African American man convicted of the 1986 murder of a white woman, Ronda Morrison.  When Stevenson studies McMillian's case, he discovers that the entirety of his conviction hangs on the word of another convicted felon, who traded his testimony for a lighter sentence.  All evidence favorable to McMillian was excluded, including several eye witness testimonies that confirmed that McMillian could not have been involved.  The testimonies were excluded because the witnesses were black.  McMillian was convicted because he had "looked like a criminal" in his mug shot.  And so there is no mistake, he was wrongfully convicted.

He was guilty of existing while black.

Stevenson is also African-American.  The film depicts other instances of Stevenson suffering for existing while black.  He is forced to strip naked before visiting his clients in the prison, something no other attorneys are required to do.  He is pulled over by the cops while driving.  They offer no reason for the stop, but threaten him at gunpoint.  Guilty of the crime of driving while black.

"Driving while black" is the usual way this crime is referenced.  It refers to the tendency of African Americans to be pulled over for no apparent reason.  The thought is the very fact that an African American is driving that type of car, in that neighborhood, at that time of day, and so on and so on, is inherently suspicious.  "Driving while black."

We're seeing that the list of suspicious activities and crimes that African Americans can be stopped for, questioned about, convicted of, and killed for is rapidly increasing.

• Relaxing at home while black- Bothem Jean, Atatiana Jefferson
• Asking for help after a car crash while black - Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride
• Having a cellphone while black - Stephon Clark
• Leaving a party to get to safety while black - Jordan Edwards
• Playing loud music while black- Jordan Davis
• Selling CDs while black - Alton Sterling
• Sleeping while black - Aiyana Jones (7! years old)
• Walking from the corner store while black - Mike Brown
• Playing cops and robbers as kids while black - Tamir Rice
• Going to church while black - The Charleston 9: Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson
• Walking home with Skittles while black, wearing a hoodie while black- Trayvon Martin
• Holding a hair brush, leaving our own bachelor party while black - Sean Bell
• Partying on New Years while black - Oscar Grant
• Getting a traffic ticket while black - Sandra Bland
• Lawfully carrying a weapon while black - Philando Castile
• Having car problems while black - Corey Jones
• Shopping at Wal-Mart while black - John Crawford
• Walking with grandfather while black - Clifford Glover (10 years old)
• Decorating for a party while black - Claude Reese
• Asking a cop a question while black - Randolph Evans
• Cashing a check while black - Yvonne Smallwood
• Taking out wallet while black - Amadou Diallo
• Running while black - Walter Scott
• Breathing while black - Eric Garner
• Having a past while black - Freddie Gray

At that time a year ago we added:

• Jogging while black - Ahmaud Arbery
• Sleeping while black - Breonna Taylor 
• Defending home from invaders who killed girlfriend while black - Kenneth Walker
• Asking someone to obey the law while black - Christian Cooper
• Buying groceries while black - George Floyd

In the year since George Floyd's murder, we've added

• Having an expired vehicle registration - Daunte Wright
• Calling 9-1-1 and trying to defend herself - Ma'khia Bryant

And those are just perhaps two of the most noteworthy.

There have been 181 Black people killed by police since George Floyd's murder.  Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, despite being 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed than white people. These figures are amplified when looking at the country's largest cities.  In 47 of the 50 largest U.S. cities, police killed Black people at higher rates than white people. In Chicago, police killed Black people at a rate 22 times more than that for white people, based on killings per 100,000 population. In Miami, racial disparities could not be calculated because every person killed by the city's police department was Black or brown.  Of the 181 police killings of Black people since Floyd's death, the highest number of killings occurred in Florida, with 19 victims, followed by California, where there were 17, and Texas and Georgia, which each recorded 13.

We would like to think things have changed, and they have in small ways.  But there are so many large scale changes that still need to be implemented.  We have to remember that we are here because of long standing wounds of our past that we have never atoned for completely.  We've always pushed it down the road, because we don't want to deal with harsh truths.  

The thing about wounds is, though, if you don't fully treat it, it just becomes infected.  That's what we have.  A deep infection in the country regarding race, that must be treated.  And the treatment is going to be painful.  It's going to require a lot of substantial change.  And it requires our full attention to it.  All of our attention.

This can't just be a fad cause for allies, like so many others.  We're seeing now that white ally support for change is starting to fade.  Just after Floyd's murder started attracting national attention and starting a conversation about race relations and power, corporations pledged $50 billion to causes on racial equity.  To date, only $250 million has been spent.  Initial investor's meetings and earnings call transcripts had a ten-fold increase in mentions of "systemic racism" and "Black Lives Matter," but those mentions have dropped back down to original levels.

Recent polling numbers show that the support for Black Lives Matter has severely declined. Despite the litany of evidence, a May 21, 2021 PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll insinuates that most white people still don’t believe Black people are treated differently by law enforcement officers. While it shows that ethnic minorities’ support for the movement and for other key indicators for racial justice are higher than they were before George Floyd’s death, white people’s support has declined to levels lower than they were a year ago.

We can't keep going on like this. 

We have to pay attention and do something about it.

Not debating the appropriateness of Critical Race Theory in the Southern Baptist Convention and then conveniently setting it aside so that no action is required to be taken.

Actually committing to make a change in this country.

I know it's hard, but it's simple enough even for children to understand it.

We get it as kids, we've got to do better as adults.  After the Ahmuad Arbery murder came out and there was a call for a Run With Ahmaud on the celebration of his birthday, we participated in that 2.23 mile run.  Jamie and Avalyn ran, I walked Jude in my arms or on my shoulders the whole way.  Jamie asked Avalyn why people do such hateful things.  Avalyn replied, " I think some people just don't like other people because they're black or they think that they are better but I really think it's because they just don't understand that we're all special to God.  We all get happy.  We all get sad and angry.  We're all loved by God."  

Your mouth to God's ears baby girl.

Guilty, On All Three Counts

Former Officer Derek Chauvin, guilty on all three counts.

Yesterday, a jury found Chauvin guilty on the charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for his actions in the arrest and resulting death of George Floyd.  The jury had deliberated for 10 hours and was unanimous in its verdict.

Chauvin's actions in placing his knee on the neck of a handcuffed and subdued Floyd for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds reignited a national movement regarding race relations in the country and police brutality and accountability.  Thanks to a cell phone video taken by a brave teenage girl, the entire country witnessed in excruciating detail as Floyd pleaded for his life under Chavin's knee.

It's hard to ignore the symbolism of the event yesterday.  It's exceedingly rare that a case against a police officer for abuse of their authority would go trial in the first place.  It's even rarer that a jury would find against the police officer.  Juries have a tendency to defer to the police in the exercise of their authority, even in cases of clear excessive force.  That the jury would find Chauvin unanimously guilty on all three counts indicates a clear recognition of the need for police accountability.  Especially when this case was merely the lynchpin of a dialogue that has been increasing over the past several years, resulting from several similar cases, that just seem to keep piling up.

A history of cases.

The cases of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

The case of Daunte Wright, stopped for an expired vehicle registration and shot by an officer who claimed they were reaching for their taser.

Even more disturbing, the case of Ma'khia Bryant, a 16 year old girl, shot by the very Columbus, Ohio police she called 9-1-1 for  assistance.  Shot on the same day the Chauvin verdict came out.

If you can't see the problem, you aren't paying attention.

There is a definitive difference in how police interact with the white and black populations.

There is a problem with the militarization of our police and the increased use of force by its officers.

There is a distinctive problem with a lack of police accountability.  Unions fight against any attempts at an increase in accountability.  Our justice system largely shields them from being held accountable by the public they serve.  Even their own internal efforts to police themselves are often inadequate.  

Think of how often Internal Affairs is played as the bad guy in fiction.  Internal Affairs is never presented as a good part of the police organization; they are always depicted as standing in the way of good cops enforcing real justice or as an inept bureaucracy or as a corrupt organization in and of themselves.  

We've embedded in our fiction that accountability for police action is inherently bad.

That has to change.  Hopefully this verdict is a symbol of that change.  There have been signs to that effect.  There are leaders that are determined to make real and lasting change in this area.

Because that is what this is about - accountability.  

We have accountability because a seventeen year old girl was brave enough and strong enough to film the whole incident.

The question that should haunt you now, is what about the ones that were not filmed?

 

Minneapolis is Burning

"I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air.  Certain conditions continue to exist in society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots.  But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard.  And what is it that America has failed to hear?  It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years.  It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met.  And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity.  And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay.  And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.  Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., interview with Mike Wallace for CBS Reports, September 27, 1966

"Urban riots must now be recognized as durable social phenomena.  They may be deplorable, but they are there and should be understood.  Urban riots are a special form of violence.  They are not insurrections.  The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions.  They are mainly intended to shock the white community.  They are a distorted form of social protest.  The looting which is their principal feature serves many functions.  It enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse.  Often the Negro does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking.  But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights.  There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act.  This may explain why most cities in which riots have occurred have not had a repetition, even though the causative conditions remain.  It is also noteworthy that the amount of physical harm done to white people other than police is infinitesimal and in Detroit whites and Negroes looted in unity.

A profound judgment of today's riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago.  He said, 'If a soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed.  The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness."

The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty.  It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes.  They are born of the greater crimes of the white society.  When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos.  Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services.  The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison.  Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man.  These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems we face in our society."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the American Psychology Associations annual convention, September 1967

Emphasis mine.

This is why we cannot condemn the riots and the police abuse with the same voice, with the same volume and with the same fervor.  There is no question, the burning of Minneapolis is a tragedy.  It is deplorable.  But to decry it to the same level as the continued injustices that are being perpetrated is to prove that we still have not heard, nor have we learned the lesson.  We continue to allow the narrative to be coopted to focus on tranquility and the status quo.  We observe how many Americans are more concerned with order than with justice.

If we need any more proof that we still have not learned our lesson, look at our President.  His response, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."  This is a direct quote from 1967.  From the Miami Police Chief Walter Headley at the GOP convention in December 1967.  A police chief who enacted some of the most racist police procedures at the time.  Shotguns, dogs, and "stop and frisk tactics."  His great quote, "We don't mind being accused of police brutality.  They haven't seen anything yet."

The phrase was also used by segregationist presidential candidate George Wallace in the 1968 presidential campaign. Wallace notoriously opposed desegregation and supported the policies of "Jim Crow" during the Civil Rights movement.  Martin Luther, Jr. called him, "perhaps the most dangerous racist in America today."  

This is who our president quotes.

We still haven't heard them.

We still refuse to hear them.

Thankfully, Dr. King offered us the answer to how we get out of this, how we break the cycle, in the same speech toe he American Psychology Association.

"Thus, it may well be that our world is in dire need of a new organization.  The International Association of Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.  Men and women should be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos, who in the midst of the injustices of his day, could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream;' or as maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln, who in the midst of his vacillations finally came to see that this nation could not survive half slave and half free; or as maladjusted as Thomas Jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery, could scratch across the pages of history, words lifted to cosmic proportions, 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.  That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'  And through such creative maladjustment, we may be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man, into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

I have not lost hope.  I must confess that these have been very difficult days for me personally.  And these have been difficult days for every civil rights leader, for every lover of justice and peace."

If only we would listen this time.

Existing While Black

We recently watched the movie Just Mercy as a family.  It tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard educated lawyer who travels to Alabama to found the Equal Justice Initiative, a program to help fight for poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation.  Much of his work takes the form of appeals for death row inmates, including Walter "Johnny D" McMillian.  McMillian was an African American man convicted of the 1986 murder of a white woman, Ronda Morrison.  When Stevenson studies McMillian's case, he discovers that the entirety of his conviction hangs on the word of another convicted felon, who traded his testimony for a lighter sentence.  All evidence favorable to McMillian was excluded, including several eye witness testimonies that confirmed that McMillian could not have been involved.  The testimonies were excluded because the witnesses were black.  McMillian was convicted because he had "looked like a criminal" in his mug shot.  And so there is no mistake, he was wrongfully convicted.

He was guilty of existing while black.

Stevenson is also African-American.  The film depicts other instances of Stevenson suffering for existing while black.  He is forced to strip naked before visiting his clients in the prison, something no other attorneys are required to do.  He is pulled over by the cops while driving.  They offer no reason for the stop, but threaten him at gunpoint.  Guilty of the crime of driving while black.

"Driving while black" is the usual way this crime is referenced.  It refers to the tendency of African Americans to be pulled over for no apparent reason.  The thought is the very fact that an African American is driving that type of car, in that neighborhood, at that time of day, and so on and so on, is inherently suspicious.  "Driving while black."

We're seeing that the list of suspicious activities and crimes that African Americans can be stopped for, questioned about, convicted of, and killed for is rapidly increasing.

• Relaxing at home while black- Bothem Jean, Atatiana Jefferson
• Asking for help after a car crash while black - Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride
• Having a cellphone while black - Stephon Clark
• Leaving a party to get to safety while black - Jordan Edwards
• Playing loud music while black- Jordan Davis
• Selling CDs while black - Alton Sterling
• Sleeping while black - Aiyana Jones (7! years old)
• Walking from the corner store while black - Mike Brown
• Playing cops and robbers as kids while black - Tamir Rice
• Going to church while black - The Charleston 9: Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson
• Walking home with Skittles while black, wearing a hoodie while black- Trayvon Martin
• Holding a hair brush, leaving our own bachelor party while black - Sean Bell
• Partying on New Years while black - Oscar Grant
• Getting a traffic ticket while black - Sandra Bland
• Lawfully carrying a weapon while black - Philando Castile
• Having car problems while black - Corey Jones
• Shopping at Wal-Mart while black - John Crawford
• Walking with grandfather while black - Clifford Glover (10 years old)
• Decorating for a party while black - Claude Reese
• Asking a cop a question while black - Randolph Evans
• Cashing a check while black - Yvonne Smallwood
• Taking out wallet while black - Amadou Diallo
• Running while black - Walter Scott
• Breathing while black - Eric Garner
• Having a past while black - Freddie Gray

Now we can add:

• Jogging while black - Ahmaud Arbery
• Sleeping while black - Breonna Taylor 
• Defending home from invaders who killed girlfriend while black - Kenneth Walker
• Asking someone to obey the law while black - Christian Cooper
• Buying groceries while black - George Floyd

In each of the instances above, the person was viewed as inherently more suspicious, more dangerous because they were black.  And in each instance, they were met with an inappropriate response at best and an excessive use of force against them at worst, whether that be calling the cops and lying about their behavior, or being shot, choked, beaten, murdered.

Look at each of the recent cases.  Ahmaud Arbery was a 25 year old who jogged for exercise.  He was shot by an ex-police officer, who along with his son and neighbor, planned and filmed an altercation with Arbery, because they were convinced he was guilty of a couple of theft and trespassing in their area.  Arbery was killed in cold blood, and the only reason the killers were even charged is that the video of the incident surfaced and spread wide.  That took two months.  Before that, the local police department and the District Attorney were not even going to charge the former police officer.

Breonna Taylor was a 26 year old EMT in Louisville, Kentucky.  On the front lines of the Covid-19 epidemic.  She was shot eight times by the police as part of a no-knock raid.  The police had the wrong apartment.  The person the police wanted was in custody before they ever approached Taylor's apartment.  The police burst in without a knock, without announcing who they were.  Taylor and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, woke up and called the 9-1-1 to get the cops to come for what they thought was a break in.  The irony.  Walker took his lawfully owned gun and allegedly shot first on what he thought were intruders.  At that point, officers outside the home opened fire, blindly spraying bullets into the resident with a total disregard for human life.    The effects of the bullet fire could be seen on the apartment next door as well.

Walker was arrested for first degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer.  His only goal, his crime was to protect his girlfriend and his home.  And he was jailed for it because of a police mistake.  Because they believed they were in "significant, imminent danger."  He was initially only released because of Covid-19 concerns.  The charges against him have now been dropped.

Christian Cooper's story is thankfully less deadly, but no less concerning.  Christian Cooper is a former Marvel editor, current biomedical editor at Health Science Communications, and avid bird watcher.  He was walking in Central Park and saw a woman who did not have her dog on a leash, in an area where a leash is required.  He politely asked her to leash her dog.  She refused, and proceeded to call the cops on him telling them "an African American man is threatening my life."  Thankfully, he had the incident recorded, so the police could charge the appropriate violator.

George Floyd is the latest tragedy.  The police were called regarding a man suspected of forgery - passing a counterfeit $20 bill.  When they arrived, the saw Floyd sitting on his car, thought he matched the description, and "believed he was under the influence."  They ordered him out of the car and according to the police report he resisted.  Three officers pinned him down, and got him handcuffed.  They supposedly noted he was in physical distress and called for an ambulance.  The video footage from a bystander revealed that one of the police officers was pressing his knee into Floyd's neck.  Floyd is heard saying "I can't breathe," and "Please, I can't breathe."  Even after Floyd stops moving, the office continues to press his knee into Floyd's neck.  When the ambulance arrives, Floyd is of course already dead.  We've only seen bystander footage, the bodycam footage has not been seen.  Another death, all for $20.

There is so much to talk about in this it's hard to know where to begin.  We could talk about the militarization of our police.  When we arm them to the teeth like they are heading into Fallujah in the middle of the War on Terror, it's not surprising they want to use that gear.  When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  When you have military weapons, everything looks like a war.  

We could talk about the fetishization of our police force.  The overboard "Blue Lives Matter" campaigns. The unquestioning loyalty among Conservative circles.  A broad community enabling the next point.

We could talk about the lack of accountability- it's notable these incidents only capture our attention because there is a video or an outcry.  The tendency for them to circle the wagons and protect their own.  How difficult it is to prosecute an officer, even with egregious misconduct.  We desperately have the need to hold police accountable at a civilian level. 

We can talk about the fact that no-knock raids should be unconstitutional in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

At the end of the day, though, the issue keeps coming down to us seeing African-Americans as more threatening.  Inherently more dangerous.  This applies to all of us.  Not just the police, not jus those in power.  How there is an inherent bias for us as Americans to see those with darker skin as less of a person and more of a liability.  

Just look at the difference in police response to anti-lockdown protestors and the protestors of Floyd's murder.  The anti-lockdown protestors were carrying assault rifles around police, screaming in their faces and the police largely took it.  The protestors of Floyd's murder have been met with riot gear, rubber bullets, tear gas.  Why?  Well, we can only assume it's because the anti-lockdown protestors were largely white and the protestors now are largely black. 

I know some now will point to the looting and the rioting among the protestor's in Minneapolis as evidence enough for the police's response.  But it seems to pose a chicken and egg conundrum - does the police response perpetuate the looting and rioting?  Are we seeing that we really view the world as James Baldwin said?  "When white men rise up against oppression, they are heroes: when black men rise, they have reverted to their native savagery."  Baldwin's summation was a condemnation of how we treat the races differently.  Is it now supposed to be the status quo?

I don't mean to be reductivist, but it's hard to see any other differences.

Think about it.  What got more outcry among your particular circle - Kaepernick taking a knee in protest or the knee on George Floyd's throat?

It would seem there is still plenty of reason for Kaepernick to be kneeling.

As I've searched on this topic, I've stumbled across a few African American voices who have articulated that they feel like America still views them as 3/5 of a person and it's hard to disagree.  When will we break through this cycle of bias?  When will we stop judging danger by the color of a person's skin?  

When will we get angry enough to fix things?  When will our anger rise to levels that we have seen expressed from being on quarantine?  When will we be outraged about the right things?

When will we let African Americans be free to exist while black in America, with no fear of danger, no fear of police, no fear of harm, just because of the color of their skin?

When can existing while black be a good thing?

When we get to know each other better.

We get it as kids, we've got to do better as adults.  After the Ahmuad Arbery murder came out and there was a call for a Run With Ahmaud on the celebration of his birthday, we participated in that 2.23 mile run.  Jamie and Avalyn ran, I walked Jude in my arms or on my shoulders the whole way.  Jamie asked Avalyn why people do such hateful things.  Avalyn replied, " I think some people just don't like other people because they're black or they think that they are better but I really think it's because they just don't understand that we're all special to God.  We all get happy.  We all get sad and angry.  We're all loved by God."  

Your mouth to God's ears baby girl.