God is Not a Republican
This week has been difficult as I’ve traveled to South Florida to participate in the rally for my friend, Corey Jones, who was killed by a Palm Beach Gardens Police officer who approached Corey in plain clothes and an unmarked vehicle.
At that rally, Corey’s brother asserted that it shouldn’t be about #BlackLivesMatter and that it should be about “All Lives Matter.” As serendipity would have it, President Obama was simultaneously speaking on why #BlackLivesMatter exists and how it uniquely addresses issues from which #AllLivesMatter deflects.
President Obama merely repeated what so many thought-leaders in the #BlackLivesMatter movement have already espoused. Indeed, many of the things that follow will be extensions of what someone else has already said. Nevertheless, I find it necessary to say them again in a brief and concise primer.
1.) There Are Systemic Problems of Race in America
One example of these systemic problems includes the perception of black criminality. This leads to fear, profiling, and excessive force by the police that is disproportionately directed towards black Americans. This programming is the result of generations of dehumanizing black people for the purposes of justifying the barbaric treatment blacks have endured.
This isn’t anecdotal. This is documented. The police are quicker to assume that black Americans are criminal because of skin color.
In this video, you see this perception in action. Two men, both equally culpable, both equally guilty, but both treated amazingly differently by the police. The police approached the African American man with a staggeringly different amount of aggression. They force him to the ground immediately but wait until they have a conversation with the second man before arresting him. This difference can often be deadly.
It’s not just police who do this. It’s not just white Americans who do this. The systemic programming is so strong that black people do it to themselves as well. African Americans often demonstrate the same fear of each other as a result of this cultural programming.
Nevertheless, ask yourself this question: if Tamir Rice had been white, would the police have assumed in only 2 seconds that this 12-year-old boy was a threat that needed to be gunned down?
Would George Zimmerman have assumed that a kid walking home from the store was a criminal that needed to be stopped when in actuality he was merely a kid on his way home?
Would Sandra Bland have been pulled out of her car for being rude when we’ve seen countless examples of white Americans being unimaginably dismissive and condescending to police officers?
Would officer Raja have killed Corey Jones if he had been white? When split-second decisions mean the difference between life and death, and when we’ve seen countless examples of the immediate perception of guilt and fear of blackness, one should understand when I draw the conclusion that Corey would likely be alive today if he were white. If he were a white woman, he likely would have gotten assistance with his vehicle.
2.) Saying “Black Lives Matter” is Akin to Saying “Black Pride,” “Black is Beautiful,” or “I’m Black, and I’m Proud.”
This may be hard to understand unless you’ve lived it. But when you grow up in the world where beauty standards are Eurocentric, you begin to think you are not beautiful when all you see are white standards of beauty. Look at this cover of Ebony Magazine from 1961.
The pathology behind this screams of self-hatred. As a result, the black community begin to shout, “Black is beautiful” and “Black Pride!” or “I’m black, and I’m proud.” We had to say these things to assert our humanity in the world that told us we weren’t beautiful, that we weren’t human, and that we had nothing for which to be proud.
Likewise, we live and experience the aggression of police officers towards us. We witness the quickness with which police use deadly force against a black life and exhibit unbelievable restraint and deference with white lives.
Saying “Black Lives Matter” has never been an assertion of dominance over another group. It is a forceful declaration of equality. In many ways, it is a cry to be heard. Our lives are not as valued by the system, by our neighbors and, sadly, not even by ourselves.
3.) If All Lives Mattered, Why Would We Crucify People Who Have Already Been Killed?
Anytime there is a police shooting, the #AllLivesMatter proponents demonstrate that all lives don’t matter the same by destroying the reputation of the victim, making them out to be a thug, a barbarian, or a raging monster that threatened the heroic officer and needed to be put down.
Trayvon Martin took pictures with his middle-finger up, and he smoked weed. Somehow this made six-time mugshot award winner, George Zimmerman, justified in killing him when Trayvon was simply walking home.
George Zimmerman had a gun. His defense attorney’s famously brought in a slab of concrete and described it as the weapon with which Trayvon was armed. Think about that. George Zimmerman– a man with previous arrests and armed with a gun– was portrayed as a good, God-fearing American while 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — a boy with no arrests — was armed with the ground under his feet.
Now with the death of my friend Corey Jones, they’ve dug up an arrest from 2007 and splashed his mugshot across the nation. But because Corey had been a model citizen, a Christian man, a family man, a city employee, a beloved musician and so many other things, no one has been able to play the same game they’ve played in so many other cases.
Finally, the police have killed someone so clean that no negative smear campaign can be waged. But why, if all lives mattered, would a black person have to be perfect to have even a chance of obtaining justice?
4.) “Black Lives Matter” is, by its Very Essence, Inclusive.
As a function of where black people are in America– the bottom of every positive statistic and the top of every negative statistic– it would not be possible to address and fix a problem in the black community without positive ramifications reverberating through the entire nation.
Just as with the civil rights movement, the positive changes in America came on the backs of the most oppressed group. Blacks Americans demanded civil rights, but everyone benefited.
Likewise, once the system treats black lives with the same dignity and respect that they treat white lives, every other group will benefit as well.
But the reverse is true as well. If we do not address the oppressive nature of police relations in poor black communities, this behavior will spill over into other communities. So while everyone is fighting against “Black Lives Matter” because they disingenuously believe it is somehow racist, Black Lives Matter is fighting for causes that will benefit every race, ethnicity, orientation and belief. Therefore #BlackLivesMatter is, by its very essence, inclusive.
This article is not meant to be comprehensive. Indeed, it is only a primer. But it should explain to you why I have no problem saying “Black Lives Matter.” Hopefully after reading, neither will you.
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