Since I've been a professor at Washington University, I've taught about a couple of hundred kids. Of the black students? Whereas I've taught approximately 30 or more black women, I can remember the men (David, Quinton, Nelson, Akil, Marques, Christopher B., Trumaine, Derrick, Christopher W., and Fred) by name their numbers are so small. Where are they? Part one of a series.
Jill Leovy notes that black men are walking bullseyes. In St. Louis and other cities like it cells of organizers are fighting a losing battle against police brutality, largely because of twin realities:
1. Black men now represent the largest prison population (both absolutely and relatively).
2. Black men have historically been depicted as public enemy #1
So in response to their organizing efforts, these individuals routinely have to grapple with sidesplitting counterarguments like WHAT ABOUT THE VICTIMS? Now I've said before...I don't believe Mike Tyson was a political prisoner. A lot of the kids I grew up with spent time in the joint for crimes they DID commit. But there are two sets of victims here right? There are the victims who either were hit by crime personally, or get hit just by living in the context. Then there are victims who are hit by the panoptic sort. Because they fit a profile.
Fact. Every (black) friend that I have has been harassed by the police.
Not some of them.
Not most of them.
All of them.
If all the police see are weeds (because of the prism through which they sort people into "victims" and "perps") how the hell can we seed?
Posted by at October 25, 2003 08:07 AM | TrackBack