The recent killing of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the Five Dallas Police Officers were horrific tragedies that affected the people of the United States. There has to be a better way to protect all people regardless of the color of their skin. It’s time for new law enforcement policies to be established in order to protect the police and civilians.
African American males are shot and killed at alarming rates by the police compared to other cultures in America. We cannot continue down the same road when there is no solution in sight. Many officials (elected and law enforcement) and leaders (community and faith based) have voiced their opinions on the violence to no avail because it continues to occur from the police and community. Our elected officials should be in a position to help bridge the gap with the community and police so we can work on a new beginning in communities of color. There is an old saying that crime pays and you can bet your money that somebody is making big bucks off of the violence in communities of color.
There aren’t any known facts that support African American males being a threat to the police. They are more of a threat to each other than to anyone else. The police should work on different ways to deescalate the violence rather than making the gun the first choice when encountering African American males.
If the majority of people are sincere about change, then we must offer new strategies that compete with the current times in which we live in right now. Strategies from the old train of thought are not working. In other words, out with the old and in with the new. Those who choose not to change will get left behind. Remember that change is a force of nature that cannot be denied by no man or woman. We must take a good look at how Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela helped to heal the age old wounds of Apartheid in South Africa. If the good people of Rwanda can work towards reconciliation, then what are we waiting on?
The wounds of police and community violence are deeper than what you observe in the media on a daily basis. For several decades, African American males have been wrongfully convicted in America, lynched, killed by the police, and killed by other African American youth. The timing is right for an overall healing process to take place across the United States.
The recent protests will never end until we, as a people, address this issue of gun, police, and community violence on a higher level. America is one of the greatest countries on the planet and we are better than violence. Let the healing begin!