Justice denied
America you are killing us. Every time a Black body is treated with disrespect by the police it is a mental stress on us all and if the armed police don’t get us, the stress of living in this country will.
I listen to the White privilege of protesters to the COVID-19 lockdown rules, their yearning to be free from lockdown and for a lot of us in Black America some of it has been a blessing.
And the blessing is that I have had limited chances to experience racism like the jokes that you are expected to ignore; because it’s just a joke, right? Sadly, this behavior isn’t always from some extremist, but from people who think themselves supportive but expect you — probably the only Black person they talk to — to be their Black Sherpa guide, even though they are old enough to know right from wrong.
Now we have another senseless death of a young Black man, and it is defined as an accidental shooting by a 26-year veteran on the force. Whenever these tragic incidents happen, weekly it appears, I think of Dylann Roof. Remember him? He is the convicted mass murderer who walked into a Charleston, S.C., church and murdered nine people.
I will never forget the pictures of his arrest as long as I live; police approaching the car with not one gun drawn even though they knew he was a mass murderer; and the police didn’t see him as a threat. He was taken out of the car without being thrown to the ground with a knee on his neck and not ordered at gunpoint to do anything.
Now Google the image of the Army lieutenant being pulled over in Virginia and pepper sprayed while guns were aimed at him demanding that he not only get out of the car but to get down on the ground while in his uniform, which clearly wasn’t enough to cover his Black skin.
If that’s not enough for you to understand how the system
treats me and my Black skin different, let’s look at how folks in Minnesota were treated while protesting the murder of yet another Black man in their community. There is a real military presence, right?
Now search for Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol. Anyone who has argued that Black Lives Matter would have been treated the same way is not being realistic because BLM protesters would never would have gotten within blocks of the U.S. Capitol, and there is no hiding from that fact.
There is no justice for Black America here, so I have to ask if we aren’t going to address the issue and get results, why do we stay? And let’s be clear, both political parties are responsible; Democratic former President Bill Clinton’s policies are part of the problem, as much as the right side of the political spectrum.
Four hundred years is long enough for denied justice. So don’t ask me why I am angry because I am done answering dumb questions.
— Faye Morrison
Ayer