Police shot and killed an unarmed man traveling along the interstate today. Officials say that he was trying to elude authorities.....
It was mid-winter of 1995 and demos played as I drove the rental car north towards Minneapolis. Suddenly, everything changed. I'm no stranger to guns. I'd escaped gunshot wounds - possibly death - twice before. The third time was about to be the real thing. There I was, lying face flat with my hands stretched out underneath a state trooper's gun. Welcome to Wisconsin. I was about to die on a freezing stretch of highway, far from home. My question, "what am I doing in Wisconsin anyway?" was followed by twenty-three years of memories. Memories of friends, family and good times, exploding in my mind just as quickly as the unconcerned drivers that sped by. Don't cry mom, your boy's joined the list of innocent victims killed by the cops. Just wish I could've died closer to home. Two officers, a drug sniffing dog and a complete search of the car later, the lead trooper delivered a lukewarm apology. He explained that an "anonymous tipster" saw me holding a powder-like substance and a gun. I had neither. The supposed "powder" and "tipster" didn't exist. The gun was a bottle of men's cologne, and just that quickly, I was alive.
Four winters passed. This time the setting was a lonely tiled floor in the Bronx, NY. The 23 year old approached that night wasn't afforded the same courtesy. He wasn't asked to lay face down. There was no mention of "anonymous tipsters," or any detailed investigation. His encounter, like mine, led to the appearance of a "supposed" gun, and within seconds NYC Police officers unleashed a barrage of 41 gunshots. 19 of those shots tore through Amadou Diallo's kidneys, spine, legs and heart - leaving him to die in a sea of his blood. His supposed "gun" was nothing more than a wallet. NYC Police wasted no time looking for wallets when they arrived on the eve of Sean Bell's wedding. Probable cause led them to shower this would be groom with 50 bullets instead of rice.
Across America excessive policing, dare I say "homegrown terrorism," is indicative of a greater issue. That issue: A lack of value assigned to black life, and the impunity with which it can be snatched. To date, police authorities generally put a spin on their misdeeds and attempt to stain their victim's legacies. Many of us – me included – then become pre-occupied with life after the unjust verdicts. We get mad, and then assume or pray that this will never happen to anyone that we know or love. The untimely death of my Morehouse brother Tobias Gardner, killed by police officers on the NJ Turnpike –just before the start of his senior year- and waiting for my own unceremonious death on that stretch of Wisconsin highway have taught me just how naïve such assumptions can be.
I've cozied up to the fact that education, salary, address, character, a family that loves me and best intentions can not protect me or many of my peers from police officers and a criminal justice system that paint us as a threat; our wallets, cologne bottles or combs as guns, and our lives as completely inconsequential. Police are vital to a functioning society, but so is the protection of innocent lives. Today [Wednesday, February 4, 2009] marks the 10th anniversary of Amadou Diallo's massacre. While an entire decade has passed, Sean Bell, Timothy Stansbury and Kathryn Johnston have joined the list of innocent victims shot down by police in like fashion. The most recent killing of Oscar Grant proves that police killings aren't going to just stop. If anything, they've become more heinous and are likely to increase given America's current economic climate.
Money equals political power in America. Political power is key to preventing you, me, my cousin, your brother, grandmother or son from being killed by the same forces that have forever changed the ways in which many Americans travel the streets and highways.
The bulk of major and impulse purchases are made on Fridays, so I've decided to call attention to excessive policing by conducting an economic protest on each Friday during the month of February 2009. It's simple. My money will only be spent to travel to and from work on these days. Material trappings can't prevent many of us from being shot down by the police in our homes or the streets; however, economic protest can bring about a change in the way that police deal with ALL members of society. I've sent copies of this entry to my state senator and encourage you to do the same. By denying the economy our money, we raise our voices, honor our fallen peers and prove the value of our lives. I hope that you'll stand with me. I am...my brother's keeper.
