Philando Castile, Terrence Crutcher, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Kimani Gray, Sean Bell, Alton Sterling, Jordan Edwards and Trayvon Martin are just a few of the black men who have been murdered by the police. Most of the officers who killed them were not convicted due to claims that they feared for their lives. Philando Castile was shot several times while sitting in his car in front of his daughter for simply following the officer’s orders to get his license. Terrence Crutcher was slowly walking away from officers with his hands raised high in the air when he was murdered. Jordan Edwards, a 16-year-old boy, was leaving a high school party when an officer shot him in the face with a rifle as he was driving away from the party. So what about these men would cause a trained officer to fear for their lives? How can 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was sitting in a public park playing with a toy gun, cause a 26 and 46 year old police officer to fear for their lives? Simple, the color of their skin.
Police shootings have essentially become sanctioned lynchings in a repackaged form. During the late 1900s about 5,000 people were lynched and 70 percent of them were black. These were public executions of black men and women who allegedly committed a crime. These acts were illegal, but, during those times, no one cared about a black life. Fast forward to today when the killing of an unarmed black man is legal when it is in the context of authorized force. So basically the law allows police to draw and fire their weapon for their safety. This is why when a police officer kills an unarmed black man they claim they feared for their lives. Just like lynching, police aren't truly held liable for killing unharmed and non-dangers black men, which is why they are rarely convicted.
It is sad that we live in a world today where black lives really do not matter. We have all heard the phrase "history repeats itself" and in this case, that statement holds truth. A black life can be taken in an instant because the color of his skin makes him a "bad dude." Hug and kiss your loved one every day because they could be the one that the police guns down next.
