This commentary is by Bob Stannard, an author, musician and former lobbyist.
“I think a change would do you good; a change would do you good” — Sheryl Crow.
America has a race problem. This is nothing new. We’ve had a race problem for over 400 years, when the slave industry came into being in a big way.
Sure, humans have enslaved other humans probably since the beginning of time, but around 1619 the enslaving of our fellow human beings became big business. There was good money to be made in kidnapping Black people from around the world and bringing them to America to be sold as property.
Business was so good that the white people who were enslaving Black people became worried. No, they weren’t worried about those who they enslaved. They were worried that the Blacks they enslaved were quickly outnumbering the white slave holders. They responded by enacting more and more restrictive laws with the single purpose of keeping Blacks enslaved.
About the only thing that’s changed since 1619 is that whites are no longer allowed to own Blacks, but we are still doing just about everything we can think of to hold Black people back. Fast forward to April 2021. We are living through the trial of Derek Chauvin, who clearly murdered George Floyd by placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds — more than enough time to kill him.
While the trial was going into its 11th day, we learned that yet another unarmed Black man was shot and killed by the police during a routine traffic stop. The dead man’s crime was that he had an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, which is not allowed in Minnesota. The Black man did have an outstanding warrant and was subject to being arrested. Being murdered was not necessary, but deemed necessary by the police officer who shot him.
This week we also learned about a traffic stop in Virginia, in which an Army lieutenant, in uniform, was stopped for not having a license plate. It turned out that he had a new car with a temporary plate, so he did, in fact, have a license plate. Because he was a Black man being stopped by two white policemen, he held both of his hands out of his window. He was told to remove his seat belt and get out of the car. He said that he did not want to unlock his seat belt for fear that the police would think he was going for a gun. He said that he was afraid to get out of his car. One of the cops said, “You should be.” The police officer sprayed the Army lieutenant in the eyes with pepper spray, yanked him out of the car, performed knee strikes on his legs, arrested him and took him to jail. The Lieutenant was released, but not before being warned that he should not tell anyone what happened to him. Just walk away.
The lieutenant has now filed a lawsuit against the Virginia police department for $1 million and he wants an apology. He deserves both.
Our society needs to make some major changes. We need to give serious consideration to employing unarmed traffic police officers whose only purpose is to stop people for driving infractions. Think of the mental shift that would occur if a Black man operating a vehicle was stopped and knew that the officer who pulled him over was unarmed. The threat level and level of fear would be diminished or nonexistent.
If the person is a real bad guy then he could escape, but the car would already be identified and in the system. The bad guy would, most likely, be apprehended by the police whose job it would be to go after bad guys. Not people who have an air freshener hanging from their rearview mirror.
I can already hear the pushback from law enforcement, but the conversation needs to change. The first thing, which is the hardest, is that we have to stop being afraid of each other. White cops have to stop fearing Black people and Black people have to stop fearing white cops when they’re stopped for a motor vehicle infraction. The best way to do that would be if everyone knew that the cops posed no physical threat to the Black motorists. It may be the only way.
For over 400 years, Black Americans have lived in fear of white Americans. Their fears are well documented and well deserved. We kidnapped, beat, tortured, dehumanized, separated children from parents, wives from husbands, lynched and kept our knee on the neck of this entire race of people. And we’re still doing it today. We’ve exchanged the bullwhip for voter suppression and continued discrimination.
We need to accept one reality: We are all one people. We may look different. We may talk differently. But we are all one people living on a big blue marble.
Stop seeing those who are different from you as someone to fear. With just a little bit of understanding and tolerance, you might just discover a new, lifelong friend. Change will do you good.