by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Is the hard shell of subtle and not-so-subtle racism that has long encased the United States finally beginning to show some cracks? Three recent news stories indicate that some changes may be beginning to quietly ripple through society.
First, as I mentioned in this space a few days ago, arrests were finally made in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, a young man who was jogging in his Georgia community when he was confronted and killed by a pair of white vigilantes who said they suspected him of being involved in a string neighborhood burglaries. Local officials had fumbled the case and bounced it between jurisdictions for a couple of months with no arrests, even though everyone knew who the killers were. Then a video of the incident was released on social media, supposedly to help exonerate the father and son perpetrators, but the video backfired when it instead served to fire-up protests in the community demanding arrests.
The Arbery case was then turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation which quickly arrested the white perpetrators on felony murder charges. A few days later the man who made the video and released it on social media was also arrested as an accessory to the murder of Mr. Arbery. Now there are new reports that the GBI is also investigating some of the local authorities who initially sidetracked the investigation as possible co-conspirators in a hate crime.
For the times they are a-changin'.
Last week a young white urban professional named Amy Cooper was walking her newly adopted dog in an area of Central Park in New York City called the Bramble. The city requires dogs in that part of the park to be on a leash - and signs are posted to that effect. A young black man by the name of Christian Cooper (no relation to Amy) happened to be bird-watching in the same area when he encountered Amy and her dog. Christian explained to Amy that she needed to have her dog on a leash, and he offered the dog a treat.
The dog owner became visibly angry and took out her phone. She said, "I'm taking a picture and calling the cops. I'm going o tell them there's an African American man threatening my life." By that point the man was also filming. The lady called the police - and no arrests were made.
Later Christian Cooper posted his video to social media where it proceeded to go viral. Amy Cooper and her employer were both identified. The shelter that had adopted the dog out to the lady asked for its return, and numerous postings went up that were critical of the woman's behavior - which could have led to the injury or death of the man - and attention was brought to bear on the incident with her employers.
Amy Cooper declared on social media that she was not a racist and apologized to Christian Cooper as well as to the black community - but it was too little, too late. Her employer announced later over social media that she had been terminated.
And, to underscore the point that when police are called to deal with a black individual, the result can be deadly . . .
On Monday evening of this week police in Minneapolis were called by personnel from a store regarding an incident of forgery. Upon arrival at the scene, they were directed to a black man sitting in a nearby car as the probable culprit. Police removed the man, 46-year-old George Floyd, from the car, handcuffed him, and then two officers forced him to the ground while two others supervised the gathering crowd and directed traffic. A bystander filmed the scene in which one of the officers restraining Mr. Floyd had his knee on the prone man's throat.
The video captured the voice of George Floyd telling the policeman that he couldn't breathe. He died during the incident.
Yesterday it was announced that the Chief of Police in Minneapolis had fired the four officers involved in the incident, and that the city's mayor had approved the firings. Local residents took to the streets to demand that murder charges be filed against the four policemen.
And some were quick to point out that incidents like the ones described above are the reason why athletes like Colin Kapernick choose to kneel during the national anthem. Black lives matter - they really do - and perhaps white America is finally beginning to realize that.
Citizen Journalist
Is the hard shell of subtle and not-so-subtle racism that has long encased the United States finally beginning to show some cracks? Three recent news stories indicate that some changes may be beginning to quietly ripple through society.
First, as I mentioned in this space a few days ago, arrests were finally made in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, a young man who was jogging in his Georgia community when he was confronted and killed by a pair of white vigilantes who said they suspected him of being involved in a string neighborhood burglaries. Local officials had fumbled the case and bounced it between jurisdictions for a couple of months with no arrests, even though everyone knew who the killers were. Then a video of the incident was released on social media, supposedly to help exonerate the father and son perpetrators, but the video backfired when it instead served to fire-up protests in the community demanding arrests.
The Arbery case was then turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation which quickly arrested the white perpetrators on felony murder charges. A few days later the man who made the video and released it on social media was also arrested as an accessory to the murder of Mr. Arbery. Now there are new reports that the GBI is also investigating some of the local authorities who initially sidetracked the investigation as possible co-conspirators in a hate crime.
For the times they are a-changin'.
Last week a young white urban professional named Amy Cooper was walking her newly adopted dog in an area of Central Park in New York City called the Bramble. The city requires dogs in that part of the park to be on a leash - and signs are posted to that effect. A young black man by the name of Christian Cooper (no relation to Amy) happened to be bird-watching in the same area when he encountered Amy and her dog. Christian explained to Amy that she needed to have her dog on a leash, and he offered the dog a treat.
The dog owner became visibly angry and took out her phone. She said, "I'm taking a picture and calling the cops. I'm going o tell them there's an African American man threatening my life." By that point the man was also filming. The lady called the police - and no arrests were made.
Later Christian Cooper posted his video to social media where it proceeded to go viral. Amy Cooper and her employer were both identified. The shelter that had adopted the dog out to the lady asked for its return, and numerous postings went up that were critical of the woman's behavior - which could have led to the injury or death of the man - and attention was brought to bear on the incident with her employers.
Amy Cooper declared on social media that she was not a racist and apologized to Christian Cooper as well as to the black community - but it was too little, too late. Her employer announced later over social media that she had been terminated.
And, to underscore the point that when police are called to deal with a black individual, the result can be deadly . . .
On Monday evening of this week police in Minneapolis were called by personnel from a store regarding an incident of forgery. Upon arrival at the scene, they were directed to a black man sitting in a nearby car as the probable culprit. Police removed the man, 46-year-old George Floyd, from the car, handcuffed him, and then two officers forced him to the ground while two others supervised the gathering crowd and directed traffic. A bystander filmed the scene in which one of the officers restraining Mr. Floyd had his knee on the prone man's throat.
The video captured the voice of George Floyd telling the policeman that he couldn't breathe. He died during the incident.
Yesterday it was announced that the Chief of Police in Minneapolis had fired the four officers involved in the incident, and that the city's mayor had approved the firings. Local residents took to the streets to demand that murder charges be filed against the four policemen.
And some were quick to point out that incidents like the ones described above are the reason why athletes like Colin Kapernick choose to kneel during the national anthem. Black lives matter - they really do - and perhaps white America is finally beginning to realize that.
No comments:
Post a Comment