Let me just be blunt. What the hell is going on? Recently I watched a video for the second time related to a black Lieutenant in the U.S Army getting stopped by police officers in Virginia. He drove to a well-lit place for fear of losing his life. He was stopped supposedly for not have a license tag. He’d just purchased the vehicle and he did have a license tag. His only crime was driving while black. He held his hands up, asked why he was being stopped, verbalized that he was afraid (all of this with his hands in the air). Law enforcement’s response was ” you should be afraid, you’re going to ride the lightning”. This implies he will be electrocuted! This black man was serving his country in uniform. What did he get? He got pepper sprayed in his eyes and a gun was drawn on him.
As a black woman with daughters, brothers, nephews, and cousins it brings tears to my eyes to see this young black man being humiliated as he noticeably had tears in his eyes. What must a black man do to be treated as a man and given respect? Has policing become like slave patrols for some officers. Do some officers get some type of innate thrill for dehumanizing black people? I do realize that many good, competent police officers care about people and their jobs. I do want the police to come when I call.
Whats’s the answer? What can be done to stop these bad cops from tarnishing the image of good cops? Does the entire police culture need an overhaul? In the words of a song by the old school group Peter, Paul, and Mary, “how many years must a man exist before he’s allowed to be free, the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind”. When will the black man in America be treated as equal? Let us be hopeful that change will come. Let us continue to be diligent in our efforts to demand justice nonviolently. Let us make our politicians know via emails and/or phone calls our displeasure with unjust laws that support the marginalized of people of color. Let us continue to call out injustice in all forms. Let us continue to support organizations that legally oppose these injustices.
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Submitted by VMG Review Team Member, Dianne Cleveland-Sharp
VMGREVIEW.COM
Marvin Dixon, Founder
VMG Review 