As many of you may be aware, there has been a landslide of protests nationwide in response to the police brutality and the recent deaths of black Americans such as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. During week 3 of my diary of systemic injustices I wrote about the Breonna Taylor case and felt this showcase would be a perfect opportunity for me to dive deeper into police brutality and how it relates to the Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
In his letter, King mentions several times the severe acts of police brutality that the African American community faced as a result of racism. He described the hardships of dealing with police brutality as having constantly seen “hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity (pg 2).” He later addresses the white religious leaders’ (for whom the letter is directed to) appraisal of the Birmingham police as they believed they were “preventing violence” and keeping “order.” He then finishes his statement on police brutality by questioning their appraisal of the Birmingham police stating, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I don’t believe you would so quickly commend the policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys, if you would observe them, as they did on two occasions, refusing to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I’m sorry that I can’t join you in your praise for the police department (pg 5).”
It seems to me that what he is discussing in this letter is the current state of police brutality in present-day America, nearly 60 years after this letter was written. As he mentioned above, we have seen many acts of violence carried out towards black Americans by white police officers to the extent in which it requires nationwide protests to even have a shot at justice for the victims. The victims being George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown Jr, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tamir Rice just to name a few. Now I know what many of you are thinking. Not all police officers are bad, and to that statement, I say that you are correct. However, I do not feel that I can praise the system of policing in America overall.
As MLK stated above it is very hard to commend a system that is founded upon the dehumanization of blacks, racial profiling, and mass incarceration. A system in which for 60 years people of color have been the targets of over-policing, unjust laws, and racial profiling. A system in which peaceful protestors, congresswoman, and activists are tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed and shot at for daring to protest a system of racial injustice. A system in which it requires tens of millions to protest and yet there has been no real justice served yet for George Floyd or Breonna Taylor. There is a massive problem with this system and it needs to be completely overhauled.
With that being said, the question I think we all are left with is this. What will it take for this system to finally value black lives? How can we achieve true racial justice in a system that is founded upon institutional and systematic racism?
Some interesting/helpful articles that I feel that may help with this discussion are listed below.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/us/blm-protests-peaceful-report-trnd/index.html
Report finds that nearly 93% of all protests regarding police brutality were peaceful this past summer. https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/05/us-rep-joyce-beatty-other-politicians-pepper-sprayed-by-columbus-police-during-protest.html
https://www.thelantern.com/2020/06/lantern-journalists-targeted-by-police-pepper-sprayed/
African American congresswoman Joyce Beatty and Lantern reporters were also targeted by police officers.
Officers charged with Floyd’s death were released after a $1 million bond.
The article goes into depth about racial profiling in Louisiana.