When they hear the words “black lives matter,” many white people hear “your life doesn’t matter” and respond with a universalized “all lives matter.” Let’s be clear: no one needs to say “all lives matter” because no decent person would suggest otherwise. Let’s also be clear that those that feel the need to say it as a reflex do so because the idea that black lives matter means they may have to do some uncomfortable work to change the way they live.
“Black lives matter” is not an exclusionary statement. It is a reminder to a segment of the population that seems to have forgotten it, if they ever held that belief in the first place. We find it hard to believe that anyone could look at the face of Derek Chauvin as he knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes and say that that man had any concern for Floyd’s life. Chauvin’s face is that of a predator waiting for the life to drain out of its prey, and the subject of this use of force was a man suspected of paying with a fake $20 bill. So yes, people do need to be reminded that black lives matter.
If the dozens of other videos that have surfaced in recent years of officers using excessive force on black people hadn’t convinced you already, this video should be all the proof you need: black lives do not matter in the eyes of some police officers, and there have been enough examples to suggest that this is more than just a few “bad apples.” For as many that go viral, there are likely many more that aren’t caught on video.
This video should compel you to investigate your beliefs about the relationship between police and people of color, and call out the gross malfeasance that has played out in the past for what it is. Anyone who considers themselves a believer in constitutional rights should be on the side of the victims in these cases and support new measures to hold police accountable.
In our recent memory, we know that the case of Stephen Sings Sr. — who in December was arrested, beaten and tazed after asking a sheriff’s deputy why his son was arrested at a Richmond Raider football game — could have easily ended tragically.
Conversely, “all lives matter” is a statement intended to erase this pattern of abuse by equating people of color’s experiences with law enforcement to white people’s when there is no comparison. “All lives” do not experience the same threat from police or the same level of discrimination in society broadly. White people should ask any black person what goes through their mind when they are pulled over or confronted by police and compare that to their own experiences. By and large, white people do not think that death is a legitimate possibility in these routine interactions, while this concern is often front and center in the minds of black people.
To deploy “all lives matter” in an instance like this, when as a country we have witnessed as shameless and clear-cut act of police abuse as you can find, is nothing but a diversion. In effect, you are running cover for a problem that pervades law enforcement and makes the jobs of responsible officers more difficult.
“Blue lives matter” does this too. No one is saying that cops should not be able to use force when a situation calls for it. But there’s another deceit imbedded in this mantra: no one is born “blue,” it’s simply a job officers have chosen, so on its face it is irrelevant to the specific racial premise of “black lives matter.” If officers always lived up to their job description — “protect and serve”— there wouldn’t be a question of whether black lives mattered in the eyes of law enforcement. Everyone needs the police at one time or another, and when you call them, you hope that by doing so you’re not putting yourself or others at risk.
What must happen is that police must listen to these cries ringing out across the country and take real, proactive steps to better serve their respective communities. Their jobs will become much easier if the public is able to trust them.
We’ve seen encouraging steps here in Richmond County. At the protest on Sunday, Chief Billy Kelly and Major E.W. Grant greeted the protesters just as they began to march towards East Broad Avenue and let them know that they would provide escort. Sheriff James Clemmons rode beside them as they marched, urging them to stay to one lane so that traffic could pass around them. Clemmons then went to speak to the protesters himself well into the evening.
The Hamlet Police Department has overhauled their community engagement efforts under Chief Tommy McMasters, assigning officers their specific neighborhoods and encouraging them to go out and meet the people that live there. HPD has also established a Citizen Review Board to provide further oversight and allow residents to address concerns. Local law enforcement agencies have also been intentional about sending officers to deescalation trainings in recent years.
Shop with a Cop, Coffee with a Cop, and other events law enforcement hold throughout the year are a reminder that they care about this community and want to improve relations rather than antagonize those who are often the most vulnerable.
It’s impossible for police to be perfect in their handling of justice, but it’s not impossible for them to improve and for those officers who commit misconduct to be held accountable. For there to be improvement, you have to first admit there is a problem.
