#Justice4Jamar - loyalty and power

I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

          -Martin Luther King, Jr. 

As a resident of Minneapolis, I feel the tension that is present in our city deeply.  This is my city, and there is no question that there is institutional racism present, not to mention the racism alive in people (in all of us, in my opinion).  In light of the current situation here, although I don't really know what to say, I feel like I need to say something.

In case you aren't aware of what's happening here, here is a very basic summary:

Jamar Clark was shot by Minneapolis police at 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15 outside of an apartment on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue N. Clark, 24, died Monday, Nov. 16 after he was removed from life support. Witnesses have said Clark was in handcuffs and unarmed at the time of the shooting, but Minneapolis police said preliminary reports indicate Clark was not handcuffed.  The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.  He was shot in the head.  There is video footage of the incident, but it is not being made accessible to the public.  The investigations are all being done within "the system."  Black Lives Matter is alive and well protesting for the 4th day now outside the precinct where the murder happened.  The protest has been peaceful and organized, despite intimidation tactics the police has attempted.  The demands of Black Lives Matter are: 1. Footage from the incident.  2. An independent organization to investigate.  3. Media to cover witness testimony, not just police point of view.  4. Community oversight with “full disciplinary power”.  5. Officers to live in the communities they serve.

As I have been processing all of this, two words have been circulating in my head, along with the obvious one (JUSTICE).  The 2 words are loyalty and power.

This is going to sound silly, but I've been watching the TV show Blue Bloods on Netflix and interestingly enough it has opened my eyes some to the other side (the police side) of stuff like what is going on here right now... the challenges the police face, what goes on behind the scenes, etc.  I watched an episode recently where there was a cop that killed a man in custody, and the episode highlighted how all the other cops stuck together and no matter what they had each others' backs.  That's loyalty.  They will default to giving "their people" the benefit of the doubt.  What the cops say is what is believed first.  The community, on the other hand, is loyal to the community.  We default to giving "our people" the benefit of the doubt.  What the community says- the witnesses, the residents, etc.- is what is believed first.  I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with loyalty.  I think loyalty is a very powerful thing that can do A LOT of good.

There is a fundamental difference between the loyalty amongst the police and "the powers that be", and the loyalty amongst the community.  Power.  The power lies in the institution.  The power lies in the majority.  The power lies in a history of systemic injustice.

Power always needs to be held accountable.  And those in power seem to tend to like to keep that accountability in house.  I.e. investigating this shooting within the police, or even the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.  The main demand here is that those outside the system get a chance to weigh in on what justice actually is in this situation.  The demand is for ALL to have a voice, which is undeniably not how it is now.

Protest makes sense because the only way for the voice of those not in power to be heard is to unify and declare loudly and visibly that those in power are not the only ones with a voice.

In my humble opinion, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham City Jail is one of the most profound, poignant, convicting things ever written, ever.  Please, please read it.  If you've read it in the past, read it again.  If you've never read it, read it ASAP.  Obviously MLK can say stuff way better than I ever will be able to, so I just want to offer this small excerpt from his letter.

You may well ask, “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc.? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. 

My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without legal and nonviolent pressure. History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals. 

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly I have never yet engaged in a direct action movement that was “well timed,” according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This “wait” has almost always meant “never.”

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. 

Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty. 

Please, read the letter in its entirety.  I have about a zillion things I want to say about all of this, but don't know how to do so.  I had to say something though.  Pray for Minneapolis.

I've been watching a live feed of the protest for the past 11 hours.  I hope to be there in person tomorrow.  I hope those of you who can will head to the 4th precinct in north Minneapolis and join this plea for justice.  If you can't, be a part of it in the cyber world.  The live feed is at http://livestream.com/unicornriot/events/4512162