Just Blame. Never Praise

There are White cops in every major city in this country who are putting their lives on the line and working in Black neighborhoods to protect Blacks from, generally, Black-on-Black crime. Never once does the Black leadership in this country acknowledges this. Only if there is an "error" in judgment are they ever noticed by people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the NAACP. Only then, those cops are "recognized" as they "are" publicly "raked" over the coals; often, long before "all" is known about the situation. Many times, after having been convicted by public opinion, those cops are actually exonerated by Federal and local investigations and/or by our judicial system. Are there some racist cops? Yes, I think so; but not all. Maybe some racists are some Black cops and some Black civilians, too. But, all too often, the Cops, both White and Black, are painted as the enemy in the Black Community.

Often, a Black youth will be asked: "Why did you run?" Generally, they respond that they were afraid of the cops. Given the sheer volume of interactions by White cops in Black communities, you have to wonder about this kind comment. However, I personally think that this "fear" of White cops is perfectly logical. It is both a "manufactured" fear and a real fear. On the manufactured side, if the only thing that a Black youth knows about White cops is what they hear or see in the news, they should be afraid. That's because all they ever hear is that cops "kill Blacks". And, this is how White cops have been "consistently" stereotyped in both the press and by the Black leadership. On the "real fear" side, cops operate in the "high crime" neighborhoods. For Blacks living in the most depressed areas of our cities, they unfortunately live in those crime-ridden area. So, police presence is very high. And, any mistakes in police protocol and behavior will be "amplified" in those neighborhoods from the sheer high level of interface between the cops and the community.

Barack Obama recently gave his speech on race. He asked for dialog. This is mine. I think the onus is on the Black leadership of America and the national press to re-establish "faith" in our police in this country; especially those who are sincerely trying to protect and serve in our Black communities. That kind of trust would go a long way in moving crime "out of" the depressed areas of our major cities. Just my opinion!