Contributed by
AiLun Ku
Dear OppNet Community,
We have been trying to be thoughtful about when to reach out to you in response to events that impact the safety and identities of those in our communities. In truth, you would be hearing from us daily if we chose to highlight every injustice that affects you in some way – our grossly unacceptable reality. But our goal is not to be a news outlet, but to emphasize our awareness of how key current events impact those serving on the frontlines of activism, and show our solidarity with them.
In this community statement, I would like to bring your attention to a series of tragedies that took place just over the past week. These events show the complexity of the systems that affect our lives, and how these systems perpetuate a double-standard where black and brown lives are not valued in this country. So departing from the format of previous community statements, I invite us to deepen our understanding of these injustices and honor the lives lost, as a result:
The Hesitation to Name “Terrorist” When the Perpetrator is White
Since the beginning of March, a serial bomber targeted black individuals and families throughout the City of Austin. Five individuals were killed and authorities fear there might still be active bombs even after the suspected terrorist committed suicide. Three of five victims’ identities were released as: Anthony Stephan House, 39, Draylen Mason, 17, and Esperanza Herrera, 75.
Authorities hesitated using the word “terrorist” to describe the suspect. News outlets used terms like “challenged” or “troubled” young man. Recent acts of domestic terrorism show us this is nothing new. White perpetrators are characterized as a “lone wolf,” “quiet,” or “distraught,” where any acts of violence by people of color are quickly magnified to the levels of terrorism or extremism, and framed as the result of inherent criminality.
This not only perpetuates the inane assumption that black and brown lives matter less, but that white perpetrators are more human, less guilty, and their crimes less egregious.
Police Brutality Against Black Communities in America
On March 18, Stephon Clark, 22, was shot and killed in his own backyard in Sacramento. The police officers responsible claim to have mistaken the cell phone in his hand for a gun. After firing 20 shots at Clark, police officers waited several minutes before calling for medical attention for Clark.
When innocent black lives are lost at the hands of police force, we typically see the criminal justice system band together to protect the police over the victims. How do we know this to be factual? The data tells us so: Black individuals are killed by the police at a higher rate than any other racial identity group in the United States. Furthermore, police officers are rarely prosecuted or convicted of the shootings.
However, there is still a double-standard for police killings when the victim is white (and the cop is not). On March 20, a Minneapolis cop, Mohamed Noor , was convicted of the killing of an Australian woman, Justine Damond, last summer. Mohamed Noor is a member of the Somali immigrant community in Minneapolis. For all of us paying attention, we must ask this critical question: When there is already a low prosecution and conviction rate of police shootings, how does the justice system explain the conviction of Mohamed Noor and the acquittal of Philando Castile’s shooter in Minnesota?
These are unfair instances and the way they are covered by mainstream media feed into false narratives of white morality and identity and violent predispositions of communities of color.
As we react to daily injustices, let’s also commit to critically seeing how racial oppression manifests itself in the systems and institutions that we live with. Once we name them, we can resist and take control of our own narrative.
If you are interested in discussing these issues with OppNet, please let me know and I will work with the team to create a safe space for us to process together.
AiLun
