Policing Black citizens: hypersensitive community relations issue gets its due

This blog was written as part of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Black Lives Matter program initiative. Learn  more about the program and corresponding events here.

Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s transparent yet daunting quote about time is as fitting as ever for today’s American society — “The time is always right to do what is right.”

When reviewing the historic troublesome relations between the police and African American communities and the cases of questionable fatalities caused by the police, too often with unarmed individuals, the two sides can be fraught with distrust. News reports of Black citizens killed during encounters with over-aggressive police practices have garnered large media attention.  

Events reached a crescendo with the videotaped death of George Floyd in police custody last year in Minneapolis. Large protests followed with copycat protests around the country and abroad. Floyd’s death became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and led a shift in the public eye to focus on improper police conduct as an issue.

The sentiment is aptly covered by the comments from Andreana Sawyer in “Wake Up, White America.”: "I can't bring myself to watch yet another video, not because I don't care, but because we're all just a few videos away from becoming completely desensitized. The public execution of Black folks will never be normal."

Congress is involved now with a proposed bill named after Floyd and is currently in deadlock as it faces opposition in the Senate. Can this problem be handled mostly by legislation? The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 enhances “accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements.” 

The training for police proposed with the bill will “prevent and remedy” racial profiling, a sticky competent of this process. During an interview following his confirmation in April, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke to the issue of race and policing. He said, “Well, look, racism is an American problem. We do not yet have equal justice under law. And as I said, (earlier) I think this is an important part of the role of the Justice Department.” 

The obstacle of equal justice under the law would go to properly conducting law enforcement in Black communities, which has been a historical and cultural problem. To better understand this and to get a fuller perspective, check the Library for these above mentioned titles and more in the booklist entitled “Policing in Black Communities” which also includes young adult titles and streaming videos.   

(from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Flickr page—by Sabrina Robinson)

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This blog was written by Lawrence Turner, adult services librarian for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.