Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?

Summary, part 1

Police Failing to Serve and Protect

Broken Systems

History of Policing

Police are the modern-day evolution of Indian Constables and slave catchers ensuring the “property” of those in the slave economy were returned (p. 96). Even the abolishment of slavery in 1835 didn’t radically change violence towards Black people. Police adapted to maintain white supremacy in the aftermath. They have enforced forms of exploitation and social, economic, and political exclusions. It was not uncommon for local sheriffs and mayors to attend KKK meetings. 

The Prison System—Slavery Continued 

With this historical context, it is hard to fathom that police presently are supposed to serve and protect communities. The consequences of the harm police inflict can be seen in the growing prison industry. Prison is likened to the confinement of Black bodies who are exploited because of choices they made in a society that socially and economically debilitates them. That exploitation is reminiscent of slavery with a deputy opting for the role of the overseer. 

Essayist Nicholas Powers writes about seeing shackles and chains used on African people during the slave trade in an exhibit: 

“I lifted it and felt a heavy sadness rolling down my arms into the shackle. Slipping my hand inside, I thought of those in my family’s past who were brought to this world wearing a thing like this. I wanted to rip the fucking metal apart. But I was only able to stand and hold a history I could not destroy” (p. 15).

Physical items such as shackles serve as a reminder of the theft of Balck bodies. Today, we see a modern manifestation of that, as police steal Black lives consistently. Powers frame the prominence of whiteness as something based on theft and a social structure of extraction. 

It should also be noted that officers rarely spend time in prison after committing a crime. Typically, punishment comes in the form of vacation without pay, transfer, or sometimes losing their job. When formally convicted, plea bargains are the main way to keep police out of prison.

Poverty

There are numerous systems in place to intentionally keep people in poverty. One of which is a “ghetto tax,” methods used by police officers to keep Black people in an economic downward spiral (p. 18). This consists of things like tickets and arrests for minor offenses and forcing Black people to pay fines they may not be able to afford at the time. Additionally, police routinely steal bodily integrity as seen in the stop-and-frisk policy and racial profiling in departments. 

African Diaspora, Black Immigrants, and Resource 

“In many different ways, much of the world is invested in killing Africa” (54).   

In his essay, William C. Anderson presents the continued exploitation of Africa. The continent of Africa is pillaged for its resources, its people, and its history as a result of the larger oppression of The African Diaspora. The African Diaspora is the voluntary and involuntary movement of Africans and their descendants to various parts of the world during the modern and pre-modern periods, as well as the global recognition of Black people who share a collective ancestry. Black people across the diaspora (in and outside of the U.S.) experience the consequences of white supremacy through disenfranchisement, forced migration, enslavement, and death.

Historically, Black people have resisted the agenda of white supremacy. Africans fought against their enslavement and erasure from their homes. This birthed the policing of that resistance. Law enforcement has been used as a tool of the state to push against Black freedom movements. Although a cultural shift occurred with president Abraham Lincoln when slavery was deemed “sinful,” an informal structure of slavery was still able to thrive (p. 16).

Black Immigrants 

Black immigrants, who are deported at a higher rate than their non-Black counterparts, sit at an intersection of abuse based on their legal status and race (p. 56). They have high invisibility (in regards to aid/assistance) and hypervisibility to immigration officials. While the face of an immigrant in the U.S. is often perceived to be someone who is a non-Black Latino, Black immigrants are still targets due to their Blackness. The targeting of Black immigrants is an issue outside of America as well such as in Asia and Europe. The perceptions and treatment of Black immigrants have also informed how Black refugees are treated. 

Case study: Charly “Africa” Leundeu Keunang 

On March 1, 2015, Africa was killed by police in downtown Los Angeles. His death was caught on camera and circulated on the internet. Africa was homeless and a Cameroonian immigrant.  

Black refugees 

Western interference in other nations such as the removal of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya as resulted in refugees fleeing conflicts. Western countries (especially in Europe) have been debating how to handle the increasing refugees crises of their own making. While these countries debate, refugees end up in more dangerous situations such as human trafficking, and forced rescues—a tactic whereby smugglers are abandoning ships full of refugees so that the coast guard is forced to rescue the desperate passengers in a life-threatening situation. 

Colonialism 

Colonial power is at the root of policing, state violence, and the exploitation of Africa and the diaspora. Extremist groups like the Somali al-Shabab are results of colonial division of land and disputes of occupation. Al-Shabab, while using extremist methods, is fighting these realities that didn’t exist before colonialism. Consequently, terror is blamed and not the long-lasting effects of colonialism. Those who suffer are Black people in these countries that are really at threat of terrorism. 

As colonizer countries maintain control over African nations through debt-based dominance, Black lives are reduced to brick and mortar. They are used and have been for years as the foundation for western empires and expanding interests. This dominance targets Black nations at times of transition and vulnerability.

Wrongful Convictions

In his essay, Aaron Miguel Cantú shares a story of a wrongful conviction. 

Case Study: Lacino Hamilton 

Hamilton was wrongfully charged with his foster mother’s murder due to “neglect, an assumption of disposability” and an informant’s false testimony (p. 27). Years later the actual murderer’s confidant, Cristopher Brooks, would reveal the truth after Hamilton had already spent years in jail and Lonnie Bell, the real murderer, had passed away. Darnell Thompson was the informant who gave a “snitch testimony,” or, a usually false testimony given by an inmate who claims he heard the defendant admit to a crime while awaiting his trial. Hamilton’s case is a perfect example of when informants are used by police to guarantee a conviction when, in reality, the evidence is easily falsified and rarely questioned. Hamilton spent 19 years in prison. He wrote to journalists, lawyers, and colleges to plead his case. He was finally able to get a lawyer from the National Death Row Assistance Network, NDRAN, to represent him and help overturn his conviction.  

This case is unfortunately not new. The Police in Detroit had been under a “consent decree” —the Department of Justice’s official way to address civil rights abuses by law enforcement. Police are audited quarterly by a court-appointed monitor to assess the reform. The audit yielded that the Detroit police had the most fatal shootings of any city in the US.