The Color of Justice

It was my original intent to comment on Covid-19, the Coronavirus Pandemic, and the challenges that Mayors across this country have had to endure as a result. However, being a black man in this country and watching a white police officer literally squeeze the life out of George Floyd, an African-American, in Minneapolis a few days ago, I realized that this topic should take center stage as we as Black Americans are trying our best to reconcile how to appropriately respond to the brutal murder. Floyd died after a white police officer applied pressure to his neck until he became non-responsive and later died. There is certainly a wide spectrum of appropriate responses depending on one's perspective. However, the reaction that bothers me the most is that of shock and surprise. There is a segment of our community who believes that the system is broken and needs reform or repair. My study of history and the de-humanization of Black lives in America tells me that the judicial system in this country is anything but broken. It's performing perfectly according to its design. The police force in America was not created with intent to protect and serve the African American communities. It's actually our unwillingness to acknowledge this reality that leads to the perpetuation of this unlawfulness and violence that we experience at the hands of police officers. The police force was formed after slavery with the primary intent of keeping the large number of newly released slaves under control. Shortly, thereafter, black codes were enacted and consequently a new system of slavery was created that we now call prison. However, because we are unable to speak truth when referring to the black experience in America, we have been unable to force our oppressors to sit down to legitimate and honest conversation that could lead to meaningful possibility of resolution. When we say Black lives matter, they counter with all lives matter thus avoiding the issue and evading the essence of the real topic of discussion. The media is now telling us how to protest. It says that we should act like good citizens. We should exercise our 1st Amendment constitutional rights and not lose our tempers because it takes away from the reason that we are protesting. Excuse me but am I the only one who realize that Blacks have never been granted full citizenship in America. A citizen is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a legal member of a sovereign state or belonging to a nation. The idea of citizenship has been defined as the capacity of individuals to defend their rights in front of the governmental authority. While I know that this may be difficult for the reader to acknowledge, but we as Blacks are still requesting, of this government, the rights that others enjoy in this country every day. We might have the right to hire a lawyer, but data will show that we don't have the right to defend something that has never really been afforded us in the first place. George Floyd was not even afforded the right to breathe. That was taken from him without, what the system refers to as, due process, which according to the constitution, all citizens are entitled to. In this case, only one of the four police involved has been arrested for the murder of George Floyd and the system seems hell bent on showing that it does not have to yield to any black man, black group or black community and will not be forced to do what we all know is right and just. I think that it is important that we remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when he let us know that "change would always be met with resistance" and the words of Malcolm X, when he stated that "there is no such thing as a bloodless revolution." It's now time for us to articulate our agenda, register to vote and hold our local and state officials accountable. Now that a new movement is underway, let us siege the moment and commit to the cause. There has been too many unjustifiable homicides of black men in America at the hands of white police officers. Now that we have the country's attention, let us be smart as we move forward, in hope of achieving meaningful change. Our agenda, moving forward, must be Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Realistic – and Time-bound.

Photo Mayor Leslie Thompson