The definition of “police” is, according to Merriam-Webster, “to supervise the operation, execution, or administration of to prevent or detect and prosecute violations of rules and regulations.” The ambiguity of this definition allows the act of policing to be transformative, and therefore have the ability to operate on both the micro- and macro-level in several… Continue reading Police Are Protecting and Serving. Just Not Us.
Tag: Police Brutality
More Birthdays: Raising Money to End Discriminatory & Abusive Policing
We’ve heard statistics, circulated hash tags, protested, watched body cam videos, watched the nightly news, lashed out on social media, prayed earnestly, cried uncontrollably, prayed some more, vented to loved ones, watched documentaries, read headlines and read the pain on faces after yet another killing of an unarmed civilian. If you’re like me, you often… Continue reading More Birthdays: Raising Money to End Discriminatory & Abusive Policing
The Black American Dream and Milwaukee
Milwaukee is my home. I was born and raised there. My family home is in the Sherman Park neighborhood, half a block from the location of the unrest that happened the weekend of August 12th, 2016. My parents still live there. Until recent history, Sherman Park was a bastion of black success, the heavily sought… Continue reading The Black American Dream and Milwaukee
The Dangerous Effects of Media and Black Oppression
As I scroll down my Facebook News Feed daily, I am forced to see visuals of black and brown bodies: some dead completely covered in blood with a white police officer towering over them, some who have already passed and have been used as martyrs for other types of political movements, or some with their… Continue reading The Dangerous Effects of Media and Black Oppression
White People: Understand That We Do Not Understand
D ear White People, You’ve heard the news. You’ve seen the stories. Many of you, like me, are likely disgusted, horrified and depressed by the recent events that have led to the unjustified and premature termination of (yet another) two meaningful lives. And not just these two. There have been many, many more. Hundreds of… Continue reading White People: Understand That We Do Not Understand
The Dueling Sides of “Just Comply”
Since the gunning down of Mike Brown in August of 2014, more attention has been brought to the problem of police brutality in America, specifically police brutality directed at unarmed black men and children. While the mainstream narrative prefers to frame this as a “new” problem, it’s really an age-old issue rooted in the severe systematic and institutional racism… Continue reading The Dueling Sides of “Just Comply”
A Few Words About the Police
The fallout following Mike Brown’s murder is a couple of days old now and I’ve seen many give their opinions of various topics related to this heinous crime including racism, classism, the ineptness of the NAACP, the backlash behind President Obama’s official statement, respectability politics and the role of police in our community/police brutality. The… Continue reading A Few Words About the Police
The Quiet Revolution
The quiet Revolution of being Black in America Where our bodies are always on auction blocks We are bought and sold for fragile egos Where our defiance is listed under justifiable homicide Justice is a word we don’t know and we are told to just go along Even when the police are hell-bent on violating… Continue reading The Quiet Revolution
Maybe She Should Have Just…
I deleted and wrote this essay over at least twice. It was difficult to write because I was still sorting out my emotions. I didn’t want to vent and write an angry piece or feel compelled to have something encouraging to say. I also wanted to make sure this essay had a clear purpose, given… Continue reading Maybe She Should Have Just…
Campaign Zero
“We can live in a world where the police don’t kill people by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.” So reads the hopeful, matter-of-fact vision statement of Campaign Zero, a momentous, sweeping initiative focused intently on ending police violence in the United States. Organized by four social justice leaders from around the country… Continue reading Campaign Zero