What we can learn from Black Lives Matter
Sep 28, 2015 15:39:55 #
By REP. HANK JOHNSON 9/28/15 12:02 AM
In just the past year and a half, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and Walter Scott and other unarmed African-American men and women have lost their lives at the hands of law enforcement after what should have been routine encounters with police officers.
Americans not previously aware now struggle with the reality of how people of color are treated by police. Communities of color have been forced to face the reality that driving with a busted taillight, standing on a street corner with friends or simply running away from police in fear, can quickly escalate into a life-or-death situation.
In response, many people have looked inside themselves and asked the question: Do black lives matter? The Black Lives Matter movement emerged and quickly galvanized people of all races and ages to question why these senseless killings were happening. The Black Lives Matter movement became a vehicle through which our current generation of tech-savvy activists united to demand answers to the problems they saw throughout America.
Through their national policy agenda "Campaign Zero," the movement has identified 10 policy initiatives that require action. These initiatives include recommendations from communities, research organizations and the president's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
As a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees, and as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus with decades of experience as a criminal defense attorney and judge, I became engaged in addressing the problems facing communities of color long before police donned camouflage and climbed atop armored tanks to confront the people of Ferguson to stop their peaceful protests against the shooting of Michael Brown.
I saw a need for comprehensive legislation aimed at addressing both systemic short comings in the criminal justice system, and improving relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve and protect. Awareness of the need for change resulted in my introduction of the bipartisan Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, the passage of which would halt the flow of free military-grade weapons and equipment from the battlefield to local law enforcement agencies under the Pentagon's controversial 1033 program.
When the peaceful protestors in Ferguson, Mo., were met by a militarized response that included police officers armed with military-grade weapons and armored transport vehicles, people all over the country took notice and demanded action. After the introduction of the SMLEA, President Obama issued an executive order curtailing the transfer of certain military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies, but there remains the need for a more permanent legislative fix.
The issues between police and the communities they serve go deeper than just police demilitarization, however. The shortcomings of the entire criminal justice system have been put on full display as prosecutors and the court system failed to hold police offices accountable for using excessive force against unarmed citizens.
This state of affairs compelled me to introduce two other bills: The Grand Jury Reform Act, which would bring transparency to the secret grand jury process, and the Police Accountability Act, which would give federal prosecutors the tools needed to charge state and local law enforcement officers with wrongdoing when state prosecutors fail to act.
I intend to introduce additional legislation this year that will address the serious lack of data available regarding a broad set of issues, including the training of law enforcement, use of force on people of color, and arrest statistics. I will also be drafting legislation aimed at reducing the unfair and unwise procedural protections afforded to law enforcement officers under collective bargaining agreements and state Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights statutes.
These protections quash investigations of misconduct by police officers and are unfair to the public, which deserves more accountability from law enforcement. We should strive to be a country where a police officer has the same constitutional rights as the people he is sworn to protect and serve.
It is going to take more than a minority of concerned lawmakers and activists to spur the social change required to stop injustices. Just the fact that the phrase "Black Lives Matter" has become controversial should tell us something. All lives are precious, but the fact remains that black Americans have been, and continue to be, disproportionally victimized by the use of excessive force by police officers.
For those who wrongfully claim that the movement is the problem or that it is somehow to blame for the broken relationship between police and communities of color, I would ask them to look at Campaign Zero's 10-point plan. Proposals like Campaign Zero's and legislative proposals that I and others in Congress have put forth are of great importance and deserve to be debated and acted upon by Congress. Unless people see real change, you can expect the Black Lives Matter movement to continue calling out disparities in the system.
Just like Donald Trump isn't going away neither is Black Lives Matter.
Instead of bashing and demonizing the Black Lives Matter movement and those associated with it, society would do well to address their concerns with legislative changes designed to build trust in the criminal justice system. We can all learn from their leadership.
Hank Johnson represents Georgia's 4th Congressional District. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
TOP STORY
In just the past year and a half, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and Walter Scott and other unarmed African-American men and women have lost their lives at the hands of law enforcement after what should have been routine encounters with police officers.
Americans not previously aware now struggle with the reality of how people of color are treated by police. Communities of color have been forced to face the reality that driving with a busted taillight, standing on a street corner with friends or simply running away from police in fear, can quickly escalate into a life-or-death situation.
In response, many people have looked inside themselves and asked the question: Do black lives matter? The Black Lives Matter movement emerged and quickly galvanized people of all races and ages to question why these senseless killings were happening. The Black Lives Matter movement became a vehicle through which our current generation of tech-savvy activists united to demand answers to the problems they saw throughout America.
Through their national policy agenda "Campaign Zero," the movement has identified 10 policy initiatives that require action. These initiatives include recommendations from communities, research organizations and the president's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
As a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees, and as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus with decades of experience as a criminal defense attorney and judge, I became engaged in addressing the problems facing communities of color long before police donned camouflage and climbed atop armored tanks to confront the people of Ferguson to stop their peaceful protests against the shooting of Michael Brown.
I saw a need for comprehensive legislation aimed at addressing both systemic short comings in the criminal justice system, and improving relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve and protect. Awareness of the need for change resulted in my introduction of the bipartisan Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, the passage of which would halt the flow of free military-grade weapons and equipment from the battlefield to local law enforcement agencies under the Pentagon's controversial 1033 program.
When the peaceful protestors in Ferguson, Mo., were met by a militarized response that included police officers armed with military-grade weapons and armored transport vehicles, people all over the country took notice and demanded action. After the introduction of the SMLEA, President Obama issued an executive order curtailing the transfer of certain military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies, but there remains the need for a more permanent legislative fix.
The issues between police and the communities they serve go deeper than just police demilitarization, however. The shortcomings of the entire criminal justice system have been put on full display as prosecutors and the court system failed to hold police offices accountable for using excessive force against unarmed citizens.
This state of affairs compelled me to introduce two other bills: The Grand Jury Reform Act, which would bring transparency to the secret grand jury process, and the Police Accountability Act, which would give federal prosecutors the tools needed to charge state and local law enforcement officers with wrongdoing when state prosecutors fail to act.
I intend to introduce additional legislation this year that will address the serious lack of data available regarding a broad set of issues, including the training of law enforcement, use of force on people of color, and arrest statistics. I will also be drafting legislation aimed at reducing the unfair and unwise procedural protections afforded to law enforcement officers under collective bargaining agreements and state Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights statutes.
These protections quash investigations of misconduct by police officers and are unfair to the public, which deserves more accountability from law enforcement. We should strive to be a country where a police officer has the same constitutional rights as the people he is sworn to protect and serve.
It is going to take more than a minority of concerned lawmakers and activists to spur the social change required to stop injustices. Just the fact that the phrase "Black Lives Matter" has become controversial should tell us something. All lives are precious, but the fact remains that black Americans have been, and continue to be, disproportionally victimized by the use of excessive force by police officers.
For those who wrongfully claim that the movement is the problem or that it is somehow to blame for the broken relationship between police and communities of color, I would ask them to look at Campaign Zero's 10-point plan. Proposals like Campaign Zero's and legislative proposals that I and others in Congress have put forth are of great importance and deserve to be debated and acted upon by Congress. Unless people see real change, you can expect the Black Lives Matter movement to continue calling out disparities in the system.
Just like Donald Trump isn't going away neither is Black Lives Matter.
Instead of bashing and demonizing the Black Lives Matter movement and those associated with it, society would do well to address their concerns with legislative changes designed to build trust in the criminal justice system. We can all learn from their leadership.
Hank Johnson represents Georgia's 4th Congressional District. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
TOP STORY
Sep 28, 2015 16:16:58 #
And this is what we have in Congress, and I might add, he isn't exactly atypical of the others.
Oct 1, 2015 19:14:15 #
KHH1 wrote:
By REP. HANK JOHNSON 9/28/15 12:02 AM br In just... (show quote)
I was thinking that someone might respond to PG's comment about Johnson not being alone since I was not sure what he meant.
I know nothing of Rep. Johnson.
Anyway, I did call up the 10 points of Campaign Zero.
This seems a reasonable place to begin negotiations.
http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision
Oct 1, 2015 19:26:27 #
jelun wrote:
I was thinking that someone might respond to PG's comment about Johnson not being alone since I was not sure what he meant.
I know nothing of Rep. Johnson.
Anyway, I did call up the 10 points of Campaign Zero.
This seems a reasonable place to begin negotiations.
http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision
I know nothing of Rep. Johnson.
Anyway, I did call up the 10 points of Campaign Zero.
This seems a reasonable place to begin negotiations.
http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision
And now I have looked up Hank Johnson.
His comedic timing is as faulty as mine is.
I remember when he made that Guam comment
I had just been doing some reading about Guam so I was pretty sure I knew what he was getting at... Rachel Maddow didn't though. And that she didn't made me doubt my interpretation.
I have an idea that Hank Johnson and I could have a great time discussing issues in the circular.
Oct 2, 2015 05:12:13 #
That could hardly be viewed as the agenda of a "terrorist" organization...i guess some people in groups are scary no matter what they are doing.....geesh...
Oct 2, 2015 05:53:58 #
KHH1 wrote:
That could hardly be viewed as the agenda of a "terrorist" organization...i guess some people in groups are scary no matter what they are doing.....geesh...
It is a symptom of media craziness mixed with personal feelings of helplessness, I think.
Even NPR emphasizes the violence in Baltimore when reporting on the Freddy Gray killing.
Thousands of peaceful demonstrators were out there and the talk is about the few law breakers.
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