#AliveWhileBlack

Racial bias in law enforcement is nothing new.  Policies like Stop & Frisk (which disproportionately targets Black and Hispanic communities; the vast majority of Black and Hispanic people who have been stopped and frisked were innocent) and the broken windows model of policing (a questionable method of policing that calls for law enforcement to focus on less serious crimes in the hopes of reducing fear and resident withdrawal from a community–the idea being that high levels of resident withdrawal and fear cause serious crime to move into a neighborhood) are official policies that disproportionately target Black and Hispanic communities. Then there are the unofficial cases of racial bias, seen in the extrajudicial murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Darrien Hunt, or Tamir Rice. Then there are all the daily inconveniences and microaggressions like black people being racially profiled in department stores, being automatically thought of as drug users, or being arrested for trivial offenses that are normally ticket-worthy at best. For many in the U.S., there are two America’s. In White America, murderous drunk drivers get a slap on the wrist, vandalism and civil unrest are met with minimal police response (and certainly not the response seen in the initial days of protests in Ferguson), and mass murderers can shoot 72 people (and kill 12) and be taken in alive. In Black America, peacefully protesting a racially motivated murder results in a show of extreme force by law enforcement, walking with your hands in your pocket is cause for concern, and stating that you’re treated unfairly by law enforcement can lead to being choked to death.  Black Americans face a completely different response from law enforcement than White Americans, even when the same offense is committed. Two new hashtags arose in the wake of the NY grand jury announcement that no one would be charged in the choking death of Eric Garner. The #AliveWhileBlack hashtag documents stories of racial bias by law enforcement experienced by Black Americans (it’s sister hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite documents examples of white privilege in the criminal justice system).  It should be required reading for anyone who denies the lived experiences of black people–if they were inclined to give a shit. Which a great many people don’t (hence the saying “black lives don’t matter”). Here are a few of my favorite Tweets from #AliveWhileBlack:

One might ask why this hashtag is trending.  The answer can be summed up with this Tweet:

#AliveWhileBlack
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