Universally Speaking
Rahim Islam is a National Speaker and Writer, Convener of Philadelphia Community of Leaders, and President/CEO of Universal Companies, a community development and education management company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Follow Rahim Islam on FaceBook(Rahim Islam) & Twitter (@RahimIslamUC)
Rahim Islam
I will always remember where I was and what I was doing on Friday, May 1, 2015 (approximately 11 a.m. EST) when State Attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby, held a press conference to announce her findings on the investigation of the suspicious death of Freddie Gray while in the police custody.
After having only one hour of sleep, I drove from Milwaukee to Chicago to take a very early flight from Chicago to
Philadelphia to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law (my only sister’s husband of 41 years). Needless to say, he was a big part of our family. I’ve known him for more than two thirds of my life.
Everything went as planned: I got to the church just in time to attend the viewing with the funeral to immediately follow.
I was experiencing a ton of mixed emotions and was extremely concerned about my sister’s state of mind (obviously this was new to all of us). After catching a cab from the airport to pick up my own car, immediately after starting the car, the CNN satellite radio commentator began to blast that a report on the situation occurring in Baltimore was imminent.
I was all ears and listened eagerly hoping that the announcement would come before I reached the church.
I arrived at the church around the same time that the press conference began.
It was something about her voice, her articulation of the facts, which was different than any press conference I’ve heard before.
I was not familiar with Ms. Mosby and didn’t know anything about her.
It was only while I listened that I became aware that she is an African American.
The fact that she is African American didn’t really matter to me because I’ve seen some of our African American elected officials act worse than white elected officials when it comes down to fighting for issues and concerns that threaten the Black community, and there is no greater institution that has oppressed the Black community than the American justice system (i.e. police, courts, prisons, etc.).
I sat in my car waiting to hear the decision, which I believed it would be the same old thing (nothing) concerning unarmed Black men who are killed by white police officers.
Even when the evidence is overwhelming, the police are hardly ever charged. It is clear that America does not now nor has never valued Black lives.
If you know differently, l stand ready to discuss this with you.
While I didn’t have any faith in the system, as the press conference continued, I knew this wasn’t going to be the same old thing. She would be different.
Throughout the press conference she stated that she heard the protestors call of “no justice, no peace.” She stated that she would handle justice and called on the people for peace.
Ms. Mosby made me so proud because she did what very few, if any, District Attorneys over the past 135 years have been able to do, which is to bring to justice police officers for the unlawful murder of unarmed Black men.
On this historical day, this great lady announced that six Baltimore police officers will face charges in the death of Freddie Gray. While this unexpected announcement brought cheers from the protesters (I was cheering as well in my car), the police union and other whites called the indictment politically motivated (are these people serious?).
The announcement left no doubt about what she thinks happened on April 12th when Gray was arrested.
The 25-year-old died, she said, after suffering “a severe and critical neck injury” while being transported “handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained” inside a police van. Not only did she rule that the arrest was unlawful, she stated that it’s against police policy to transport a prisoner without proper restraints such as a seat belt.
While this case has a long way to go, finally the wheels of justice have begun to turn – not just for Freddie Gray, but for the thousands of murdered unarmed Black men that have never received justice. Ms. Mosby is clearly a BLACK elected official.
I must make a clear and profound distinction between being an African American elected official versus being a Black elected official.
There is a big difference. As the Black revolutionary, Huey P. Newton, once stated: “Every Negro has the potential to become Black.”
That potential is exercised when you contribute to the self-determination of your own Black people.
I restate that quote by saying that every African American (racial designation only) has the potential to become Black (conscious freedom fighter) if they are willing to use every capacity at their disposal to protect and empower Black people.
Unfortunately, while there are many African American elected officials, there are very few “Black” elected officials.
What’s really sad is that too many of them think they are at the top of their game, yet they can’t point to one gain that they stood together on to deliver to the Black community.
Many are delusional as to why they are even in office.
If African American elected officials aren’t working together to fight against a culture, climate, and an institutional and structural way of life that OPPRESSES Black people at every level from the time they are born until the time they die, then they can’t be elevated to the description of being Black.
Therefore, the millions of our ancestors who sacrificed their dignity, their person, and their lives to see the day that
African Americans would be in elected office only to see how they behave today, can only be turning over in their graves (what a shame).
Too many African American elected officials are afraid to think and/or act Black for fear of offending their white colleagues or their white donors who have absolutely no problem working for the best interest of white people and using them in the process.
What’s more astounding is that many times, if it were not for the Black community, they would not be in office. It was the Black vote that elected them.
The fact that African American elected officials haven’t or don’t have a Black caucus is an indication that they are clueless and will never be effective at being able to give even “limited” power to the Black community that has absolutely no power at all.
A caucus is a group of politicians who work together to promote a shared political goal and/or agreed-upon cause (i.e. Tea Party).
The African American elected officials should be a caucus that has one mission and one mission only – to protect and empower the Black community.
The caucusing of African American elected officials becomes so critical because in most cases, due to the massive economic disadvantage that Black people face in this country and in cities like Milwaukee, political power is the only thing available to them and even that has limitations.
Black political power is further weakened because of the twisted politics that many of our African American elected officials practice.
Instead of using whatever leverage they might have by forming a real caucus, they are so divided that their collective power is negated.
I say this because too many of them have not understood the sole reason that they are in office, which is to advance the self-determination of their own people.
For many it’s a good job. Yes, they have an obligation to all of the constituents within their district, but they should also know that they have a higher commitment and obligation to the struggles of Black people. They might be republicans or democrats in name but their real identity is being Black (conscious).
Do African American leaders, including elected officials, know how bad things are for Black people in this country? I ask you when has it ever been good and what could changes this narrative (YOU)? What Ms. Mosby did was courageous and unprecedented.
IN A BOLD MOMENT OF TRUE LEADERSHIP, SHE REVERSED NEARLY 500 YEARS OF OPPRESSION OF BLACK PEOPLE WHOSE MEN HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED UNFAIRLY AND NEVER RECEIVED ANY JUSTICE OR FAIRNESS FROM AMERICA’S COURTS.
I ask you what the crime was Black people committed against white people that would justify such oppression and unfair treatment. With all the pain and suffering that Black people endured during and following nearly 400 years of chattel slavery, even after supposedly gaining freedom, yet Americans stood silent while thousands of Black men were lynched (some were burned to a crisp) by angry white mobs.
There was no due process; there was no defense in court; there was no verdict by a jury of your peers; there was just execution and many times, trumped up charges of rape.
The real reason why these Black men were being lynched is because it a form of intimidation and terrorism aimed at preventing Black people from voting or challenging the inequities of American life.
Although practice of lynching ended in the early 1960’s (this was in my lifetime), police brutality became second nature and thousands of Black men died at the hands of white police officers.
It was generally understood that police violence against Black men went unchecked in this country for another 60 years after the end of lynching.
Black men have suffered and been oppressed, but now the oppressors wear blue uniforms.
One by one, these cases would be presented to the District Attorneys for review and prosecution from all over the country only to have nothing done.
The police would tamper with evidence, even going as far as placing a gun at the victim’s side or planting drugs on the victim’s person in an attempt to justify the police’s use of deadly force or to secure probable cause.
No matter how suspicious these cases were, very few police received indictments.
Even with the emergence of video recordings of outright beatings of unarmed Black men by police (i.e. Rodney King), there have be no indictments. Investigators and prosecutors would say some of the damndest things (i.e. we’re told not to believe what we see).
Black men have been so terrorized by white police in America, that today it has become part of the fabric within many police departments and this same disdain for Black life has permeated every facet of American life.
It’s not enough that the media continually portrays Blacks as sub-human and all other American institutions outwardly discriminate against Black people, the question of whether Black lives matter is an absolute “no brainer” –
Black lives don’t matter and have never mattered to many in America.
The fear that Black males have of police has been instilled into the starting at a very early age. How can it be anything else when young boys are engulfed in the socialization process for the struggle for survival?
This is very real and very pervasive. This phenomenon is only relegated to Black and Brown males – young white males have little-to-no worries that they will leave their homes in the morning and not return home safely that same night.
White males don’t have to worry about the thousands of bogus charges that Black men face resulting from a, many times false, encounter with the police.
This is why what Ms. Mosby did is nothing short of miraculous. No one, absolutely no one, has been able to take on the terrorizing culture of Black males that is buried within the police departments of America.
This is in no way an indictment against all police; in fact, this represents a minority. However, there is a code of silence by police even when there is an obvious wrong that has been committed by one of its brothers. How many innocent Black men are in prison today or have become part of the criminal justice system because they were part of some sinister plot orchestrated by a racist cop? We’ve seen time and time again where three, four, or even five police officers act together to terrorize supposed drug dealers or criminals. Many of these cases were later overturned, because the police were the criminals. How many quiet settlements have cities made to grieving families because of police brutality?
Let’s examine the policy of “Stop and Frisk” which is a recognized police policy that was recently implemented over the past 10 years starting in New York City.
Let’s be clear, Blacks have had to deal with unlawful search and seizures for over 100 years so, for them, stop and frisk has been in use for a very long time.
Some say that “stop and frisk” has reduced crime so the program should be, not only continued but be expanded.
They point out that both violent crime and murders have dropped in cities like New York and Philadelphia.
The fact of the matter is that there is no research that proves the effectiveness of the program; just the opposite exists because both violent crimes and murders were dropping prior to the implementation of stop and frisk (this has been a national trend).
In New York City, from 2002 to 2011, Black and Latino residents made up close to 90 percent of people stopped and about 88 percent of stops – more than 3.8 million – were innocent.
Even in neighborhoods that are predominantly white, Black and Latino New Yorkers face the disproportionate brunt with nearly 80 percent of all stops. What was the yield for such widespread “racial profiling” – with less than .02 percent of these stops producing a gun and less than 3 percent of all cases yielded any criminal violation? What this program should be called is OUTRIGHT AND LEGAL HARRASSMENT OF BLACK AND BROWN MALES.
These examples and many more represent the terror and oppression that Black males have faced in this country.
From decapitation and torrid and massive beatings during slavery, through years of intimidation and lynchings, and now police brutality achieved from “racial profiling” that is both legal and illegal.
At the most simplest level, Blacks have been made to fear white men and authorities.
There have been people outside of the criminal justice system that have fought for some level of fairness, but very few on the inside of the system have championed the injustices against Black males until Ms. Mosby’s indictments.
It’s pretty obvious that we can’t just depend on the general public to right these wrongs.
It’s going to take an orchestrated effort by African American elected officials who are willing to be Black to address many of the issues facing the Black community instead of emulating white politicians who are a majority with “ALL” of the resources and very little of the problems versus representing their own group of Black people that has “NO” resources and a disproportionate degree of the problems.
When will African American elected officials become Black elected officials and represent the Black community? I believe that the average Black person who goes into a voting booth and votes for an African American believes this is what they’re getting.
If the Black community only knew that African American elected officials fight against each other more than they fight others (it’s sad but true).
Who speaks for the Black community nationally or in Milwaukee?
When it’s time to negotiate on behalf of the Black community (i.e. major economic projects), who represents Black people? Is it Rev. Al Sharpton? Is it Minister Louis Farrakhan? Is it President Obama? Is it the NAACP? Is it the Urban League? Who is it?
Or is it the African American elected officials? It definitely should be the elected officials if tax dollars are going to be used.
Unfortunately, Blacks have no national leader and locally, in Milwaukee, the Black community is also leaderless.
I likened the Black community to a human body that walks around with no head.
Yes, Blacks have people who are doing good things (this is not an indictment against those who are trying to fight back and continue the struggle).
The problem is that the needle isn’t moving (our problems are growing). The issues the Black community faces are unmeasurable and off the chart (many of the disparities have nearly a 50 points differential) and require a coordination of systems that only real collective leadership and BLACK elected officials can pull together.
The fact is, we have a multitude of people claiming to be leaders, but not working together, which is tantamount to having any leader at all.
How is it that many Black leaders are unable to mount any real and sustained campaign to come together (functional and survival unity) and challenge the multitude of very serious issues facing the Black community?
Given the current socioeconomic condition coupled with the history that Blacks have faced in this country, having leadership is not some option it’s an absolutely necessity.
We live in a democracy and in a democracy everyone, if they want to win must have leadership ability and/or be a leader.
Every group has representation and every idea, if it’s to win amongst other ideas, must have leadership.
Where is Black leadership? It’s in Baltimore in the form of Ms. Mosby. America owes her for the tremendous and courageous stance she took to bring America closer to its creed:
“…a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies (internal and external).” (American’s Creed)
On behalf of all Americans, especially the oppressed Black Americans of yesterday (ancestors), today, and tomorrow, we thank you for your leadership and I will always remember where I was and what I was doing on Friday, May 1, 2015 (approximately 11 a.m. EST). Thank you Ms. Mosby!