Dear College Students,

263. Police have killed at least 263 black people in the United States in 2016 alone.

91 percent of young African-Americans, 71 percent of Hispanics, 63 percent of Asian-Americans

and just 43 percent of whites call killings of black people by police a very or extremely serious

problem.

Why should you care? Because people are scared. Regardless of your own race, it is important

to understand the fears and struggles of fellow humans.

While whites are more optimistic regarding race relations these days, blacks are more skeptical

of police shootings of minorities than whites and more likely to believe race to be a central factor

in the shootings. Whites are three times more likely than blacks to believe there will be fair

investigations into any shootings of brown or black bodies by the police or white vigilantes. And

three out of four blacks polled said they expect relations between minorities and the police will

get worse in the coming year.

Why do blacks feel this way?

Treyvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Michael Brown, Eric Garner these names should

sound familiar. These are peoples brothers, husbands, boyfriends, and sons. All victims of

police brutality.

This is not a new issue, although some may act as if it is. As David Embrick of Loyola

University puts it, From days of slavery to the years of Jim Crow to the post-Civil Rights Era,

black and brown bodies have been controlled and put on display as an affirmation of white

superiority. This fixation is particularly notable when it comes to black male bodies. The

regulation of brown and black bodiesonce the purview of slave overseers and night patrols,

overt and violent racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, and individual whiteshave
become largely replaced by state agencies such as the criminal justice system, and local and

federal police.

This is a powerful statement that suggestions blatant systemic racism within the criminal justice

system.

Mass incarceration, discrimination and profiling, and untreated drug addictions have a lot do

with the corruption in the criminal justice system.

According to the Huffington Post, there are more African American men incarcerated in the

U.S. than the total prison populations in India, Argentina, Canada, Lebanon, Japan, Germany,

Finland, Israel and England combined Black drivers are 31 percent more likely to be pulled

over than white drivers and Hispanic drivers are 23 percent more likely to be pulled over than

white drivers. Drug arrests are a big source of bodies and business for the criminal legal system.

Half the arrests these days are for drugs and half of those are for marijuana. Despite the fact that

Black and white people use marijuana at the same rates, the ACLU found a Black person is 3.7

times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than a white person.

Research has shown us time and time again that people of color are at a disadvantage on most

scales. According to Elizabeth Day of The Guardian . Forty-two percent of black children are

educated in high-poverty schools. The unemployment rate for black high-school dropouts is 47%

(for white high-school dropouts it is 26%). Although black people make up just 13.2% of the US

population, they account for 37% of the homeless. African Americans now constitute nearly 1

million of the total 2.3 million jail population and are incarcerated nearly six times as often as

white people.

A 2015 Poll conducted by CNN found that 69 percent of minorities think that the US

criminal justice system favors whites over blacks. This compares with 42 percent of whites who
believed the same. The differences in views between whites and minorities continue to highlight

the two worlds in which we live, where one group (whites) continues to be afforded more

opportunities, dignities, and rights over minorities.

These feelings of oppression have turned into a movement known as Black Lives Matter.

According to its website, #BlackLivesMatter was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martins

murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year old Trayvon was

posthumously placed on trial for his own murder. Rooted in the experiences of Black people in

this country who actively resist dehumanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a

response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society.

Majorities of young people across racial and ethnic lines say they support the Black Lives Matter

movement, including 85 percent of African-Americans, 67 percent of Asian-Americans, 62

percent of Latinos and 51 percent of whites.

But among young whites in particular, and among significant minorities of young Asian-

Americans and Latinos, there are feelings that the rhetoric of the movement encourages violence

against the police.

Many people feel conflicted between supporting Black Lives Matter and police officers. Media

outlets have made it especially hard for people to support both. The media almost forces people

to choose a side. However, as Jon Stewart says, You can have great regard for law enforcement

and still want them to be held for high standards. Which is what the Black Lives Matter

movement wants to do- hold police accountable. This movement receives a bad reputation

because of the hateful actions of extremists such as Micah Johnson, a black man who shot and

killed 5 white police officers. What people fail to understand is that Black Lives Matter
advocates do not hate police or wish them dead. All this movement is asking for is a world where

black lives are no longer systematically and intentionally targeted.

The challenge is where do we go from here? The American criminal justice system is known

as one of the best in the world. Yet, corruption exists. Some believe police reform is the clear

answer. However, police reform is not as clear cut as it seems. As pointed out in The Myth of

Police Reform, we are asking a lot of our police officers already. On top of risking their lives

every day, we are asking them to deal with crime, mental illness, poverty, and education all at

once. Officers are specialized in inspiring fear and ensuring compliance, they are not specialized

in social work.

Although police reform is not as clear cut as one may think, it is still a necessary factor for

positive change in the criminal justice system. Combined with police reform, gun reform, prison

reform, and overall restorative justice would put the criminal justice system on a path to success.

Taking a look at other nations gun laws prove that unarmed officers can still be effective and

respected. For example, British officers are unarmed when they are on patrol. Police are only

equipped with firearms in special circumstances. Police officers there have saved lives exactly

because they were unable to shoot. According to the Washington Post, 82% percent of British

police do not want to be armed. While there were 461 justifiable homicides committed by

United States police in 2013, there was not a single one in the United Kingdom the same year.

Of course it would be drastic to suddenly take away all guns from our police officers. However,

training on when, where, and how to shoot or detain someone, could be an effective alternative.

The goal is to end police brutality and continue with police protection. It is important to address

the root causes of the crime taking place in America and address those issues while protecting

the community. As mentioned before, police should not be solely responsible for the well-being
of the community. We are in need of more social workers, job search clinics, rehabilitation and a

better education system. As mentioned by sociologist G. Oddsson, "Any attempts to roll back the

militarization of the American police would need to be accompanied by policies that increase

economic and racial equality and legitimate opportunity for advancement for the poor."

Prison reform is also a crucial step in the right direction. Sentences are far too long and are often

longer for minorities. Following Germany and Scandinavias prison culture might be what we

need to lower recidivism and incarceration rates. Basically, they treat their inmates as human

beings. They have much shorter sentences, provide work and substantial wages, have an open

space to walk around, are allowed to wear their own clothing, and are given opportunities for

rehabilitation and are held accountable for their own future. The end goal for the inmates is to be

prepared for real life after their release. Maybe if our system started focusing on rehabilitation

and the well-being of our inmates, they would be able to maintain a healthy and productive

lifestyle upon release and not find themselves back in prison.

Finally, restorative justice and rebuilding relationships between community and police is crucial

to improvement of the system as a whole. Currently, African Americans have lived under the

power of the criminal justice system, not its authority. Authority is a matter of relationships,

allegiances and association based upon the consent of those under it. People of color have never

felt that sense of authority, they have only experienced the power and force of the police.

Community forums, cultural awareness, and advocacy could be great starts to building trusting

relationships between the police and the community.

Students- we rejoiced after the highly anticipated J.Cole album 4 Your Eyez Only was released

last week. Although we were ecstatic to be blessed with more of his music, the rapper did receive
some back lash. We were expecting songs you could dance to at college parties. We wanted

songs that praised drug and alcohol abuse and exploited women, but thats not what J.Cole gave

us. J.Cole shocked people when he produced 4 Your Eyez Only, a deep and meaningful tribute to

what it means to be black in America. Sure, J.Cole has addressed some social issues in past

songs, but this album seemed to be a dedication. He addressed racism, civil rights, police

brutality, and mass incarceration in a very raw and real way. Although this album was not what

we were expecting, we still listened and recited the lyrics because it was J.Cole. One line that

spoke to me was I dedicate these words to you and all the other children / Affected by the mass

incarceration in this nation / That sent your pops to prison when he needed education.

Why is it that we are able to sing along to these songs, but not advocate for the issues coming out

of our mouths?

College students- its time to not only recite the lyrics, but stand behind them.

So, what can you as students do? You can use your voice to be an ally for those who are

oppressed, you can listen to the issues that you might not have experience with, and you can

check your privilege and keep yourself in check with your words and actions.
Sources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/40-reasons-why-our-jails-are-full-of-black-and-

poor-people_b_7492902.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/antonio-moore/black-mass-incarceration-

statistics_b_6682564.html

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/08/us/philando-castile-alton-sterling-protests/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/19/blacklivesmatter-birth-civil-rights-movement

http://sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Black-Lives-Matter.pdf

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/22/1353559/-Jon-Stewart-You-can-have-great-regard-

for-law-enforcement-and-still-want-them-held-to-high-standard

http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/18/5-countries-where-police-

officers-do-not-carry-firearms-and-it-works-well/?utm_term=.3bddf552915a

http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0896920515591950

http://www.apnorc.org/news-media/Pages/News+Media/Young-whites-divide-on-handling-

violence-by,-against-police-.aspx