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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhite Fragility Digest #2: 14 May 2018
By Melanie Eversley - May 13, 2018
Link to tweet
At the end of a week that has been eventful for Black people taking part in controversial activities ranging from napping to walking outside of their Airbnb guest home while melanated comes another case out of Harrisburg, Penn. Members of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority were performing community service by cleaning up the area around the 13th Street exit of Highway 83 in Harrisburg when a state trooper pulled up behind the group of young women and asked them if they were fighting, Facebook user Shawna Naomi of Hershey, PA, posted on Saturday. The post has since been deleted.
Ive never seen anyone out here cleaning and Im responding to a call, the trooper said, according to the post.
Naomi and the other sorority members explained who they are and that theyd just finished cleaning up needles, bottles, diapers and other trash, according to the post. The trooper asked for their identification and schools to which they responded with information about their professions and other details, Naomi posted.
The trooper then ran their identification through his system and handed their cards back, Naomi posted. It was only then that he commended the young women for their great work.
https://thegrio.com/2018/05/13/add-performing-a-community-service-while-black-to-list-of-things-that-will-get-you-questioned-by-police/
Robin DiAngelo, Ph.D
MrScorpio
(73,626 posts)Link to tweet
by Arielle Gray*, AFROPUNK Contributor
I never thought Id be surrounded by over 10 cops at a cemetery, of all places. A bodega maybe or even on the street in my hood but a cemetery? Somehow, the place where we mourn our dead always seemed like sacred space to me. But it seems that black people cannot even honor their deceased in peace.
On April 20th, Boston Police Departments Youth Violence Strike Force surrounded my boyfriend, his brother, their female friend and myself at a cemetery in Hyde Park, MA. We were there to celebrate my boyfriends deceased cousin- it was his birthday. My boyfriends brother brought a Happy Birthday balloon, which he tied to the grave. We stood in relative silence, occasionally broken by their reminiscing of their cousins life. Less than 10 minutes after our arrival, BPD had us completely surrounded.
When we saw the 5 unmarked black trucks speed into the empty cemetery, we didnt think too much of it. But when over 10 officers got out and approached us, we all knew something was terribly wrong. Put your hands up, an officer said walking towards us, with his hand on his holster. The other officers closed in on us. Knowing all too well what happens when black bodies dont comply, we put our hands in the air. None of us dared reach for our phones to record. They searched all of us while we stood on my boyfriends cousins grave. They asked us our names and if we had any prior arrests, all questions we were not legally obligated to answer. But fear made us answer anyways. After they were done searching us, we asked them what the probable cause was, to which they only responded with a tip. They left in a hurry, meanwhile telling us they meant no disrespect. I tried to get one of the officers badge numbers as they walked away. He did comply but my hands were shaking so bad, I couldnt correctly type the numbers. My phone died just as he turned away from me.
My boyfriend and I immediately knew who called in the tip. Right at the entrance of the cemetery was a house that we pulled my Prius in front of briefly to let another car pass us. We noticed that the occupants, a white couple who had just gone inside, reopened the front door and stared at us until we pulled into the cemetery. We were there for maybe 30 seconds but that mustve been too long for their comfort.
http://afropunk.com/2018/05/boston-police-surrounded-us-at-a-cemetery-based-on-a-false-tip/
Cha
(295,903 posts)reminiscing and respecting loved ones, who have passed, while Black.
MrScorpio
(73,626 posts)Link to tweet
By RICHARD J. REDDICK May 11, 2018
It has been a banner year for discrimination. Two recent events on college campuses at Colorado State University and Yale bring issues of hyper-surveillance and white supremacy to the forefront.
At Colorado State University, a white woman called campus police after noticing two Native American young men on the tour, who she claimed werent part of it and were acting odd. The teens were removed from the tour and questioned by police. More recently, a video recorded by a black graduate student at Yale went viral after a white woman called the police because the graduate student was sleeping in a common area of a campus building.
The ultimate outcome in both incidents was that the people of color assumed to be troublesome were questioned, surrendered significant time, and endured psychological duress, but were ultimately releasedwith the trauma of being interrogated for existing.
The impact of stereotyping and bias for black people and other people of color is more than annoyance; institutional racism ensures that white people can enact their personal fears, no matter how irrational, into state-sanctioned consequences ranging from police involvement to violence. Our society reflects on the impact of personal prejudice on the lives of people of color and understands the repercussions of escalating individual experiences of mistrust.
Social media has ensured that these stories and others like them are part of the national consciousness, with hashtags such as #ShoppingWhileBlack and #NappingWhileBlack. The more appropriate hashtag might be #ExistingWhileBlack, as these instances experienced by black people and people of color illuminate how routine life experiences can take a radical turn for the worse when some white people respond to their own discomfort by calling security or police. For people of color, police encounters for nonissues are not only annoying; they can also be catastrophic. There are legion examples of seemingly routine exchanges that have resulted in extreme escalation, including death.
http://fortune.com/2018/05/11/black-yale-student-napping-racism-childish-gambino-this-is-america/
OneGrassRoot
(22,917 posts)GitRDun
(1,846 posts)The cop on the highway read like a guy just doing his job.
When I read these accounts (which I think are very important for all of us to see), I'm most disgusted with the people who call the police.
Somehow we need to get to them.. I can't say I know how, but they are a huge part of the problem.
They are not prosecuted.
They are not subject to any social or peer pressure to check their fragility at the door.
Maybe PSA's like they used to run on bullying, smoking, and other topics.
Keep them coming...amazing how often it happens.
Ligyron
(7,592 posts)The cops have to respond no matter how bs the call-in turns out to be. It can often go downhill from there.
IDK what the remedy is, civil lawsuits if it does, I guess.
Volaris
(10,260 posts)And I were the one that had to respond and I knew it was BS, those would likely be the first words out of my mouth.
Hi all. I get that you're all in a cemetery. I'm here (probably) because of some BS, but I gotta check. Everybody cool?
OK good.
Sorry to bother u.
Have a nice day.
IronLionZion
(45,256 posts)meanwhile black and brown victims of crimes are hesitant to call police for fear that they'll be shot in their own homes, which has already happened.
Girard442
(6,059 posts)...yeah, they could easily be gang members having a brawl.
griloco
(832 posts)Last edited Mon May 14, 2018, 03:39 PM - Edit history (1)
#Pocfrightitis: an irrational fear of POC afflicting mostly POWh manifested often by calling the police to report POC appearing suddenly POCingWPOC.
IronLionZion
(45,256 posts)People of white? Prisoners of white?
lunasun
(21,646 posts)Blue_Adept
(6,384 posts)Last edited Mon May 14, 2018, 11:26 AM - Edit history (1)
Hence the POW element.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)and people need to think before calling the police:
"Would I call the police (or respond) if a white person or white people were doing the exact same thing?"
People cleaning up along the roadside are carrying garbage bags and usually have to wear reflective vests. They're wearing huge gloves and carrying things to pick up trash while standing. It isn't difficult to figure out what they're doing.
Even if they weren't officially signed up for the adopt-a-highway program, is it a crime to choose to clean up along the street?
Girard442
(6,059 posts)...what if the responding officer scoped out the sorority women, saw that they were clearly there picking up trash, thanked them for their service, cautioned them about staying safe while working near a busy road, and offered them a phone number to call if they needed assistance in any way?
gollygee
(22,336 posts)tavernier
(12,322 posts)He did a lot of nice things for a lot of people when he was alive.
It isnt just a fantasy. But none of these things ever made the news.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It also doesn't make the news when people don't do other bad things.
I know a few police officers whom I believe are good, kind people. I don't think police officers are any more or less racist than any other group of people in the US, but 1) that leaves room for racism, and 2) there is also racism built into the criminal justice system.
BumRushDaShow
(127,300 posts)Madison discussed this one on his show this morning -
Britni Danielle May, 02, 2018
Johnny Wimbrey, an author and motivational speaker, and his wife were planning on enjoying a night out on the town, but their evening came to an abrupt end when they were kicked out of a Plano, TX restaurant. Wimbrey told WFAA that after being seated at table inside Sambuca 360 and placing an order, the manager asked if they would move to a different table he could seat another patrona white man. "I said, 'No I think we want to sit here. We have a great view. It's only a table for two.' We declined the offer respectfully, Wimbrey recalled. Thats when things got contentious.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMwNQyHwPX/?utm_source=ig_embed (video at this link)
According to a video of the encounter, the manager told Wimbrey he had two options, switch seats or leave. He immediately said what you saw in the video, You are going to have to leave. And Im like why? Because I don't like you, [he said]. I have to leave because you don't like me? said Wimbrey.
When the well-known speaker decided he didnt want to move to another table, the manager accused him of trespassing and threatened to call the police. I tell you to leave right now or I will call the police, the manager said. When Wimbrey asked why he was being thrown out, the manager told him, You need to leave now. What you are doing wrong is trespassing.
Because encounters between police and unarmed Black people can be deadly, Wimbrey and his wife decided to leave the restaurant before police arrived. "The Plano police show up. They jump out of the car and I thought what would happen if I didn't leave? Wimbrey sad. Sadly, Wimbreys story sounds familiar. In April alone, Black people have been accused of trespassing and arrested for patronizing establishments like Starbucks and Waffle House. Wimbrey, who believes race was a factor in how he was treated, could have met a similar fate had he not decided to walk away.
https://www.essence.com/news/texas-restaurant-under-fire-kicking-out-black-couple-seat-white-man
HipChick
(25,485 posts)Tipperary
(6,930 posts)salin
(48,954 posts)Have you never made a post, and later reconsidered? I have.
Now add a new scenario: Imagine that in the frustration after the experience posting about it. And then the story picks up and goes viral.
When that happens it also goes viral in the social media corners were dis-creditors/disbelievers/disparagers work themselves up into tizzies and feed on any information that they can learn about those doing the posting per righteous harassment. Think - of the folks within hours of the Parkland students' speaking out - of the doxxing occurring and asserting that these were crisis actors and it was all a hoax - which just ramped up from there.
Which is why I ask you, why this question. How does it affect how one reads the story?
lunasun
(21,646 posts)salin
(48,954 posts)to the last Digest issue (#1) - and if I - or others do the same in future Digest issues. I think having these all compiled together is powerful in demonstrating how frequently occurring this bs behavior by some white people actually is. How horrifying/harrowing/frightening/enraging it must be to be on the receiving end of these calls - when the police arrive assuming the worst due to the call - for just being and doing 'just being' things - but just existing as a Person of Color in the US in 2018.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10609305
MrScorpio
(73,626 posts)Great idea.
ismnotwasm
(41,919 posts)geardaddy
(24,924 posts)Madampiece Theater
(5 posts)dalton99a
(81,065 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)That's the bottom line. This really is a black and white decision in this era.