I’m a black man. I am 6 feet 3 inches tall and 230 pounds, just like King. Do I scare you? Am I a threat? Does your fear justify your actions? Twelve people believed it did.
Black male: Guilty until proven innocent.
Reactions to my kind are justified. Scrutiny is justified. Surveillance is justified. Search is justified. Fifty-six blows…Justified.
Justice? Dear God…
I graduated from Stanford last June–I was elated. I was one of four presidents of my class–I was proud. In the fall, I received a Rhodes Scholarship–I approached arrogance.
But late one night, as I walked the streets of Palo Alto, as the police car slowed down while passing me, as his steely glare met me, I realized that to him and to so many others I am and always may be a Nigger: guilty till proven innocent.
Engaging in a different strategy than some of his fellow New Jersey pols, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today declined to criticize a grand jury that opted not to indict the white police officer who shot an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Mo. in August.
Booker would say only that federal officials should continue to engage in a “fair and thorough” investigation of the Aug. 9 shooting, which left 18-year-old Michael Brown dead and created months of unrest in Missouri, as well as the “patterns and practices” of Ferguson police officers.
“The rule of law is something that we have to put our faith in,” said Booker, appearing in Jersey City with Mayor Steve Fulop. “There was a grand jury, they went through a process, evidence was presented for a jury and they came to that conclusion. I respect that conclusion.”
If what happened in Ferguson represents “rule of law” in any other sense than “one rule for law enforcement, another for everyone else especially young black males”, I’ll eat my hat.
