The recent police shootings of African American men in Tulsa, OK and Charlotte, NC has reignited the burning embers of distrust and animosity toward police within African American communities. This distrust and animosity is not solely or only toward white police officers, but ALL police officers.
The politics of the upcoming Presidential election contest between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democrat, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has added additional inflammatory flames of political rhetoric and shameless posturing , abetted by a 24/7 cycle of a problematic media.
As we have written before about police shootings of African Americans; simply put: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! STOP KILLING US!
That more African American men die from gun shootings by other African American men does not obscure or minimize the continued shooting of African American men by Police. The threshold issue in almost EVERY police shooting is why, in the case of only African-American men, is the use of lethal force ALWAYS the first option, instead of the last option, in effecting what otherwise might or could have been a lawful arrest.
We have said before, and repeat again: America needs to have a "Come To Jesus/ Come to Moses Meeting" with itself on the ubiquitous existential issue of race.
ALL of the current cultural, political, economic, education and social institutions in the United States in this 21st Century are embedded with the consequential legacy of slavery and its companion doctrine of white supremacy.
Short term, it should be part of the training required by every police department in the major cities in our country that every police person visit and spend a FULL DAY at the new African American Museum of History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute in Wash, DC. For those whose budgets might not support such visits they can opt for a less expensive alternative by clicking on the website of the University San Francisco. There they can inquire how they can participate on its online course, "FROM SLAVERY TO OBAMA-Renewing The Promise of Reconstruction"
The bottom line: We simply will not be able to sustain the confidence and trust of African Americans and other persons of color in their day to day interactions with police, nationwide, unless it becomes abundantly clear that a black man will be treated no differently by police than a white man every day, every night, every place in our United States.