Author Barbara Smith addresses the events that evolved in the city of Los Angeles on March 3, 1991, regarding police brutality towards a black man Rodney King, before handcuffing King after a high-speed chase. Across the nation resonated a shock wave of unbelieve as the police officers involved were acquitted which sparked a violent movement in the local community (39). Barbara Smith took the opportunity to provide a rhetorical response in her book titled, “The Truth That Never Hurts” (42). Barbara Smith’s writings in an excerpt from her book describe similar factual events of violence and oppression through history, in our nation, that has left a residue of incivility, her response is verbal as she speaks through her written text. A myriad
After 20 years of trying to get a hold of Fidel Lopez Steve finds him on a Tuesday afternoon. In “The forgotten victims of Florence and Normandie” by Steve Lopez he states that 20 years ago Denny and Fidel were beaten viciously by the same man. Everything that embarked that afternoon of april,29,1992 was caught on camera. Lopez unfortunately was caught in the middle of the La riot. He was repeatedly kicked, one man hoisted a car stereo over his head.
INTRODUCTION On Saturday, August 9, 1997, nearly twenty (20) years ago, Haitian immigrant Abner Louima made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. When he left his apartment in the East-Flatbush section of Brooklyn, accompanied by his younger brother and an older cousin, he had no idea that his life would be forever changed. He would become victim to an unspeakable, grotesque, dreadful and inhumane act of violence that would not only shock the conscience of the world community but would forever leave him with the stigma of having been the victim of the worst crime in the history of police brutality in New York City. Abner Louima was born in Haiti. He immigrated to the United States.
“’Can You Be BLACK and Look at This’: Reading the Rodney King Video(s)” by Elizabeth Alexander is a powerful analysis into the deep rooted sense of community felt by people who identify as Black, with specific regards to the videotaped police beating of Rodney King; and also examines the deep rooted White stereotypes surrounding people of color in America, more notably in the judicial system. This essay details the unity and solidarity seen in the times, not only surrounding the Rodney King videos, but also surrounding other notable stories about Black violence, such as the murder of Emmett Till, and the stories of Fredrick Douglass, to name a few. It describes in detail the horrible acts committed on Black bodies, and references numerous movements
Copper Sun Essay There is plenty of brutality in the world today. On the news there are many examples of hate crimes. For example, white people are killing people of color, especially African Americans, for little to no reason. In the 14th amendment, women were granted the same equal rights as men, however women are still looked down upon and get treated differently.
Such a quote may grab the attention of one who may not fully comprehend the racism conveyed by
The way that the two authors describe it with such great word play and imagery manages to pull the audiences in to want to read more. Making them feel a certain way against police officers. The audience could be beginning to now understand that our police officers are killing what they are supposed to protect. The thought that there is discrimination against these black men are starting to formulate in their heads. And to further add fuel to the fire, Chaney and Robertson explain of “how the murder of unarmed Blacks by members of law enforcement is a painful reminder that Black men and women in America are suspicious, or guilty, until proven innocent.”
More specifically, they argue that police brutality has usually appears more often with minorities than any other social class. They write “...many people get the impression that decades after the Detroit riots, police officers are targeting minorities and often do not face consequences.” In this passage, the author is suggesting that many minorities
In chapter one, "Privilege, Oppression, and Difference, Allan Johnson begins his argument that "difference is not the problem"( Johnson, pg 5 ). The author goes on to explain that difference by itself is not the problem, rather difference in conjunction with our ideas that cause fear. That being said, discrimination was a bigger problem in the past and it still is today. We starts with talking about Rodney King and racism he had received from police officers in Los Angeles. Johnson continues on with the idea that people are judged not for who they are or the things they have accomplished, but how they are perceived by others.
In the article, “Cleveland will overhaul its police under watchful eye of U.S. officials,” explain how since many officers are using excessive force, the want to change that. It says, “Current practices will be revised to help put a stop to officers' use of excessive force.¨(By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff, 2015) This demonstrates that since over the years there have been many cases of police using excessive force against other people, and when the police explain what happened we only hear one side of what happened because either the person is injured or dead. Lastly, they use force on different races and different places, only because they want to. The article, ¨:After Dallas, We Don't Need to Say 'Blue Lives Matter¨ further explained on how police are now using aggressive force to not only people of different races but also where.
Ferguson asserts that when blacks are seen anywhere, for example television, the radio, or even plain out in the streets they have “come to signify danger and a threat to personal safety”. The other
(Griffin 8). After acknowledging more about the circumstances of being a different skin color, comments about it can not “describe the withering horror and sadness” that is felt by those who experience such cold and spiteful words or actions (Griffin 46). If we do not make these changes together as a nation, our society will become ruined as those with
The murder of Oscar Grant was another case of racial profiling. Oscar Grant had been celebrating the New Years with some of his close friends and girlfriend. At 2:00 officers had responded to a report that a fight had broken out on the train. Grant was snatched off a train because police “felt” he was a part of the riot on the train, but he had nothing to do with it. In fact the train conductor said “Grant wasn’t one of the men that had been involved in the fight”.
For example, “[t]he phrase “driving while black” comes from African Americans complaining that they are pulled over by police officers for no reason other than the color of their skin. Latin Americans are regularly pulled over and accused of being illegal immigrants just because of their ethnicity. It sometimes makes matters worse if they do not speak English. Some Latin Americans also claim they are accused of being gang members” (Nelson, 2009). Police are relying on things like peoples color, race, ethnicity rather than evidence that shows that they are guilty.
In the article Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn 't Call Police, author Martin Gansberg recalls the events that occurred on the night of March 13, 1964. "38 respectful, law abiding citizens" (120) stood idle as Kitty Genovese was hunted down on three separate occasions and murdered. Not once was an attempt made to alert authorities, an action that may have resulted in Kitty 's life being spared. When questioned, the spectators had a multitude of excuses for why they had not notified authorities, some of which included, "I didn 't want to get involved," (122) and even, "I was tired" (123). This article demonstrates the violence of this time period and the unwillingness of humans to assist those in need.
