A week ago today, the announcement was made that Wauwatosa police officer, Joseph Mensah, would face no changes in the death of Alvin Cole, the third young man he had killed in just five years. Even before the announcement, Wauwatosa businesses were boarded up and the National Guard were called in to "support." Night after night for the past week I've been watching these protests unfold in live streams, watched as peaceful protestors of all ages and races were met with riot police, rubber bullets, and tear gas. Read the reports of the police department that describe these protests in much more violent and criminalized ways. My heart is heavy.
Recently, someone asked me "but Mensah is black, how can this be racist?" As part of an anti-racism book club at work, I'm reading "So You Want To Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo. One of the chapters for this week was titled "Is Police Brutality Really About Race?" and it hit me like a punch to my stomach. The Wauwatosa residents who fear for their safety are doing so, not because of the militarization and brutality of their police force and an officer who has taken three lives, but because marchers in the street are demanding change, are creating noise and disruption. as they demand that black and brown lives are treated with as much importance as the white residents' need to feel comfortable and safe in their town.
This week's challenge was on systemic racism and I leave these quotes from Oluo's book as I'm blown away by these thoughts tonight:
-"Our police force was not created to protect Americans of color, but to control Americans of color... The police don't just keep white communities safe, they save white communities from the evils of inner city crime."
-"When looking at anti-black bias in police actions, we are looking at the product of police cultural history that has always viewed black Americans as adversaries, and of a popular culture that has portrayed black Americans as violent criminals not worthy of protection."
-"This belief that black people and people of color are more dangerous, unpredictable, and violent is not something that I believe most police officers (and other Americans) even know they believe. But they do believe deep down."
The answer to tonight's question is yes. Police brutality is founded on the fear of black people and the safety and security of white communities which is valued above that of the black lives they fear.
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