Police and the Unarmed Black Male Crisis

Advancing Effective Prevention Strategies

Sharon E. Moore, A. Christson Adedoyin, Michael A. Robinson, Sharon E. Moore, A. Christson Adedoyin, Michael A. Robinson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351602006
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

Presenting both historical and contemporary discussions and coverage, this book provides an in-depth and critical analysis of police brutality and the killing of unarmed black males in the United States of America. Within the book, contributors cover five key areas: the historical context and contemporary evidence of police brutality of unarmed black people in the USA; the impact of police aggression on blacks' well-being; novel strategies for prevention and intervention; the advancement of a cordial relationship between police and black communities; and how best to equip the next generation of scholars and professionals. Each contributor provides a simple-to-understand, thought-provoking, and creative recommendation to address the perennial social ill of police brutality of black males, making this book an excellent resource for students, scholars and professionals across disciplinary spectrums. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment.

POETRY

A death to justice

(The shooting of Michael Brown—Summer 2014)

Sylvia Telafaro

School of Social Work, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA

Years ago,

I had “the talk” with my son,

before he was old enough to learn

that justice in our America

is not color blind.

He had to know;

how to act wherever he may go

how to walk, and never run,

how to speak and answer in

polite monotone,

how a violation of this

could become a deadly risk,

especially if he is

stopped and frisked.

I sternly told my son,

never bond with

a “gang style” crowd,

be careful how you express

your Black pride,

express your culture by staying alive.

My heart cries for other sons,

like Michael Brown,

who was gunned down in a

Missouri suburban town.

It wasn’t that Michael

didn’t hear the “talk,”

I’m sure he knew

what to say and how to talk

yet he ended up dead on a cold sidewalk.

My heart cries for a small

town, called Ferguson

filled with Black and Brown sons

that police now have a verdict

that allows them to

indiscriminately use their guns.

My heart cries for the

Michael Browns in every town

in an America that places

less value on lives

of young Black and Brown males,

either shooting them down

or filling up her jails.

My heart screams

at the injustice

that erupts from an imaginary sea

of anger and fear

as status quo waves scream out in retaliation,

“Black lives will never truly matter here

in this nation.”

In retaliation to this,

my heart yearns for peace;

I wait to see

if the disruption and violence will cease,

drying my tears and channeling my frustration,

counting the ways I can help make positive change,

joining with like minds to protect our sons

from mass incarceration,

police brutality, institutionalized and systemic racism

and mental capitulation.

I wait for a better day

a day when all sons

are safe from being choked,

tased or walking and talking

while Black.

I wait for a day when police will not

react to a perceived threat

generated by skin tone,

or a cell phone,

mistaken for a gun.

I wait for a day when our sons are not

shot down simply because they decided to run.

I wait to participate in a

revolution that is brewing underground,

that helps invoke changes that

overhaul policies and practices that

perpetuate this national

crisis of discriminatory policing

against Blacks and Browns.

I wait for justice

“I can’t breathe”

I wrote “A Death to Justice” because I feel that young Black males in our communities are growing up with criticism, discrimination, disrespect, and different narratives about not who they are but who they should be in a world that doesn’t always love or appreciate them. Our men are living in a society policed by people who fear them simply because of their skin tone. This fear is often perpetrated by negative messages in the corporate media, cementing the fear in the general population that they are violent and dangerous. In my opinion, this leads to insecurity, fear, and isolation among our young Black males that not only makes them feel invisible, it often encourages them to act out in negative and sometimes a hostile manner.

“A Death to Justice” was inspired by one such Black male, Michael J. Brown, an unarmed teenager, who had been marginalized, shot, and killed on August 9, 2014. It was a reaction to the killing of Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO, and the aggressive and demeaning response of Ferguson’s political and police leaders.

“A Death to Justice” is about more than Michael J. Brown; it is a cry for justice for all Black males being marginalized in the United States and abroad. It is a call to action to mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, and the community at large that the lives of our men are being jeopardized by a systematic system still practicing Jim Crow ideology. “A Death to Justice” is a legacy for Michael J. Brown because his death has given a voice to many that had previously suffered in silence. It is a battle cry of “No Justice, No Peace!” reaffirming that unless we continue to fight for justice, it will become nonexistent.

From “brute” to “thug:” The demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America

CalvinJohn Smiley^a and David Fakunle^b

^aDepartment of Justice Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA; ^bDrug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

ABSTRACT

The synonymy of Blackness with criminality is not a new phenomenon in America. Documented historical accounts have shown how myths, stereotypes, and racist ideologies led to discriminatory policies and court rulings that fueled racial violence in the post-Reconstruction era and have culminated in the exponential increase of Black male incarceration today. Misconceptions and prejudices manufactured and disseminated through various channels such as the media included references to a “brute” image of Black males. In the 21st century, this negative imagery of Black males has frequently utilized the negative connotation of the terminology “thug.” In recent years, law enforcement agencies have unreasonably used deadly force on Black males allegedly considered to be “suspects” or “persons of interest.” The exploitation of these often-targeted victims’ criminal records, physical appearances, or misperceived attributes has been used to justify their unlawful deaths. Despite the connection between disproportionate criminality and Black masculinity, little research has been done on how unarmed Black male victims, particularly but not exclusively at the hands of law enforcement, have been posthumously criminalized. This article investigates the historical criminalization of Black males and its connection to contemporary unarmed victims of law enforcement. Action research methodology in the data collection proc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction—A discourse on police shooting of unarmed Black males: Advancing novel prevention and intervention strategies
• Part 1 The historical context and contemporary evidence of police brutality of unarmed Black people in the United States
• Part 2 The impact of police aggression on Blacks’ well-being across the lifespan
• Part 3 Novel prevention and intervention strategies
• Part 4 Advancing a cordial relationship between police and Black communities
• Part 5 Equipping the next generation of scholars and professionals
• Index