Dear Editor,
I was as shocked as everyone else when I saw the news that another Black man had become the victim of well-known executioners in uniform – the police in the US. These executioners are charged with a duty to protect and serve, but they seem to be doing the deadly opposite. And to further worsen matters, while desperately trying to come to grips with the senseless, coldblooded killing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of Alton Sterling, another name was added to the list ‒ that of Philando Castile. I watched the video taken by a bystander showing the final moments of an African-American’s life, and in so doing I could be considered voyeuristic or somewhat complicit in the spectacle of the lost of black life. I suddenly became tired, confused and at a loss for words, because I do not know what else can be said about these kinds of senseless killings. Police officers continue to carry out their homicides against African-Americans with impunity. According to the Guardian, 560 people were killed by the police in 2016 in the United States. Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Dontre Hamilton, Ezel Ford, Tanisha Hamilton, Michael Brown, Walter Scott are just a few, and the list goes on.
Let the chant resound—Black Lives Matter! No Justice No Peace! while the killings play out, for it is blatantly apparent that the media exposure does not matter to law enforcement representatives. Yes, Blacks must face the bitter reality that a new name may well be added to the growing list, and to further compound things, no new chants, songs, different ways of protesting or marching will erase this heartrending feeling of inevitability.
Let us not forget that the devaluation of Black lives is embedded in the very core of American society, a fact that some believe would have changed with the arrival of a Black President. A warning or foreboding of sorts was given by Langston Hughes in his poetry.
Where will these senseless tragedies, these killings that have been taking place find a solution? Black folks are no strangers to what happens next, simply because this brand of tragedy has become routine. The videos of the deaths have only allowed us to bear witness, but they have not and will not bring justice. There will be protest from one part of America to another, which will overflow into the Canadian provinces, as the community and his family try to come to grips with the loss while expressing their sorrow and rage. In the meantime like every other police shooting tragedy, the remote and recent past of both victims will be laid bare, and ultimately used as justification for police officers who hold carte blanche to do what no one else can do. Their misdeeds will be brought to public awareness, even those of their siblings and family members and used as the rationale for police officers acting as judge, jury and executioner.
To say I am overwhelmed at what we are facing from those who have been sworn to protect and serve does not do justice to the word. I can’t breathe trying to believe that change is possible when the recurring evidence shows me otherwise. To whom does my life or those of the other blacks matter? Zora Neale Hurston is quoted as saying: “If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you, and say you enjoyed it.” We cannot allow apathy and resignation to abide while the police continue to carry out their killings.
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam
