I had to take a client to traffic court the other day in Chesterfield County, VA, which is a county in central Virginia. I witnessed yet another example of the institutionalized racism through which our country is suffering; racism that has become so subconscious that we do not even realize it any longer. Ill start with the disclaimer, the judge was an african american woman. This was reassuring. But everything went downhill from there. 6 police officers sat ready to testify against those whom had been ticketed for various offenses. All 6 police officers were white. I stood and counted the number of people sitting in the court room waiting to have their case heard. There were 96 people in the court room. 28 people were white and 68 people were persons of color. Feel free to apply your standard margin of error in my counting of 3%. The courtroom thus comprised of the following rough demographics: White: 30% Black/Latino/Other: 70% I just looked up the Census bureau stats for Chesterfield County. The Census bureau reports the following rough demographics: White: 70% Black/Latino/Other: 30% Do you see the problem here? A 100% white police force, policing a region that is 70% White and 30% POC, ends up ticketing and summoning to court a demographic that is 30% White and 70% POC. In other words, the White demographic had a 43% representation in the court room compared to their population in the general public. The POC demographic had a 233% representation in the court room compared to their population the general public. This means that a POC has a 5x higher likelihood of being ticketed and summoned to court than a White person in Chesterfield county. These are POC who already earn less on account of their race, now having to shell out even more money they dont have, at a rate of 5X their White counterparts. Yes, you can make excuses. It is just one day. The judge was black. The tickets were valid. GRANTED. That doesnt change the fact that this is reflective of the entire criminal justice and enforcement system. It is no accident that black Americans comprise of 14% of the population yet 40% of the prison population, that black on white crime results in significantly harsher sentences than white on black crime, or that black men and women face the death penalty far more commonly than white men and women (up to 35 times as much in states like South Carolina). So when you see frustrations emerge from Ferguson, St. Louis, Sanford, and NYPD stop and frisk, know why. It isnt because of one incident or one murder. Those are painful enough as it is. It is because of the realization that the systemic disenfranchisement of people of color in our justice and economic system is manifesting itself in the most horrible ways, and it is showing little to no signs of improving or becoming just. It has created a painful divide that is destroying our nation. Ive got two young boys, two children of color, and Im not about to let them grow up in a society where theyre looked down upon because of the color of their skin. People deserve equality regardless of color, caste, or creed. Its 2014 for Gods sake. So do your part to speak up and stop this oppression. Lets work together to start the progression towards peace and equality. My future depends on it, your future depends on it. Humanitys future depends on it. Lets move. #Peace
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 00:04:04 +0000
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