After the Ferguson incident, President Barack Obama announced an initiative on December 1 that would cost $75 million, and which would see body cameras for police officers as part of a law-enforcement monitoring programme. But the decision in the Eric Garner case two days later spoke of the fact that even events recorded on cameras — leaving no doubt of the circumstances of death and use of excessive force by law-enforcement personnel — will not be enough to change the unfair use of the law against people of colour. Another initiative is the creation of a task force that will work with civil right groups to work with law enforcement to provide necessary training to police officers. This initiative gives us a little more hope, because it may be able to help educate police officers about the history of civil rights issues in America. It might change their mindsets and open their eyes to the ideological residues of racial oppression that have led to the image of criminality attached to the African-American community.
Problems like racial profiling, the excessive use of force, and unjust killing of African-Americans by police officers, and unjust verdicts that leave many unanswered questions, is ruining the image of America as the world’s most progressive country. The image of that is being projected is of a country still living in the ugly and shameful ideologies of the past. The progress America made over a 50-year period since the civil rights movement was launched seem much smaller than we would like to think. Americans are asking the question: are we reliving an era of the new Jim Crow laws? Are these brutal killings by the police the new lynchings? Would we have seen a grand jury decision of not indicting police officer Daniel Pantaleo, if he were black and Gardner, the choked victim, white? Frank Phillips, a black police officer, was fired within 24 hours of choking Jarod Dotson, a white man. These double standards raise the critical question of unfair treatment and racism.
The world might see having a black president in office as progress in America. But is it really? In an interview with the New York Magazine, Chris Rock stated “… to say Obama is progress is saying that he’s the first black person that is qualified to be president. That’s not black progress. That’s white progress.” He raises a valid fact about America: there are a lot more white people who are conscientious about their actions than in the past and it is becoming more difficult for racist acts to permeate in society. But does that mean there has been any progress in the lives of thousands of black people? People of colour are still struggling with problems like racial profiling, inequality and racism. There is an overwhelming number of blacks in American prisons. A huge part of the African-American population is economically disenfranchised. This problem is much bigger than just a judicial system steeped in archaic ideologies. This problem stems from the long-term political, economic and social oppression of coloured people. Equal treatment with respect to law and economic opportunities is still missing.
After the Eric Garner case, President Obama addressed the crux of the issue when he said,“... right now, unfortunately, we are seeing too many instances where people just do not have confidence that folks are being treated fairly … And it is incumbent upon all of us, as Americans, regardless of race, region, faith, that we recognise this is an American problem, and not just a black problem or a brown problem or a Native American problem. This is an American problem. When anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law, that’s a problem …”
There need to be restorative actions like civil rights education, and proper law-enforcement training. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent announcement of a three-day retraining of the police force holds promise. But will a three-day training which may include a lecture on self-regulating emotions, smart policing techniques and better use of physical tactics be enough? For long-lasting results, it is imperative that the police academies make education on civil rights, awareness against racial profiling, and history of race relations a major part of their curriculum. Without a complete understanding of African-American history, negative stereotypes and attitudes will continue to infest American society.
This is not a black or white responsibility. It is the responsibility of every American household to make their families consciously aware against racism. America has to face and fix the humanitarian issues at home first if it expects respect as a voice of authority on global humanitarian issues. The world is watching.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (13)
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african americans dont like indians, pakistanis because income level is more, dont participate or support african american in racism demonstration, buy houses in white areas, in short we are agents of whites,
@weirdity: Being pakistani doesn't omit someone from being a part of the society they live in, we all have a voice. A pakistani living in America has a right as any other American to be concerned.This is exactly the type of pushback because of race we are talking about. Every human being has a right. A positive opinion shouldn't be taken as preaching. Everyone has a right to voice their opinion. You should write about your concerns in Pakistan too.
I am certain America will sort out its own issues....will we be able to sort out ours ?
@Ranjha: I couldn't agree with you more on starting the conversation with our own families. The purpose here is not to say that racism is only an American problem. The purpose It is to say that it is not just a black problem or,white problem,or brown problem. It is a problem for all Americans who live in this society as a nation,and we all should be concerned for it instead of playing the blaming game. Sometimes we as immigrants try to omit ourselves from the issue, but we are a part of it too. Therefore regardless of race, religion or color of the skin every person should be having the conversation with their families,to step away from senseless acts like racism.
I doubt if any pakistani is in a position to preach about racism or for that any ism to the US. Don't you think there are many negative ism's running amok in pakistan which needs attention from the pakistani media?
Patel motels run by Indians in USA do not encourage blacks in their property. They tell rooms are full. In Ferguson Missouri, the teenager robbed some items from a Patel run 7-11. and threatened to bang the Patel owner, who then called cops, What i am trying to say is some discrimination may be due to crime factor,
@Sam@ABE: perhaps i need to explain caste system is called varna system. varna means description, colour. The same habit is in muslim culture. Gori, chita, kali, are words used describing complexion, leading to like, dislike, etc, leading to discrimination, if i remember right one foreigner asked me if imran was captain after looking at cricket video. He said his complexion is fair, all other ten are brown,
@Bahadur Khan - The caste system was not based on color but occupations ...and that too it was not meant to be hereditary but based on ones intellect.
All humans have some degree of racism in them and I have found Americans the least racist. Incidentally, I have experienced racism from black people because I am brown skinned.
@Ranjha: agree, the caste system of sub continent was based on colour/ occupations. it permeated also to muslim culture. Come to Pakistan. the lowest grades are valmikis (hindu), and christians. some of the occupations of valmikis ( cleaning staff) and christians ( grave diggers, hangman) in pakistani jails are not handled by so called clean muslims. if you remember ZA Bhutto hangman was Isaq Masih (Christian) paid Rs 25/- as fee on April 5th 1979.
True - racism is a problem in USA. The society has the capacity and track record of introspecting and changing. There is hope. Can the same be said of those who codify discrimination in their constitution, preach hatred, brand "others" in the most demeaning ways and always blame someone else?
The writer conveniently avoids mentioning the statistic that, under mayor Rudy Giuliani, the number of black on black murders in New York City plummeted to new lows due to his policing policy! Perhaps the author considers that dramatic decrease of black on black murders to be "racially insensitive" though I would bet that more rather than less black citizens are alive today because of Mayor Giulaini's policies ( thought the author would NEVER admit that)!!
Rubbish - typical comment from someone who reads headlines without looking at the actual facts. Author apparently missed reading about the 8 black witnesses who testified before the grand jury (which had 3 black members) and their testimony upheld the white officers version of events ... no grand jury in the World is going to indict someone who has 8 witnesses and the fact that the witnesses were black should take the racial element out of the equation.
I suggest we start with our own families!
Pakistanis and indians are the most racist people on this planet. They are quite vocal in their hatred against people in poor countries, especially Africans; however, against the white people, they are all coy and diplomatic, lest their visa application gets in jeopardy.