Racism In Our Law Enforcement: Blacks Still Targeted
The recent death of an eighteen-year-old black teen has sparked talks about the unfair treatment of blacks by the police and their racial bias.
The town of Ferguson, outside of St. Louis, woke up to the death of a local resident. The teen in question, Michael Brown, was making his way towards his grandmother’s house when he was detained, but upon attempting to flee, he was shot.
He wasn’t shot once. No. He was shot several times, even after he’d gotten on the ground.
This execution resulted in angry residents flooding to the streets, showing clear signs of anger. A candlelight vigil was held, as well as prayer. Policemen were out on the street, with K-9 units, almost ready to attack.
The St. Louis Police department has not determined why Brown was shot.
Death of a black teen by a white policeman is not something new. We saw the tragedy of Trayvon Martin shot by vigilante George Zimmerman, who walked away unscathed.
The one pattern here is that they were unarmed and doing things that were regarded as suspicious by a white man, who, after profiling the “suspect,” they shot without asking questions.
It’s not only black teens that suffer, but black men and women of all ages that are targeted on race alone and are stopped and searched. It is more likely for Blacks and Latinos (24 percent) to have physical force used against them than whites (17 percent) according to The Leadership Conference report. There is racism in our law enforcement.
According also to a report called “Operation Ghetto Storm” by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, one black man is killed by police or vigilantes every 28 hours.
Also, according to that study, in 2012, police officers, security guards and vigilantes killed around 313 African-Americans or blacks.
Of the 313 killed, 124 or 40 percent were between the ages of 22 and 31 years old, and eight percent or 25 were under eighteen. Fifty seven of the 313 were between the ages of 18 and 21, according to “Operation Ghetto Storm.”
It’s no coincidence, for example, that African Americans are more likely to be put in jail under drug charges, even though whites are the ones with higher drug usage.
We need to face the fact that the criminal justice system is unbelievably racist.
Brown’s body was left on the street several hours after he had been shot. St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar said it was because police officers “had to practice our due diligence and that’s why it took as long as it did.”
The officer responsible for Brown’s death has been placed on paid administrative leave. A press conference was held Sunday Morning. A full investigation is underway.
Brown was to start as a Freshman at Vatterott College on Monday.