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The Project Vision
- 2. The Problem
- 3. Fact Check African-Americans are more likely to get fatally shot African-Americans are more likely to be pulled over African-Americans are arrested at a higher rate for drug abuse More African-Americans are imprisoned
- 4. How You Start is How You Finish “Policing in southern slave- holding states followed a different trajectory—one that has roots in slave patrols of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and police enforcement of Jim Crow Laws in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries (Hassett- Walker, 2021).”
- 5. The Numbers
- 6. “The Talk” “I know that all parents talk to their kids about how to stay safe, but for black people, it’s about specifically staying safe from the police.” -Trevor Noah
- 7. Stakeholders • Department of Justice (Special Litigation Section) : works to protect the civil rights of people who interact with state or local police or sheriffs’ department • Congress: can pass legislation related to law enforcement agencies • Law enforcement agencies: tasked with protecting the rights of the community and upholding the law • Community members including activists: can push for accountability • Bureau of Justice Statistics: can collect information on arrested officers • Legal aid and defense societies: maintain a database of officer misconduct • Local Government: institute policies that prevent over policing
- 8. Measurable Success • Surveys that measure the satisfaction of the black community with law enforcement • Data collected that looks for impartiality when use of force is necessary. Also, looks for the presence of prejudice in arrest and stops. • Weekly reports measuring if police complaints and use of force incidents are decreasing
- 10. Say Their Names
- 12. References • Brooks, O. (2020). Police Brutality and Blacks: An American Immune System Disorder. Journal of the National Medical Association, 112(3), 239–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2020.06.003 • Cunningham, T. (2021, January 12). American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/humanrightsmaga zinehome/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/how-police-and-communities- can- move-forward-together/. • Hassett-Walker, C. (2021, January 12). How You Start is How You Finish? The Slave Patrol and Jim Crow Origins of Policing. American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_mag azine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/how-you-start-is-how-you- finish/. • Kreps, D. (2021, April 16). 'The Daily Show' Relays 'The Talk' Black Families Have With Kids About Police. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv- news/daily-show-black-families-police-encounters-talk-1156732/.
- 13. References Mapping Police Violence. (2021, June 30). Mapping Police Violence. https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/. Philimon, W. (2020, June 7). Not just George Floyd: Police departments have 400-year history of racism. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/07/blac k-lives- matters-police-departments-have-long-history-racism/3128167001/. Reality Check Team. (2021, April 21). George Floyd: How are African- Americans treated under the law? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52877678. Tucker, E. (2021, April 23). States tackling 'qualified immunity' for police as Congress squabbles over the issue. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/23/politics/qualified-immunity- police- reform/index.html.
Editor's Notes
- Police brutality or violence is legally defined as a violation of civil rights where officers use unnecessary or excessive force against a civilian, including, but not limited to, physical or verbal harassment, physical or mental injury, property damage, and death (Brooks, 2020). The killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor resulted in months of protest, leading to renewed interest in police policies and how they handle their encounters with African Americans. The demonstration consisted of men, women, and children from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, showing that people outside the black community are also concerned about police brutality in America. The United States must look at itself and have an open dialogue on policing practices and the part it plays furthering discrimination in our society. Harris (2020) highlights that it has been documented that when people see black faces, they are quicker to see or think they see weapons; when they see black children, they describe them as more significant, older, and more threatening than white children. For example, the officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice, 12 years old, was described as 18 years old and almost 200 pounds. This poses the question, why do these killings continue to happen?
- (Reality Check Team, 2021)
- The issue is that people are looking at the current events without considering the past offenses, which must be addressed before we can move forward. As far back as the 1600s, slave patrols were used for hunting escaped slaves and crushing revolts to prevent them from overtaking their white owners, as they were often outnumbered. The patrol included white men who monitored and assaulted black people and anyone aiding. After abolishing slavery in 1865, slave patrols were done away with, and police departments became more prevalent (Philimon, 2020). However, Black Americans still faced heavy policing in areas where laws were passed that restricted them from owning land and gaining employment. Today this brutality is still prevalent; as Philimon (2020) mentions, research by the group Mapping Police Violence reports African Americans are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than a white person.
- Black people were 28% of those killed by police in 2020, despite being only 13% of the population, and there have only been nine days in 2021 that police did not kill someone (Mapping Police Violence, 2021).
- Throughout the years, my parents have given me a wealth of advice, but none more prominent than “The Talk.” Black children around the United States remember when their mother and father wrapped their arms around them and detailed what to do and what not to do when the police stop them. The issue of police brutality is significant because black parents feel this talk is necessary to ensure their children return home after encountering the police. Police officers should protect and serve, but African American children don’t trust them with their lives. I can recall a situation where I was asked to present my license, and as I bent down to reach for it, the officer quickly places his hand on his holster. However, I remember “The Talk” and was able to walk away unharmed. It is unfair that the childhood of black kids ends ahead of time, and it is explained to them that they can’t depend on officers to be fair. At a young age, black children are forced to learn that rules are not the same for everyone, and copying the actions of their white friends can cost them their lives.
- Over the next seven weeks, surveys will be provided to members in predominately African American communities to gauge their satisfaction with their interactions with law enforcement. The surveys will include those who voluntarily called police as victims or witnesses and individuals who had interaction through traffic stops, detainment, or interrogation. The surveys will measure if police interaction is positively increasing over time. Additionally, it measures how victims are treated vs. possible suspects. Because we are assumed innocent until proven guilty, police interactions should remain consistent. Statistics will be collected to measure successful and legitimate policing, such as impartiality when the use of force is necessary and look for the presence of prejudice in arrests and stops. Also, weekly reports are helpful to determine whether police brutality incidents are beginning to decrease along with encounters involving police misconduct.
- Occurrences of police brutality are looked at individually as a few bad apples that do not represent the police force as a whole. Long-term success will happen when people see this as a systematic issue rather than an isolated event. Departments that refuse to make changes to reduce civil lawsuits will begin to face the consequences. Changes in policy and training will be adopted nationally to reduce police encounters involving excessive force. There must be reform on qualified immunity, which protects police officers from personal liability unless they have violated an individual's "clearly established statutory or constitutional rights (Tucker, 2021)." While several states have passed reforms, they must be universal throughout all departments. Like the individuals they police, officers should be held accountable for their actions and errors. Also, better hiring practices must be put in place. An officer with a record of complaints should not be fired for detrimental behavior and excessive force and hired by another agency.
- While the recent events have further strained the relationship between police and their communities, historically, there are several instances when police have been the face of oppression for citizens because of laws established by federal, state, and local governments (Cunningham, 2021). Those laws created a gateway for legal bias and the denial of rights guaranteed under the constitution. This led to a gap between law enforcement and the African American community due to a lack of trust. Officers from different racial backgrounds may not understand this history or do not care, making it difficult to repair the relationship. As a social change agent in this situation, the plan is to influence people on a local and global level that Black Americans must develop an open and honest relationship with the police to reduce violence. Participatory development campaigns seek to include local communities in the process of change, improving the campaign's effectiveness since it considers their input (Dutta, 2011). This communication strategy allows communities and law enforcement to collectively work together to find solutions to protect themselves and community members. The effectiveness of this scenario rests on the message of change being sent out to law enforcement agencies, persuading them to engage in the proposed behavior (Dutta, 2011).