Dear Sandra Bland,

First of all, I want to tell you that I am proud of your efforts to speak on the topic of race, police brutality and oppression in America.  It takes a lot of courage and conviction to speak on a topic that so many in America want to ignore and deny even exists.  Racism is a word and an act that you and many other blacks in America are too familiar with and would want to see changed.

Secondly, I want to say “congratulations” on your recent job interviews.  I hear you even had two job offers and had just come from an interview when you got pulled over.  Wow, you had traveled from Illinoise to find work in Texas!  I’m so sorry that your life was cut down just when you were approaching such a great moment of joy.  I am so sorry that an untrained, hot headed individual decided to be brutal towards you, rather than treat you as a human being.  I wished, that for a second, he would have thought of you or treated you like most police officers treat white women that they pull over.  They are often treated, regardless of their disposition, smoking or not, with respect and consideration.  You, on the other hand, you were confronted!  You were told “I will light you up.”  You were taunted and were expected, directed and eventually “commanded” to put out your cigarette. Although I don’t believe in smoking and its effects, everybody knows that for most people, cigarettes have a calming affect.  I wished that the officer would have seen you as someone’s sister, daughter, possibly someone’s wife or mom and said to himself, “No, let me let her be and just stick to the matter at hand; the traffic issue.”  I am sorry he did not do that.  I am sorry that the protection of your life was not at the forefront of his mind.  Things would have ended differently if your life mattered to him.

I wished the officer in question would not have demanded that you come out of the car.  What was the reason for such a demand or an expectation?  Most officers go out of their way to insist that motorists “remain in the car.”  They usually get very agitated and nervous when a motorist (black or white) gets out.  Yet, in your case, this officer insisted that you come out of yours.  I would have asked the same thing, “Why?  I’m not under arrest!”  I am so sorry that the officer in question, proceeded to further abuse his position of authority and retroactively tell you that you are “under arrest.”  No rights were read to you, nothing was formally done.  You were treated with such disrespect and callousness, and I feel for you.  I feel for your family.

Sandra, I am so sorry that you lost your life.  There is a lot of talk about whether you took your life or whether they took it from you – murdered you?  There is talk that you said you suffered from depression?  Bottom line, your life was stopped short!  Your life was taken away from you when you were stopped by that officer.  Your life did not belong to you when he treated you like an animal.  I understand your disbelief and your anger.  A traffic stop does not warrant that type of intensity and rage.  Especially from a worker who belongs to a group of workers who often work under the motto, “Protect and Serve.”  You were neither protected nor were your interests served.  You were treated like a piece of disposable garbage.  For that, I am sorry you experienced such treatment in the United States of America, while you were on a journey to responsibly take care of yourself and live out the life that God gave you on this earth.

I am sorry that you went from joy to intense depression.  If you suffered depression in the past, then, a greater wrong was done to you.  If I were in your position, arrested for a minor traffic offense, spoken to the way the officer spoke to you, then jailed for three (3) days, then I likely would have been experiencing severe depression.  Why?  Because, now, you will have a police record that you never had.  You are now in that monstrous system that so many black Americans have been thrusted in.  You were probably thinking, “My job offers, I will not be hired any more.  I will now have a record.”  In an instant, your life was taken away.  Now, you no longer live on this earth.  You are one of many stories that we heard and saw this year and past years about black people and the oppression that occurs too often in America.

So far, I have not seen in the news reports what you did for a living.  I know you graduated from Prairie View A&M (TexasThe Death of Sandra Bland: What We Know So Far – NBC News).  What was your occupation?  Now, I hear, you may have smoked marijuana?  It looks like there is some movement towards smearing your character.  I hope that people don’t look at the silly little things that a lot of regular people engage in, but instead, they look at the tragedy of your life being taken away from you at such a young age.  You were only 28 years old.  You deserved better.  You should have received better.

Finally, I am sorry that America has spent so long denying the serious effects of slavery and racism.  So many lives are adversely affected and lost because of the hatred and denial that exists due to the sordid history that was never confronted.  Our “Uncle Sam” has to decide to go into therapy with all of his children (black and white) and discuss what went wrong, what is still wrong and what it will take to make the “American Family” a united family.

I am sorry Sandra, that you got caught up in the net of unresolved racial tension, brutal history, and preferential treatment.  Once Uncle Sam addresses the negative history and dismantles the oppressive systems and laws, this American Family will be a healthier family.  Precious lives like yours will be allowed to thrive and not stomped out of existence just because someone felt like it.

Signed,

Concerned Citizen

We must admit to reality and not continue to stick our “heads in the sand” on the subject of “white supremacy” and the use of its most effective tool, racism. Here’s a tough question: Are blacks equal to whites? Are whites equal to blacks? How you feel about the answer should give you a lot of insight on whether you support or are against racism. Don’t base your answer on the propoganda (network news’ portrayal of blacks, excessive incarceration of blacks in America, inferior roles in movies, etc.) that you are fed daily from sources that want to perpetuate this idea of “white supremacy” and “black inferiority,” but base your answer on the fact that we were all created by one God. I make this a black and white issue because of America’s continued desire to ignore the traumatic impact of slavery on its history and its refusal to have any meaningful dialogue towards reparation. We need to put everything on the table and admit to the wrong and move toward dismantling everything that serves as an undercurrent that maintains this false ideology of “white supremacy.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-e-price/yes-youre-a-racist—-and-a-traitor_b_7640654.html

My prayers and thoughts go out to the families whose lives have been shattered by the murder of their loved ones.  I feel very sad and appalled about what has happened in Charleston, South Carolina.  A 21 year old white man decided that he was better than 9 other human beings.  He decided that he could take the lives of 9 other people because of his apparent hatred of their color and what they represented to him.  It is a shame what we see in America today.

So many people spend a lot of energy denying that racism and prejudice in America is alive and very strong.  What kind of upbringing leads a 21 year old to shoot and kill 9 people who are attending a church service, having a time of prayer?  The more we deny the racism and prejudice in America, the more murders will occur as a result of it.  America needs a gut check!  America needs a reeducation about race and race relations.  America needs to confront the truth about its past, its apathy about the present, and strive to redirect its future towards harmony.  America and all of its citizens must lift a hand to dismantle the hatred rooted in racism and prejudice, which is so readily supported by privilege and entitlement.

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

 Police treatment of teens

We have a problem in America.  When young black citizens can be treated like criminals just because of their color, we have a problem.  When black teens are randomly handcuffed because they are expressing their disapproval of the treatment they are receiving, then we have a problem in America.  When a young teen girl can be “manhandled” by a police officer in America because she protested the treatments she observed, we have a problem in America.

What I find very telling from the above video is the way the “officer” calmly talked to the white teens, while he vigilantly pursued the black ones.  The whites seemed to have been presumed innocent, as they confidently and securely looked on, while the blacks had guns pulled out on them.  Is it not clear to all America that there is a big race problem that is still not being acknowledged and addressed?

This race problem will require a HUGE dialogue and some serious introspection.  It will not be addressed by blind denial or quick bandaids.  This will only be addressed when we look at America’s history from the dawn of slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, to the present.  America has attempted to give blacks some rights, but America, as a whole, never accepted that blacks and whites are indeed EQUAL and must be given EQUAL treatment under the law.

Right now, it appears that the police, like the police of early America (post emancipation to the present), exists to protect whites from blacks, and not just protect all citizens of the US.  There have been some positive changes in some police departments, but the bigger change will need to involve the whole history of America before any real changes are made.

First of all, I want to say to Michael Brown’s parents, his family and friends, I am sorry that you have not been accorded the same treatment that many whites and people of privilege have received in America.  I am sorry for the loss of your son, Michael Brown.  I am sorry you have had to endure the same pain that many other black parents in various parts of America have endured and continue to endure.  Your pain has no bound.  No one can tell you how to feel, in general, and they certainly can’t tell you how to feel now.  This is a very tragic event!  This was not an exercise of the “American justice system at work.”  This loss for you, the Brown Family, was an example, too often seen in America, of the devaluation of black people and other people of color.

While I don’t agree with the looting and violence that have erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, I can understand what people may be feeling.  There are those who are angry and have no constructive way to channel that anger.  There are those who are angry and have just said, “I don’t care, I’m going to do something that makes me feel a little relief.”  I put that very mildly.  There are those who feel very oppressed and just want to “push back” in some fashion.  They are not content with being told, “Despite the fact that you feel wronged, violated, minimized, marginalized, disenfranchised, devalued, helpless, discriminated against, feel like a second class citizen, wrongly judged because of your color, just ‘suck it up’ and be happy that we let you live in America.’”  So rather, than accept such an unfair, and unjust existence, many have decided to react.  There are also those in Ferguson, like any other community and people, who are just opportunists; they just want to take advantage of the moment and they seize the opportunity to get some “free stuff.”

Some, as usual, will make comments like, “Look at them, you see why they get killed.”  Others will say, “They’re just looking for ways to steal and to destroy their own community.”  Still, others will say, “Why should they get any justice, they don’t even know how to control themselves?”  But, who will stop and have empathy for the long and painful history that clearly “states” that a black person’s life is not that important?  Who will stop and actually put themselves in the shoes of black parents who fear that their child could be the next Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, and the long list of young men and women of color who were killed in the name of “law enforcement” because they “looked” a certain way, or evoked some “feelings” in the killer’s psyche?

Since the time of Jim Crow, where America attempted to see black people and people of color as “equal,” this issue has been a well-known fact.  The fact: arrange the laws and justice proceedings so that the death of a black person can be justified through the court system.  What party are these law enforcement individuals having when they realize that they are “essentially untouchable” when it comes to the death of unarmed black people?

I think in the recent case of Trayvon Martin it was too much to ask the Florida prosecutors to prosecute “their own.”  A prosecutor, in any city or state, works closely, every day with the police.  They look for every angle to convict those people (black, white, brown, etc.) who have been arrested.  They want their arrests to “stick.”  They don’t want to prosecute any cases that will be thrown out in court.  In the case of Michael Brown, the same applied.  Why would the prosecutor do everything possible to push a case against the man he has been so faithfully working with, to prosecute the accused?  Now, all of the sudden, we expect this same prosecutor who hung out with the police, had drinks, went to family functions, sports events, weddings, to “turn on their buddies?”  That is not possible, in any universe.  It is not a realistic process.  Any hopes of objectivity would be gone.  It only works on television.  It will never work in real life.

The laws must be changed!  The proceedings must be changed also.  We must push for laws that define the limits of “force” used against any non-police individual.  At the very least, in my opinion, “excessive force” is when you shoot and strike an unarmed individual more than two (2) times.  If we were to decide that “excessive force” was used, then, there would need to be prosecution of the law enforcement officer, regardless of color, stature, or tenure.  We may call that law, The Lethal and Excessive Force Law.  Furthermore, the prosecution CANNOT involve any individual in the local government.  It needs to be headed and conducted by an independent team who works in the interest of the citizens, residents, like an oversight department similar to internal affairs.  As I stated earlier, using the regular prosecutor is not realistic, and it is unfair to put that person in that position.  Even the best-intentioned prosecutor would have a huge amount of conflict trying to prosecute “his own teammate.”  So there needs to be different laws about excessive force and different proceedings in order to have a true prosecution of any officer who violates the excessive force laws.

Towns like Ferguson need to also organize and vote out any public officials who do not want to protect and serve them.  After all, they are paying taxes to keep these people employed.  They pay for their vacations, cushy retirements, uniforms, guns, squad cars, tasers, bullets, and the perks that come with being a law enforcement individual.  Each community that sees that the leaders are not acting in their best interest must organize to root them out.  I also know that those in these positions will tend to push back and try to squash efforts for change.  But the community must organize and work, as one, to bring about the change.  Don’t wait for another shooting to organize; take them out of office before they use the guns, cars, uniforms you supplied them with, to kill you and your children on the streets.  Remind them that, by law, you are to be protected and served.  If they can’t execute that job in a legal, respectful and humane manner, then they need to be fired!

If the chief of police is callous, apathetic and indifferent about the welfare of the people in the community, then he or she needs to be trained to see his or her role differently.  If that does not work, then that individual needs to be replaced with someone who will show cultural sensitivity and take on the role of a guardian for the people in the community.  We must be vigilant to change the tone of the relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  Once the tone of law enforcement becomes one of “us against them” there is a BIG problem.

In education, we hear terms like “cultural sensitivity,” “differentiation,” “inclusion,” “anti bullying,” and others.  These terms have gained popularity and acceptance because teachers are being trained to consider and accept the differences that exist in the classroom among students.  It is not “one size fits all.”  The same methods don’t work for everybody.  A teacher should not just teach from his or her cultural perspective.  A teacher should be willing to connect with his or her students using the student’s culture and background as a reference point.  Also, a teacher should not look down, ignore, or minimize the students who are “different” from him or her.  This fosters “safe classrooms.”  We see banners in many schools that say things like “Everybody counts!”  We need to transfer a lot of that awareness to the police departments in America.

Police departments, all over America, need to be brought into the twenty-first century, like education professionals are being trained to recognize cultural bias and the need to not impose their culture on their students, but be willing to accept the differences and learn how to work for the good of the individual.  The “us against them” mentality that exists in communities like Ferguson must be challenged and eradicated.  That is a lethal mixture for continued and repeated disaster.

Again, I want to say, I’m very sorry to see the pain that Michael Brown’s family has endured and must continue to endure.  Many in Ferguson and throughout the United States are hurting right now.  We all must demand change.  We all must learn and practice the lost art of EMPATHY.  Excessive force laws must be implemented and new proceedings must be developed to prosecute those who break those laws and disregard the needs of the communities they are to serve.  All communities like those of Ferguson must push to get law enforcement leaders and individuals who will look out for their interests; they should be protected and served, not prejudged and executed on the spot.

This is an interesting and thought provoking article.  Who would dare read it and consider its merits?  Truth is a hard pill to swallow, but a great cure for ignorance!

The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity: Innocence In the Age of White Male Mass Shootings

Fla. mom gets 20 years for firing warning shots – CBS News

Something is very wrong with this picture.  This woman fired a “warning shot” because of the threat of domestic violence from her abusive husband and she must spend twenty years in jail?  Why is this happening in the United States of America?

Jordan Davis and his friends were listening to loud music in their car.  These are teenagers enjoying their music.  Sure, the music may not have been to everyone’s liking but they had the right to live.  That sounds absurd to me that I am writing about music and death of a teen at the same time!

Again, in Florida, a white man (Michael Dunn, 45 years old) took his gun and decided that he had every right to shoot at black youths.  He shot at their car eight (8) times and two (2) bullets hit Jordan Davis and killed him.  Jordan was 17 years old.  Why did this man think that  he had that right?  Why did he think it was his business to stop these kids and tell them what to do?  Why did he think that he had the right to pull out his gun and shoot at people who did nothing against him?  These kids were in their car…they never got out of the car, yet he had the nerve to say that he felt threatened because he supposedly saw a shotgun?  Then, call the police, don’t just start shooting at people because you feel like it.  Why shoot at these kids, God’s children, eight times and then run like a coward?  Now, he wants to hide behind Florida’s deadly “Stand Your Ground Law.”  Imagine if this were a black man who had done the shooting  of white youths while they listened to their music?  Would their be  a national outrage?  You could bet on it!

This is absolutely disgusting and inhumane.  It is outrageous and absolutely unfair!  Worst of all, the killer left the scene of the crime and drove off close to 200 miles away.  There are reports that he was under the influence of alcohol?

This is another example of how worthless the life of a black youth is in America.  This incident, the Trayvon Martin incident, and many others like it illustrate a deep and growing cancer in America towards the black youths.

Everyone should say “No more!  No more!  Enough is enough!  Blacks, whites, Hispanics, Indians and all people need to say “Enough is enough!  This is an American problem.  Too many sit quietly and ignore this issue as if it is so isolated and it is not!  Kids are being victimized and there is not an outrage…all people with half a conscience should be outraged and say “No more!”  Where is the compassion?  True compassion should never have a “color.”  If you are compassionate, you will have compassion for “your kind” and others as well.

Tribute Song: Shot Into History (Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell…) – YouTube

How is it that in the year 2012 we have elected officials all over the United States devising ways to keep people from voting?  There is a presidential election occurring on November 6, 2012 and Republican politicians are “bending over backwards” to suppress the vote.  They have claimed that there needs to be provisions put in place to prevent voter fraud (less than 1% cases documented).  This could not be further from the truth!  Millions of Americans, mostly blacks and hispanics, are in jeopardy of losing their right to vote because of these last minute changes made to suppress the vote.  Here are some of those restrictions:

1.  The requirement of a state issued photo Identification card at a cost (in Pennsylvania, alone, that affects approximately 800,000 voters).  This change should never be allowed during a Presidential election year!  It takes years to correctly implement such new changes, not a few weeks before an election.

2.  The reduction of early voting days (in Florida, they had 15 days of early voting in 2008, this year, it has been cut down to only 8 days) will create even bigger lines than what we saw in 2008.  Our elected officials should be looking for ways to expedite the process, not create extreme “bottleneck” and regression to “days of old” when only the “privileged” got the “right” to vote.

3.  Most government agencies could not produce the volume of ID cards necessary to allow all eligible voters to vote in time for the elections.  A situation was created that makes it physically impossible to make the new IDs that would be necessary to allow all voters who wished to, the opportunity to vote.  This is grossly unfair!

4.  In some cities, Florida will have a voting sheet that will be as long as 10 pages per voter (with several referendums to decide on)!  Imagine the extra long lines that will create and the discouragement and frustration it will cause to many seniors and people who cannot afford to miss hours of work (poll tax?) to wait to vote.

How could a party that seems to pride itself on protecting the US Constitution create such scenarios to disenfranchise so many Americans?  This smells of extreme hypocrisy and a gross lack of patriotism.

When something is considered “taboo” it is something that you dare not mention or bring up.  A common response to you mentioning something that is “taboo” would be “Don’t speak of it!”  When something is “taboo” everybody around “knows” that only a fool would bring up the “taboo subject” in a public setting.  You don’t blurt out such subjects when you are in a crowded room.  You don’t bring them up when you speak from the podium.  You don’t mention these “taboo subjects” at a cocktail party.  You only discuss them in the privacy of your home and in your bedroom with someone you trust.

In America, I realize that “race, racism, prejudice” are “taboo subjects.”  These subjects usually come up when a “victim” of racism or prejudice wants some expression or justice in relation to what they have experienced.  Then and only then do I see these things become almost “acceptable” to discuss openly.  For example, race was discussed openly when we saw what happened to Rodney King.  It was also discussed openly when we saw what happened to Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Chavis Parker and a host of other black men who were killed  by the police.  Other than these extremely publicized cases, it seems that the topic of race, racism and prejudice goes back on “the shelf” until needed again.

Another taboo subject in America is a person’s color.  There seems to be this collective consciousness that says that “We are all the same and we need not make distinction about color.”  Ideally, that is where we would like to get to as a country.  Realistically, however, that is not where we are.  There are too many examples that “scream” of inequality.  Too many blacks, yes, I used the word, live in poverty. Too many blacks are not getting a quality education (elementary, secondary and college).  Too many underperforming school districts are being “ravaged” by bureaucrats in the name of “school reform.”  Too many black men are in prison and have no possibility of parole.  Too many blacks are in and out of jail and don’t even have the “right to vote” any more.  Too many young black men are being brutally killed by police and other security forces in the name of “justified force.”

Yes, God has created all of us as human beings.  We breath the same air.  We drink the same water (H2O).  We bleed the same way.  Our bodies get the same sicknesses and have the same organs.  Genetically speaking, Science has linked all humans to one common mother they call “Eve.”  So, we are all the same, but when you look at the history (include slavery), we have not all been treated the same.

So, I want to shatter this “taboo” and freely discuss race, racism, prejudice and skin color (all shades) freely for the purposes of highlighting a problem that must be addressed so that lives can be improved.  The non-victims of race don’t care to discuss race.  For the victims who daily navigate this society with the understanding that the dominant (white) race barely “sees” them or cares to “hear” them, this is a true reality.  Sometimes it is more real than the air that they breath, if that were possible.

Somehow, in America, it is wrong to speak up and say that “This was done to him/her because he/she is black.”  Those of color KNOW more than anybody when they are discriminated against.  An “outsider” can never define that for them because the “outsider” does not know what it is to really experience that racism or prejudice as a minority.  Yes, a white person will experience racism and it is wrong, but even that “offense” is a lot different from the person in the minority experiencing that offense.  The person in “power” who experiences racism could say, “Well, that’s your problem if you don’t like me because of my color, I control things anyway, you will still need to come back to me.”  On the other hand, the person who is not in “power” does not have the luxury of saying what the dominant, white person can say.  The one in the minority can say “Wow, another reminder of what I have to overcome to get somewhere in this country, I hope that he/she doesn’t close too many doors for me.”  This is just a glimpse of the thoughts that people could have.  One person sets the conditions for racism, one person is forced to navigate through those conditions.

Those who are afraid to address racism in America will call anyone who points out these trends a “race monger.”  They may call anyone who wants to bring to light these issues a “racist.”  The reality is, they don’t want to open up this “can of worms.”  But those who are daily victims of it, live in the “can of worms” every day.  They just want the “can of worms” to be addressed constructively as a country, as a nation.  Lots of good was done in the 50s and 60s during the Civil Rights Movement, but still a lot more needs to be done today, in the twenty-first century.

I believe that all Americans, Christians and non Christians, should put in the effort to address this issue of race.  The funny thing is, our best churches and fellowships are afraid to tackle this issue thoroughly, even though it exists there as well.

Let’s shatter the “taboos” of race discussion.  Let’s discuss what really is there and not speak from a point of view of only what we wish was there.  You can’t confront and fix a problem that you won’t acknowledge is there.  The first step is “admitting that you have a problem.”  So, we don’t have to live by those “fake rules” that say:  Don’t mention black or white, don’t mention racism, don’t talk about slavery and its impact on race relations today, don’t talk about reparation, don’t speak up for blacks, don’t help the poor, don’t talk about trends against blacks, don’t talk about inequality, don’t talk about the contributions of slaves, and a host of other don’ts.  You fill in the rest.

We must bring race relations in the United States to the table and confront it.  It affects every facet of our society and our daily lives in an adverse way and we pretend that it doesn’t.  Barack Obama spoke about it four (4) years ago in 2008.  That was the last major attempt to address “race in America.”  Tons of books have been written about the subject and hundreds of millions of people are adversely affected by it in this country alone.  Yet, can we continue to stand by and ignore such a big PROBLEM?