Racism blinded Black officers to Tyre Nichols’ humanity
That the five Memphis police officers who viciously murdered 29-yar-old Tyre Nichols were also Black does not distinguish their actions from systemic racism.
Black people can indeed be racist — especially towards other black people. The brutality we witnessed on that video is proof. The actions of those officers reflect a racist system that deems black men as inhuman and dangerous. Those feelings blinded those officers to the humanity of someone who looked like them.
I don’t believe that one of our white brothers, in a similar situation, would have met the same fate. In America, a white man carrying an AR-15 assault rifle is less threatening than an unarmed Black man.
The five officers have pled not guilty. I respect the presumption of innocence. But we all saw the shocking video footage of the beating, following a traffic stop, in early January, which left Mr. Nichols dead three days later. It’s another terrifying example of what it can mean to be a Black man in America.
When I learned the officers who murdered Mr. Nichols were Black, I was shocked, as I was 10 years ago, when I learned the DCs snipers were Black. I have been conditioned to see white men in a certain way, just as police officers have been conditioned to see Black men in a certain way. That conditioning enabled those Black officers to kick, punch and stomp another Black man, apparently without compunction.
I’ve reflected on the grace that Mr. Nichols’ mother showed during a CNN interview. She acknowledged feeling sorry for those officers because they have embarrassed themselves and the Black community.
In truth, I felt sorry for them, too. It’s a tragic situation all around. Police officers have difficult, dangerous and stressful jobs. They’re human like anyone else, but they’re expected to uphold a higher standard.
Instead, these officers perpetuated the racist mentality that permeates too many police departments across the United States. They lost sight of their brother’s humanity and perceived Mr. Nichols as a threat. I see those five officers as my brothers who, tragically, took the life of another brother.
Watching that chilling video hurt me to the core and sparked anger and resentment. I identified with Tyre Nichols because I was shot by a police officer during an arrest when I was only 17.
I no longer hate all police officers. While in prison, I’ve worked with some good officers in mentoring programs for kids in trouble with the system. I respected them and they respected me.
I believe in accountability and justice. But I don’t believe in locking up those five brothers and throwing away the keys. That will not change what is fundamentally wrong with the system.
A belief system that fosters revenge is akin to the mentality that allowed those five officers to treat another human being as worse than an animal.
I also believe in forgiveness and redemption. We need to do away with the “us” versus “them” mentality. We are all Americans, and we are all humans.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” Tyre Nichols’ death shows us that, the more things have changed, the more they remain the same.
During Black History Month, we should not only examine the past, but also plan and work for the future — a future where Black lives are really treated equally under the law.