Tonight, lets examine our biases against Black men. #FergusonDecision #MichaelBrown thesajidakhan.tumblr/post/103529764819/tonight-lets-examine-our-biases-against-black Tonight, there is justifiable outrage and disappointment at a Missouri grand jury for their failure to indict the police officer who killed unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson. Many blame and cite the explicit and implicit systematic inequities that result in disparate treatment of minorities. Some have also taken to social media using hash tags like #blacklivesmatter to remind us of the humanity of black people and specifically black men. Surely, we must demand more of our nation, its lawmakers and police. Tonight, though, I ask us to take these moments to engage in self-reflection on our own conscious and subconscious beliefs about and stereotypes of minorities, particularly black males. What can we as individuals to eradicate the racist and prejudicial thoughts in our lives that helped contribute to Michael Browns death? How many of us would discourage our daughters from marrying a black man? How many of us assume that if a black man is in college that he must be an athlete? How many of us would turn a more attentive eye to a black teenager if they entered our store or shop? How many of us would be apprehensive if we saw a group of black young men walking toward us on a sidewalk? How many of us would assume that a black male near the scene of a crime is a suspect rather than a witness or Good Samaritan? How many of our educators or teachers would be more likely to punish a black male student for minimal misbehavior than any other student? How many of us would assume that a black male in a rich neighborhood was a thief or just visiting? How many of us would hire a black male? I know I engage in this type of stereotyping, albeit not consciously. We must work from within each of us to conquer these prejudices that manifest in the degradation of black men and sometimes their violent, unnecessary deaths.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:46:24 +0000
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