I once watched in awe, as my oldest brother threw a bucket of cold water on a police officer. It was the summer of 1968, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I had just turned 7 years old — yet the events swirling around me had me feeling like an old soul.
Like most kids, when I wasn’t playing outside with friends, I was glued to the TV set. “Batman” “Lost in Space” and “Tarzan” were some of my favorites. Unfortunately my parents could only afford one set. Therefore, I was sometimes forced to watch an occasional soap opera, along with many national news programs.
Whenever the news was on, at first, I couldn’t always understand what was happening — yet instantly I recognized for the first time, people who looked like us were on TV regularly. My father said it was because of the “Civil Rights Movement!”
He explained to me about Dr. Martin Luther King’s struggles to have southern white America recognize “Colored People” as their equal. Sensing a curiosity in me, he went on to explain about Malcom X, the NAACP, Medgar Evers, Muhammad Ali along with others who were also speaking out against the treatment of our people.
After hearing about the murders of Emmett Till, the 4 little girls bombed to death in a Alabama church, the assassinations of Medgar Evers & Malcolm X — those children’s shows I once loved to watch, seemed so unimportant.
Without knowing it, my young world view would forever be changed because of these small conversations with my father. Young people today would call it being “woke!”
It was a good yet strange feeling — since kids my own age wouldn’t know what the hell I was talking about whenever I’d try to explain these events to them. I felt older & smarter, but also very much afraid that maybe the next tragic event could hit closer to home.
I soon came to learn my older brothers were already “woke” as well. After talking with them, I learned they preferred to be called “black” instead of “colored” — that all young black men should refer to each other as “brothers.” Young black women were called “sisters” or “queens” if they were special enough.
They stressed how they now saw black as beautiful. James Brown’s “say it loud, I’m black & I’m proud” was constantly blasting from transistor radios in our home & through out my neighborhood.
My oldest brother was the most vocal and radical of the bunch. He was the 1st person to talk to me about the “Black Panther Party” bases out of Oakland California. They’d started a community outreach program which helped feed needy children, while also educating them of their lost African heritage. For the adults, they spoke out about drugs & alcohol abuse, how it was ruining the community, while also teaching them about their rights as American citizens.
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However, it was their stance against police brutality which seemed to most appeal to my brother. He explained how “the brothers” felt a need to band together — to put an end to these unchecked police assaults which were common place through out the black communities. He admired the “panthers” so much, he grew his own tiny Afro — while greeting everyone with the “black power statute”
plutobooks.com
He also started referring to the police as “pigs” whom he defiantly began to develop major aversions against — whenever they’d show up to clear he & his friends from the corners where they would routinely “hang out.”
One night, I remember watching him from my neighbor’s backyard, “hype up” the crowd, when the “pigs” tried to arrest a friend of theirs. That standoff eventually led to a multiple police car chase after he & his “gang” rained the police car with bricks & empty soda bottles.
The slow boil of summer continued, as earlier riots had broken out in most major cities, after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April. On the heels of MLK’s murder, came the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in June. Senator Kennedy, the 1968 Democratic nominee for president, was seen as a great advocate of the “Civil Rights Movement” before he was struck down. The ideal of a better American, especially for people of color was lost.
Even as a young kid, I felt tensions shimmer all around me, as two of our best & brightest, men who stood for ultimate peace, was taken away from us forever so violently.
As for my brother, the last straw occurred after someone found a wrench to turn on the water plug, one crazy hot August day. He was only 17 years old at the time, a kid himself, as he & his friends had a ball, splashing each other with buckets of cool water.
The water current nearest the hydrant was much too strong for us little guys to indulge, so we entertained ourselves with curbside “popsicle stick” races from the current’s overflow as it trickled down the street.
Eventually, we got wet too, as one of the bigger guys managed to stick his butt against the hydrant, spraying a massive water fall on everyone in the vicinity. A great time was had by all, as everyone was gleefully screaming and laughing, even the “young sisters” who had originally dressed up “cute” for the day and hadn’t necessarily planned to get wet.
But as usual, all good times must come to an end, as a police officer arrived at the scene to shut off the fire hydrant. Of course everyone was upset, we were all young dumb kids, what did we know or care about “low water pressure” or “fire hazards.”
We just wanted to keep the good times going for a little while longer. Soon angry words were exchanged between the crowd and the officer, followed by my brother’s sudden drenching of the officer’s freshly pressed uniform with a bucket full of water.
“Oh shit!” I’m sure I thought, as my brother took flight down the street followed by the officer in hot pursuit. Around the corner they went, followed by few of my brother’s faithful friends. I’m not sure if the officer called for backup or not, all I knew for sure was I was terrified, since the hunt was on, and big bruh was the prey…
On May 25th 2020 America got to see a blackman lynched right before their very eyes! Handcuffed and held faced down in the street by three officer’s knees to his back and legs, George Floyd pleaded for help from his dead mother, as life was slowly being extinguished from his prone body.
A fourth officer, Derek Chauvin committed the ultimate dastardly deed, kneeling upon the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes and forty six seconds….YES, EIGHT MINUTES AND FORTY SIX SECONDS!!!
Although initially I had no interest in watching that video, however, I had to see with my own two eyes if maybe I’d missed something. I’d fallen into the same trap lots of people had, both white and people of color, thinking maybe there musta been something he did, something we missed, to try to make sense of those office’s actions. After multiple reviews, I couldn’t find a damn thing he did wrong, cause there was no credible justification for their actions.
The whole world saw, what we in the black community have seen over and over again, in different circumstances. That at no time, did Mr. Floyd’s actions resemble anything which could be construed as resisting arrest.
In fact, we also saw during most of those 8 minutes and 46 seconds, officer Chauvin was kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck with both hands in his pockets. This act alone clearly shows Mr. Floyd was long pass the point of posing any type of real threat to anyone.
Mr Floyd was executed in broad daylight for trying to purchase food with a counterfeit $20 bill.
On February 23rd 2020 Ahmaud Arbery was tracked, ambushed, then shot and killed by two white men, one a former police officer, for nothing more than jogging on the wrong side of town.
On March 13th 2020 Breonna Taylor, a 26 year old EMT was shot and killed by three plain clothed undercover police officers during the execution of a after midnight, “no-knock warrant.”
Suddenly awakened by their front door being knocked in, Ms. Taylor’s live-in boyfriend used his legally owned firearm, to ward off what he thought were intruders, injuring one of the officers. The officers returned over 20 rounds of fire, shooting Ms. Taylor 8 times. As it turns out, the officers had the wrong address.
Then last month, in the midst of massive protests through out the USA and overseas against police brutality and racial injustice, Rayshard Brooks was killed, shot twice in the back by Atlanta Ga. police while fleeing a DUI arrest.
Unfortunately, these last four murders in five months represent just a tip of the iceberg of police misconduct policing black communities. From Rodney King to Rayshard Brooks, we’ve seen far too many examples due to the explosion of video camera surveillance everywhere.
The cameras clearly show, there’s a serious police problem here in America. Especially with a high number of seemingly paranoid police officers patrolling many poor black neighborhoods. Our communities feel young blacks, especially males, are too often wrongly profiled as potential threats to the safety of these officers. It’s as if they’re being deemed as “weapons” simply because of the color of the skin they’re in. If you doubt that, watch the police body cam video of the Philando Castlile’s traffic stop of 2017.
Yet camera evidence doesn’t always equal convictions or for that matter, criminal charges brought against many of these rogue officers. Matters are made even worse once the bias news media gets involved, searching anything to criminalize the victims.
With zero consequences for their actions, they’ve been policing our neighborhoods more like overseers for decades, rather than officers who took an oath to protest and serve. To my people, Officer Friendly, ain’t always so friendly!
In response to the 2013 acquittal of Stanford, Fl. resident George Zimmerman, the Black Lives Matter Movement was born. Zimmerman, a white wanta-be cop, racially profiled, stalked and murdered unarmed 17 year old Trayvon Martin during an unauthorized “neighborhood watch” exercise. Essentially Zimmerman shot the teenager for being black, wearing a “hoodie” and having the audacity to take a stroll through in HIS neighborhood.
Zimmerman’s lawyers used Florida’s “stand your ground” laws as his defense, claiming he was defending himself from attack against the smaller youth. Even if that accusation was possibly true, what about Trayvon’s rights to stand his own ground? Unfortunately, young Trayvon wasn’t around to tell his side of the story, his rights and more importantly his value to society went grossly unprotected in that courtroom.
The Black Lives Matter movement is basically a voice for the voiceless, their battle cry is for “police reform.” Their goal as unofficial overseers of communities of color, are to bring awareness to the disproportional number of unarmed black people brutalized by the police and the justice system.
black lives matter.com
They’ve gained local and national media acclaim by leading demonstrations and protest marches, while hoping to gather enough political support to have legislation changed to stem the tide of systemic racism towards black people and people of color.
Unfortunately, there exists a misconception about the Black Lives Matter movement. The tittle of the movement is not to state black lives are more important than any other lives, it’s stating “black lives matter too,” the word “too” is inferred.
The Black Lives Matter Foundation has chapters through out most major cities in the US, as well as few in Canada & the UK.
In 2014, a 18 year old Michael Brown was shot & killed by a Ferguson Mo. police officer. The unarmed youth according to a number of witnesses, was said to have had his hands raised and pleaded “don’t shoot” Instead, Brown was shot 6 times.
Almost immediately rioting broke out in Ferguson, once authorities announced no charges would be file against the arresting officer. Black Lives Matter stepped in, using their untested platform to try to get justice for Michael Brown.
Unfortunately, their efforts didn’t result in charges against the officer since Ferguson’s local grand jury sided with his account of the incident. However, the officer was forced to resign as Black Lives Matter called into question some of the officer’s actions during the incident. Eventually, due to much public pressure, a review board was organized to oversee the tactics of Ferguson’s police force and its poor relationship with the community.
To date, Black Lives Matter effort’s are stronger than ever, as the attention they garner has led to firings, charges, as well as a few convictions of these out of control police officers.
Yet the murder of George Floyd brought about a phenomenon so rarely seen by the black community when it comes to the injustice of one of our own….the outrage of white America!
Scores of white people, young and old, male and female, some chose to offer support through social media, while many took to the streets — protesting side by side with Black Lives Matter and their followers, expressing their ultimate disgust with this ugly broken justice system. All this in the midst of global pandemic!
A wise friend of mine once told me something I’ll never forget, essentially stating “no movement in this country has ever been successful without the aid of concerned and outraged white people!”
Many marched with Dr. King during the “Civil Right Movement” however, his ass-assination left a serious leadership void. Many also figured the job was completed with the passage of the “Civil Rights Acts” of 1964 and ’68, plus the “Voters Rights Act” of ’65. That combined with “white flight” where more middle and upper class whites moved out to the suburbs, leaving inter-city problems to inter-city leadership.
Yet, this younger generation of whites seems hell bent on doing their part to help change the world. I’m still not too sure how successful their voices will aid to stem the tide of systematic racism and inequality, but it’s encouraging that they are now joining the fight.
Especially with all these racist verbal attacks by other white citizens spilling out on a daily basis. (yes the video cameras catch them too) But despite that, I must admit, this time it does feel a little different.
The tearing down of white supremacy monuments of hate and racial intimidation are a step in the right direction, however the next step in my opinion is changing legislation. The first piece of legislation I’d like passed is the Anti-lynching Act named after Emmett Till.
Till, a fourteen year old black youth from Chicago IL, was gruesomely disfigured, then lynched in Money, Mississippi, by a group of white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman in 1955.
This bill, if passed would make lynching a federal crime. Shamefully, the passage of a anti lynching legislation has been rejected numerous times over the past 120 years, the latest attempt denied in June 2020, mainly due to the blatant posturing of Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Frustration and Fury as Rand Paul Holds Up Anti-Lynching Bill in Senate
A dispute over legislation to make lynching a federal crime has grown fierce as Congress turns its attention to issues…
www.nytimes.com
As a break from recent events, many Americans would welcome an immediate return to some level of normalcy, including a return of live sports. Wouldn’t it be an amazing idea if some pro-athletes banned together using their platform and more importantly, their refusal to participate in any live sporting activities until the passage of the Anti-lynching Act?
The NBA Player’s Union has just that type of opportunity as their sport is scheduled to resume in late July. In June, Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, along with a number of other NBA players, expressed concern that an NBA season restart, could take attention away from the nation’s protest.
I’d love to see the biggest stars in the game, past and present, band together to force the politicians to come to an agreement on this landmark legislation.
How powerful would a committee of the likes of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, etc., look backed up by legends Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neil and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Each bring their incredible celebrity status backed up by their immense endorsement power, threatening a work stoppage on the eve of the restart. In any game of “chicken” I like this group’s chances against Senator Rand Paul and his conservative cohorts.
Some will say “politics has no place in sports!” To that, I’d simply point to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos both won medals in the 200-meter final.
What happened next, was arguably one of the most iconic moments in sports history. As they arrived at the medal awarding ceremony, the pair wore black socks without shoes, signifying black poverty, with beads & scarfs around their necks, which signified the continued lynching of blacks Americans.
Then, during the playing of America’s national anthem, both Smith and Carlos raised black gloved fist in a “Black Power” salute as a final protect to the racist treatment of America’s African American population.
The message was powerful! The firestorm controversy it generated, even more so, as Smith and Carlos were immediately banned from the Olympic village. While also being banned from Olympic competition for life!
Olympic Athletes Who Took a Stand
When the medals were awarded for the men’s 200-meter sprint at the 1968 Olympic Games, Life magazine photographer John…
www.smithsonianmag.com
Neither man would ever race again as their track careers were deemed emphatically over. Once they returned to the USA, they faced many years of personal struggles as the almost daily death threats began to take a toll on their families (Carlos’s wife committed suicide in ‘77.) Added to numerous years of unemployment, it appeared as if America was punishing them as a form of retribution for their actions.
But when asked if they had any regrets some 40 years later during a 2008 Smithsonian Magazine interview, I’ll let their response speak for themselves :
But both men insist they have no regrets about 1968. “I went up there as a dignified black man and said: ‘What’s going on is wrong,’ “ Carlos says. Their protest, Smith says, “was a cry for freedom and for human rights. We had to be seen because we couldn’t be heard.”
Translation, “Sometimes desperate means, call for desperate measures!”
… as it turned out my brother thought he was quite the escape artist, as he zoomed around the corner, cut through a number of parked cars, shot into an alley way and hopped over the back of a tall wooden fence, trying his best to lose the advancing police officer.
His only mistake was jumping into the backyard of the biggest, meanest dog in the neighborhood. Before the “psycho” dog could launch his lethal attack, bruh leaped back over the fence into the waiting arms of the smiling police officer.
Luckily for bruh the officer had a sense of humor, as he escorted him to a waiting police car, laughing at bruh’s narrow escape all the way to the police station.
Down at the station, I imagine the other officer’s weren’t too happy to hear what bruh did to their fellow officer. They coulda thrown him in cell with some other older bad asses, letting whatever happened happen.
Or they coulda beat the shit out of him with fist and night sticks. I also imagine they coulda concocted a story where he reached for a gun causing them no choice but to “fill him full of lead” since they’d say they feared for their lives.
Instead, they did what all good police are supposed to do, they called my father down to the station, releasing bruh into his custody with a citation.
And that’s what we need more of in 2020, good respectful police, doing the right thing, even if it goes against their partners actions, no matter the consequences. Had there been at least one on May 25th, it’s possible George Floyd would still be alive today.
Imagine that!
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