By Demetrius Dillard
In the words of scholar Cornel West, the turmoil and unrest that has unfolded over the past few weeks has reinforced the reality that America is nothing more than a failed social experiment, as tensions between Black America and law enforcement appear to be at an all-time high.
The aftermath of George Floyd’s death has sparked massive protests and national outrage that the world has not witnessed, arguably, since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more than five decades ago.
The National Guard has been employed in reportedly 23 states, including Washington, D.C., in addition to dozens of curfews being enacted to help ‘subside some of the rioting.’
With the advent of social media and technological advancement, fatal attacks against Black Americans are being documented to a much greater extent than in the past. Yet another Black man’s senseless death at the hands of law enforcement has pushed many demonstrators to their breaking point, evidenced with looting, destruction of buildings and other property, and even the shooting of four police officers in St. Louis.
But as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others have articulated, Floyd’s death and the reaction that followed “is not an isolated incident,” but is the direct result of built up frustration stemming from hundreds of years of Black oppression rooted in White supremacy and glaring racial bias in policing.
In addition, Floyd’s death has prompted celebrities, athletes, musical artists and millions of other social media users to voice their support of justice for Floyd with “Black Lives Matter” hashtags and emotional video posts. On the other hand, the subsequent uprisings in major American cities have sparked a mix of opinions as it relates to activism, looting, Black-on-Black crime and race relations.
With such an abundance of ideas expressed in wake of Floyd’s death, the influential Black figures and activists who seem to have put forth feasible courses of action to combat some of the racial injustices Black Americans face — some of whom include Minnesota Sen. Jeff Hayden (D), activist Tamika Mallory and former President Barack Obama.
“We are not responsible for the mental illness that has been inflicted upon our people by the American government, institutions and those people who are in positions of power. I don’t give a [expletive] if they burn down Target because Target should be on the streets with us calling for the justice that our people deserve,” Mallory said in a speech at a Minneapolis rally that went viral soon after Floyd was killed in the custody of Minneapolis police.
Mallory, former Women’s March co-chair, called for accountability from law enforcement agencies and the U.S. government.
“[Young people] are enraged, and there’s an easy way to stop it: arrest the cops. Charge the cops. Charge all the cops, not just some of them, not just here in Minneapolis. Charge them in every across America where our people are being murdered,” she said.
“We are tired. Don’t talk to us about looting. Y’all are the looters. America has looted Black people. America looted the Native Americans when they first came here, so looting is what you do. We learned it from you. We learned violence from you… so if you want us to do better, then [expletive], you do better.”
Former President Barack Obama penned a letter to the American people with actionable steps that can be taken in regards to effectuating dramatic policy and law enforcement change at the local level(s) in an article entitled “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change” published June 1 on medium.com.
The former commander-in-chief began his essay by highlighting that protests that swept the nation “represent a genuine and legitimate frustration” over years of unsuccessful police reform and the broader U.S. criminal justice system.
“If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” Obama wrote, urging readers to vote for officials in local political offices that serve in the best interests of the people as he called for the reformation of police departments.
“The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable; in fact, throughout American history, it’s often only been in response to protests and civil disobedience that the political system has even paid attention to marginalized communities.
“But eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices — and in a democracy, that only happens when we elect government officials who are responsive to our demands.”
Obama went on to advise readers to be specific on the demands they make for criminal justice and police reform, and included a link to a resource for those interested in taking concrete action.
“So the bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform,” Obama expressed.
“Finally, the more specific we can make demands for criminal justice and police reform, the harder it will be for elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away.”
Similarly, Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL) of Minnesota joined fellow legislators in urging extensive police reform, saying that the state legislature has a “critical role to play” in developing changes to address systemic issues, according to a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune report.
“We want that reform to be on the table or we are not going to have business as usual and start passing bonding bills and start passing all the other things that we need,” Hayden said according to the report. Additionally, the district Hayden represents includes the site where Floyd encountered Minneapolis police.
“We think this is critical,” he said. “We believe we have to do it now and we are tired of being in the back of the line.”
An upcoming special session for the Minnesota Legislature is scheduled for this month.
Hayden added that he and other lawmakers are putting together a package of reform proposals that would include making changes to the “Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, giving more power to the state attorney general to intervene in police-involved deaths, and requiring that officers carry their own liability insurance.”
Furthermore, scholars Marc Lamont Hill and Michael Eric Dyson, rapper Killer Mike and former NBA player Stephen Jackson have emerged as vocal leaders during this tumultuous time.
What is occurring in America reflects a bigger problem that Black people from so many countries grapple with on a daily basis. Protests have emerged globally in response to the unjust murder of Floyd, showing the interracial solidarity and unity that the world may not be as divided as one may think.
Advocates for dramatic changes to the American law enforcement system should only follow leaders like Mallory, Obama and Hayden, but taking heed to the advice of local community organizers who have outlined tangible, actionable plans to combat racial injustices is equally as important.
Flowery rhetoric has only gotten the Black community so far, perfectly explaining why Obama concluded in his piece so adequately: “Let’s get to work.”
Demetrius Dillard is a freelance writer based in Baltimore.
