Contemporary Connections

Although people have been fighting for equal rights for centuries, it’s still a very prevalent issue throughout America with many diverse groups of individuals. Some of these include the LGBT Movement, the Feminist Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and even the Blue Lives Matter Movement.

The movements that I could relate my theme to the most to is a mix between the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. There have been many issues between cops and African Americans that has been resulted in riots, shootings, and even senseless deaths. African Americans are arguing that cops or whites, in general, are dehumanizing them and profiling all of them as a negative part of society.

One of the articles I found on this topic was called “Blacks and Cops” written by Steve Byas, and coincidentally it’s about a black sheriff who gives his no-nonsense perspective on relations between blacks and police. David Clarke joined the police force at a young age and rose steadily through the ranks, being promoted to detective, on to lieutenant of detectives, to the police captain, and finally as commander of the first district. Then in January 2002, he became the Sheriff of Milwaukee County. The article talks about the book that Clarke wrote, called Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime, & Politics for a Better America. In this book Clarke talks about the brief history of the Black Lives Matter Movement and how it’s based on the wrong premise that white cops are driving around, looking for blacks to harass, and even shoot. He states, “The bottom line is this: If you stop when a cop tells you to stop, and if you don’t point a gun at a cop or try to fight them, you’ll probably survive your encounter with the police.” He even talks about the cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, and he explains to readers the lessons of each of them. Most of his book is written in defense of local law enforcement, but he does discuss some of the other issues. This is one of the perspectives of a cop and how he feels about the movement, but there are many others views taken on a topic like this.

The next article I found takes a different approach to the topic and is called “Policing the Colony” written by Chris Hayes. It offered information on violence and issues regarding compliance throughout the city. One of the main things that it highlights is the case where victim Michael Brown was shot to death by the police on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri. It talks about Section 29-16(1) of the municipal code of the city of Ferguson, Missouri and how it codifies the fact that it is a crime to “fail to comply with the lawful order or request of a police officer in the discharge of the officer’s official duties.” Ferguson cops routinely issue orders that have no legal basis and then arrest citizens who refuse those orders for “failure to comply.” During a protest in Ferguson in 2014, cops even went as far as tear gassing people who were standing in their yards because they “refused to comply” and wouldn’t go inside their homes. The author then goes to question if this is acceptable and if officers have the right to do something like this. There are many other aspects to this article, but it ultimately questions if cops are taking advantage of their “power” and categorizing all African Americans as bad parts of a community.

There is a significant connection that I see between these two articles and Beloved and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The articles prove that even now blacks feel as if they aren’t being treated unfairly. African Americans are often arguing that they are dehumanized and feel as if they don’t have the same rights as everyone else, but many officers would deny unfair treatment. It’s hard to say who’s in the right or the wrong, but it’s easy to understand where each side is coming from. The readings from these novels may affect how we think about this issue because we now know more about what slaves went through, and it opened our eyes to how much African Americans went through to get where they are today. These novels helped me personally realize that they have fought so hard to get where they are they deserve more than what is given to them.

The movement is very controversial and has multiple aspects to it. I touched both sides of the movement because there are always two sides to every story. It could be very true that cops are unfair towards African Americans and don’t give them the rights that they deserve, but it could also be true that some officers are only doing what they feel is best for society.

Works Cited:

Byas, Steve. "Blacks and Cops." New American (08856540), vol. 33, no. 7,

03 Apr. 2017, pp.29-30. EBSCOhost.

Hayes, Chris. "POLICING the COLONY. (Cover Story)." Nation, vol. 304,

no. 13, 17 Apr. 2017, pp.12-18. EBSCOhost.

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Vintage Books, 2004. Print.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New
York: Norton, 2010. Print.