Progress

It seems difficult to keep up with the “newest” person of color who dies at the hands of the police lately. Either the predominance of these occurrences has picked up or the media coverage prevalent on social media has made it too easy for us to share the newest data, name, or viral meme.

People of color are dying. This list, although possibly not exhaustive, is difficult to read. The stories of black people killed at the hands of officers in the past 15 years. Even more difficult to think about the number of times police officers have not been charged with crimes after these deaths occur. The value of a life, in comparison to that of an officer of the law, is null and void. (But if you’re keeping score, black bodies have always been considered a commodity.)

People across the country, the world even, celebrated when the 6 police officers were charged in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death. After peaceful protests that attracted the attention of the National Guard and prompted city wide curfews, it seemed that Baltimore might finally get the justice it sought.

Or, maybe the case will go the route of Eric Garner, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams,  John Crawford, or the countless number of transgender people of color who are killed by police without swift justice being brought on the officers.

But wait, you say. Those cases didn’t end in indictments. This case just HAS to end in “justice” because Marilyn Mosby is here to save the day (let’s be clear, no shade to my fellow HBCU graduate.) Let’s have hope that this case will have a similar result to the “loud music” trial. This guy went to prison for life for killing Jordan Davis. They can’t possibly let ALL of these officers off.

Good point. Perhaps we’ll see justice for the 6 police officers who allowed Freddie Gray’s death to become an inevitability. That will definitely compensate his family for his untimely death and, if we’re lucky, heal the wound of racism that’s been ravaging our urban communities for decades.

An indictment is far from progress. Remember Aiyana Jones? (Possibly not if you still think only black men are killed by police.) After police conducted a “no knock” raid on her home, she died of a gunshot wound. The case was later dismissed (but not before the indicted officer tried to blame the death on Aiyana’s grandmother bumping into him, causing the gun to fire.)

How do we know that the 6 officers involved in Freddie Gray’s death won’t convince the jury that they had “reasonable” cause to treat him the way that they did? That it was a necessary use of force to keep him in the police wagon, handcuffed, without restraint? How do we know the officers won’t convince the jury that Gray was a threat to their safety and were simply standing their ground when he had his legally owned knife?

At this point, I’m not willing to put my faith in a justice system that arbitrarily decides when a 12 year old boy in a park is a threat to the public. I’m not willing to believe that a system built on the backs of people of color is, all of a sudden, willing to drop those systemically racist notions for the fairy tale of a post-racial society. And I certainly will not condemn those who react to this racist system with violence or “looting;” it’s obvious that black bodies will be policed whether they behave “peacefully” or not.

So until we begin to admit that the knife is there, please don’t ask for my opinion on the “all lives matter” movement. And please don’t ask if I think violence is the “answer.”

“The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Audrey Lorde