For generations, black folks have been telling white folks that their Dr. Jekyll is our Mr. Hyde. Our recounting of empirical and anecdotal proof of the hate and cruelties visited upon us by cops is generally met with indifference, gaslighting, and open approval. Despite everything they have seen and heard over the past couple years, 77% of white America still trust the police; that number btw includes 63% of Democrats.
The findings of the poll notwithstanding, for the first time ever I do get the impression that more of our white sisters and brothers are ready to allow themselves to believe that things are indeed as bad as we’ve been yelling all along. It may be that Ahmaud, Breonna, Sean, and Floyd did not die in vain. That it was divine intervention that put a black birdwatcher in the same space and time as a savvy (liberal) white woman who was only too willing to use her unearned power/privilege to put a black man in his perceived place and that a video of their brief but illustrative encounter would put them both on the national stage at this opportune time in our history. It may be that when all is said and done, we’ll all owe Amy Cooper a debt of gratitude as her actions provided the perfect backdrop for the public lynching of George Lloyd.
Whether inspired by embarrassment as they watched Amy Cooper play out the historical tableau of the white damsel in distress, or by the horror of watching three white men go manhunting and having the chutzpah to actually videotape their catch, or by the sheer barbarity of the torture and murder of Miss Cissy’s giant son in broad daylight even as he narrated his forced, premature journey to the other side, a tipping point has been reached.
Reflecting on the larger meaning of the protests, Mr. Obama said the unrest after Mr. Floyd’s death was “unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime” and expressed hope that Americans would be “reawakened” to unite around racial justice.
“I want to do something but I don’t know how or what.”
The relationship between police brutality and white supremacy is not terribly complex. The police force as conceptually designed and presently constituted is the enforcing arm of white supremacy. Thus, the first thing we must do is acknowledge that racism and its attendant brutality are white people’s problems. Euro-Americans and those who enjoy white skin privilege are not going to “help” black and brown people solve the problem of racism, it is going to be the other way around. Black people will help white people do what they and they alone have the power to do and must do if we are all to survive. I am getting sick and tired of well-meaning white hosts on my television set asking their black guests about racism and over-policing and acting as if they [the hosts] are just observers in this macabre drama. As if they have no skin in the game.
White people — my sisters and brothers — I recognize that this is going to be a heavy lift. It will not be easy, or convenient, or comfortable, or sexy. You are being asked to sacrifice for the greater good and to sacrifice hugely. You are being asked to work unceasingly, tirelessly, determinedly to dismantle and then remodel that which has historically been your safety net.
The modern-day iteration of the slave patrols have not forgotten their original mission —which was to protect white people and white property and in the process of fulfilling that mission, they were allowed to mistreat black, brown, and native bodies as they saw fit and with impunity. They were allowed. The ONLY thing that will end police brutality is that those who brutalize innocent — and guilty people — are held accountable. That’s it. Accountability. That means that when cops abuse the power invested in them by cities and states that they are fired, permanently banned from the force, arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced to prison for a term as mandated by the relevant penal codes. It means not tolerating the bellicose, hateful, entitled rhetoric of the terroristic police unions.
So really, what can you do? No, this is not about having a black friend. It’s not about learning more about black people and our culture. It’s not about investing more money in black communities. It’s not about listening to us — not if you believe that black people are also humans, that is. By all means, please do all of the aforementioned; but the absence of all or any of the above should not be necessary in order for black people to live without fear from brutality. You shouldn’t really need to know me to respect my right to live...to breathe. No, the only thing you must do is undertake to work to remodel the police force and the criminal justice system so that we can all enjoy equal protection under the law as prescribed by the constitution. I warn you again, it’s going to be a heavy lift. It certainly will not be easy, but the good news is that half the job has already been done and we stand ready to help.
Let’s revisit our Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act (MBOPRA)
The murder of teenager Michael Brown inspired members of Support the Dream Defenders to get to work to find solutions. They knew that in addition to elections and protests, the law was also an effective weapon that can and has been used to bring about meaningful change. They gave up weekends, sacrificed family time, worked late nights to early mornings to craft a law that could remake our police force into a sophisticated, empathetic, community-oriented, responsive force worthy of the 21st century and thus of our respect. Using the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a template, our law was designed to empower ordinary people to police the police. We have both Federal and State versions of our law. The final product of our Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act (MBOPRA) aka the Over-Policed Rights Act (OPRA), won the approval of prominent members of the ACLU and the NAACP. Now it’s time to renew our efforts to get our law in front of the people who can make a difference and we are ready to help you make that happen.
Provisions of MBOPRA that could have prevented the murder of George Floyd
The Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act Addresses:
- Racial prejudice in policing.
- Identification of problem areas like Ferguson, Missouri before they blow up.
- Violence in policing.
- Allows for ordinary citizens to police the police.
- Mass incarceration.
- Unfairness in policing (such as extraordinary numbers of alleged offenses per population).
- Allowing law enforcement officers to avoid answering for their mistakes.
- The current lack of reporting on policing statistics (especially regarding race and force, both lethal and non-lethal).
- Provision of body cameras to police officers.
- Elimination of weaponized police equipment in problem jurisdictions.
Our Law Enforcement Documentation Act
Reporting to the general public when force is used by police.
Provide data for a national database that tracks use of force by police.
Allowing law enforcement officers (and the police force that they work for) to avoid answering for their mistakes.
The current lack of reporting on policing statistics (especially regarding race and force, both lethal and non-lethal).
Excessive use of force in policing.
Identification of problem individuals or police forces before they result in repeated injuries or deaths of US citizens.
Elimination of weapons for police being investigated for problematic and/or repeated incidents.
Prosecuting of police officers that abuse their mission of serving and protecting the community they police.
Action, not a bag words
- By email, snail mail, social media, and/or kosmail, send copies of our bill to your allies.
- Print copies of the federal version.
- Print copies of the state version.
- Edit a copy of our cover letter. Send your letter with a copy of the law to your federal and state representatives and senators.
- Contact your federal representative and two senators using the information at this Action Page (pdf) of the NAACP.
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