Racism in 2020
It was an explosive start to last the week when I came across the video of Amy Cooper in a park irately asking Christian Cooper to stop filming her after he confronted her about her dog being off the leash in a park where it wasn’t allowed. The encounter brought home in a nutshell how people realise the power they indirectly have over others and how easily (and quickly) they are willing to use it to get what they want.
Amy believed if she called the police in a frenzied and panicked manner while being explicit about his race, the black man filming her would have to stop. She could continue walking her dog, off the leash in the park as if she owned it. Despite the fact he was in the right, Christian would now have to decide whether it was worth having to deal with the police arriving in the park with the belief he did something wrong. Amy weaponised her power as a white female victim to try and get the outcome she desired. She told Christian exactly what she would do to escalate the situation, making clear she had no qualms about using the system to threaten his life. She even roughed up her dog mid call to add to the tension on the phone.
Listening to Christian keep his cool and avoiding raising his voice struck a real chord with me. It reminded me of the numerous confrontations I’ve been in where someone else was the aggressor and I knew if I reacted to it in the way I was expected to, the situation could quickly spiral out of my control.
Luckily we didn’t get to see what would happen next. I saw the situation in hindsight on Twitter. First I saw the video then I followed the hashtag of her name to discover Twitter users had quickly discovered her social media accounts and details of her employer. Part of me was satisfied to learn that she had since been relieved of her dog and suspended from her job. The rest of me was still really angry.
Over the last 8 years a combination of technology and social media have led to a series of lethal confrontations between the police and young black men In America. It’s scary and disturbing how many black people have become household names because they were murdered by racists. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve scrolled through my phone to come across yet another life being taken unjustly. Watching the Cooper’s confrontation created a connection for me as to why so many police officers approach young black men with a belief that they are already guilty and that predetermined guilt is enough reason to take their lives.
Last year I cried for the first time watching TV. I was watching Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. It told the story of the Central Park five which showed how difficult life can become when you get arrested. The bail fees that are unaffordable for the majority of people. The justice system that forces people into making false admissions of guilt to avoid exponentially longer sentences. The indefinite stays at Rikers island while waiting for your case to be heard. All things that Chris Cooper could have been exposed to had the police arrived and believed the accusations made by Amy Cooper.
The encounter between Amy and Chris for me was an interesting demonstration of the human face of racism regularly talked about in black communities but denied by everyone else. The kind of thing people talk about in the open only to have a white person say they don’t know what you are talking about. The kind micro aggressions we face on a day to day basis as well as more overt forms of abuse of power (in the workplace) we personally experience. It was a moment that really connected as a situation that black people across the globe could relate to.
Rest in peace George Floyd
Days later I was casually flicking through stories on instagram and stopped on a IGTV still with a police officer’s leg on a Black man’s neck. The black man was called George Floyd.
I won’t share the video here.
The George Floyd video that came out was a very difficult watch. Watching the video unfold, seeing the knee on George’s neck and realising there was around 8 minutes left for the story to play out left a lump in my throat. I was wondering how long this situation would play out already knowing where it was going to end.
Where earlier in the week we’d seen a type of behaviour that led to police treating black men aggressively we were now seeing that aggression play out before our eyes.
I couldn’t watch the full video and ended up skipping towards the end to see what happened. George Floyd’s name was now added to a list of Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Samuel Dubose, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott and many many more who were killed in police custody.
The days after George Floyd’s death we started to see black people around the world get angry at what for us was yet another murder of a black person by the people who are supposed to be protecting us. Another death that we collectively knew wouldn’t see the justice it deserved. Another crazy situation to talk about with our friends and family while feeling helpless.
We need to talk more, and I feel like I need to write.
I’ve wanted to write about this for the last week but there is so much going through my head. So many other issues are wrapped up in these two unconnected yet very connected situations.
As a Black Brit I need to talk about the reality of racism and white supremacy here. There’s always been a sense of injustice whenever there is a situation like this, often it leads to protests, riots and sometimes looting. Eventually I want to talk about the future of this problem and allies.
Consider this part one in an unspecified number of entries about racism in 2020.