By: Kaylee Salas
Many African Americans become victims of police brutality due to the systemic racism and criminalization of people of color. African Americans are unfairly targeted by law enforcement and not afforded the same rights and privileges as other races in America. There have been many historic events in American society surrounding police brutality, but lately there has been a surge of cases. Recent incidents surrounding George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake have been the on forefront of news channels and have spearheaded a new civil rights movement. 26-year-old Breonna Taylor graced the June cover of Time Magazine. Worldwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American male who died in police custody in May 2020. In Wisconsin, protests were held for 7 days straight in remembrance of the seven bullets that killed Jacob Blake.
Taylor, Floyd, and Black are not only specific cases of police brutality but simply put, unfair and disgusting situations of judging someone on the basis of their skin color. An act which is absolutely ironic in a country whose moral compass is based on the idea of freedom for all. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Approximately 1 in 1,000 black men are predicted to be killed by police. The rate at which black Americans are killed by police is more than twice as high as the rate of white Americans. The statistics show how much of target black people are for police. White supremacists’ groups are still all over the United States and there are news articles about them at least once a week. Just this month alone, on October 18th, 21 members of a white supremacist organization were charged with guns. Personally, I know it is impossible to determine if a soon to be cop is going to be racist but while training them. However, I do believe that officers in training should be continuously reminded that that if a black man and a white man stole a candy bar, they should be charged and treated the same way. The white man shouldn’t be given special treatment or treated differently just because he is white. If they made the same offense, they should be charged and treated the same way.
Thanks to the 1960s and Martin Luther King, it can be safely said that as a country, America has made major strides in regard to racism. But those strides have not completed the main objective, which is to completely be rid of racism. There are still major salary gaps when it comes whites and people of color. A black person earns around 75 percent of what a white person earns for the same job. So what’s the point? What’s my opinion on what we can do individually to contribute to the resolution of this fight? Racism can be resolved in your own house. If someone in your family is speaking upon the whole race of blacks in a negative way, correct them. Teach them and they could end up changing their opinion. When you have kids, tell them that everyone should be treated equally no matter what skin color they have. The practice of racism usually starts from the environment you’re in while growing up but once you start getting into your teens, you usually can figure out that racism is wrong even if your family disagrees. Acknowledging what your parents believed in and taught you while you were growing is wrong could help you become a better person. If we all do this, our future households might get the opportunity to grow up in world where there are no racism fatalities like Breonna, George, and Jake.
The Watchdog 