August 17, 2014
The List Gets LongerBy Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Remember these names! Eric Garner! John Crawford III! Michael Brown! They are bonded with each other and are bonded with Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and hundreds of African-American males who attempt to navigate the racist landscape of our nation.
Many watched in horror as Eric Garner was wrestled to the ground by NYC police, allegedly, for selling untaxed cigarettes. Officer Daniel Pantaleo jumped on Garner’s back and placed him in a choke-hold, "a potentially deadly maneuver" banned by NYC police for 21 years!
Mr. Garner complained loudly and repeatedly that he couldn't breathe, but Pantaleo continued, resulting in Garner going into cardiac arrest and, later, dying in a local hospital. Garner's wife disclosed that he suffered from diabetes, chronic asthma and sleep apnea. The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide as a consequence of asphyxiation.
Typically, there's been an attempt to justify police actions by highlighting Mr. Garner's criminal record, but does a history of selling untaxed cigarettes equate to an extrajudicial death sentence?
What about John Crawford III, the 22-year-old killed in a Dayton, OH area Wal-Mart? His family is asking, “Why was Crawford, a customer, shot and killed while holding a BB gun in a store that sells BB guns?"
Under the veil of "an on-going investigation" details of this shooting are sketchy at best. Police state that Beavercreek officers Sgt. David Darkow and Sean Williams responded to a 911 call about a man waving a gun inside a Wal-Mart store. Allegedly, when confronted by the police and ordered to drop the weapon, Crawford didn't respond and was shot. He died from this trauma.
Two contradictions ring clear in this incident. First, why is a weapon that is indistinguishable as a "non-firearm" on open shelves and capable of being handled by the public? Second, how is the disparity in the treatment of white 2nd Amendment supporters in stores with real loaded weapons explained? Or how can an 18 year old white male in Aurora, CO, location of the theater massacre, stroll down the street with a loaded shotgun for the purpose of "getting folks used to" seeing weapons openly carried?
Now to Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who was set to begin his collegiate career two days after he was killed by a Ferguson, MO, policeman. I've never been to Ferguson, but I have a very good friend who lived there while serving in the Army. He was headquartered in St. Louis and bought a home in nearby Ferguson. His evaluation gives greater clarity to media reports.
When he and his spouse moved to Ferguson some years ago, they were "greeted" by a next-door neighbor brandishing a revolver while observing them move in. As is his style, my friend pulled a police-type shotgun from the trunk of his car and stared his new neighbor into a retreat into his home. The neighbor moved several months later, but my friends perceived the undercurrent of racial animus as long as they lived there.
This feeling was reinforced by several incidents of DWB racial profiling. Although his appearance epitomized the super-straight soldier, when in civilian clothing he was subjected to the same profiling that is common to African Americans males.
Asked about reports from Ferguson, they were adamant in their belief that community traditions "die hard." They state that, "Surface changes may occur, but traditions that are deeply embedded in the psyche and spirit of a community remain for generations. Racist behavior is simply traditional in Ferguson."
With all of the violence in the world; with the efforts of so many to find negotiated solutions to these challenges, a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. finds a reason to shoot another unarmed young Black man. When will it end?
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National President/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org)