Dear Non-Black Americans,

This is my understanding of this situation. If I am factually wrong with any of this, please let me know. I tried my best to keep this as unopinionated as possible. I know I will probably lose friends over this and get backlash, but I don’t want to stay silent anymore.

As a non- black member of the community, doing countless research and talking to a lot of Black Americans, whom I personally know, to get insight on things, I present to you numbers, analogies, and sources to hopefully help you and me understand more of the Black Lives Matter movement protests.

First and foremost, I want to address that as a non-Black American I will never truly know what it feels to be Black in America. I will never fully understand what it feels like when you can’t go to the gas station and pull out without a cop stopping you for no reason with a gun already pulled out before any conversation happens (Ed Truitt), I will never understand the full extent of what it is like to be wrongly accused because of white privilege (Christian Cooper), I will never truly understand what it is like to have to tell your Black children how to act around other people (Tamir Rice). But I hear you and I see the pain. I want to empathize and understand to the fullest extent I possibly can as a non- Black American.

Let’s get some terminology out of the way:

• White Privilege - “a term used to describe unearned rights and benefits afforded white people in Western society because of the color of their skin.”(dictionary.com)
  Examples: https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2017/07/24/10-examples-that-prove-white-privilege-exists-in-every-aspect-imaginable/ And for those of you who don’t like to read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kss1jMiNbA.
  Do your homework! (I say in a sing-y elementary school teacher voice)
• Protest-
  (noun) “a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something.”
  (verb) “express an objection to what someone has said or not said and/or done or not done.”
  (Google)
• Riot-
  (noun) “a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.”
  (verb) “take part in a violent public disturbance.”
  (Google)
• Racial/Ethinic Profiling- “Law enforcement engage in ethnic profiling when they base their actions on ethnicity, race, religion, or national origin instead of an individual’s conduct or objective evidence. Ethnic profiling may be carried out by all ranks of law enforcement — from local to counterterrorism units — and it can occur during many policing practices, such as identity checks and border control.”
  Is it legal for law enforcement to use racial profiling?
  “Police powers to stop and search vary from place to place. But ethnic or racial profiling — the targeting of specific individuals or groups based on appearance — constitutes illegal discrimination under U.S., European, and international law.”
  (Source: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/ethnic-profiling-what-it-and-why-it-must-end)

Here are some statistics:

• Black Americans make up 13% of the American population.
• Out of that 13%, 24% of Black Americans are killed.
• Black Americans are 3x more likely to get killed by the police than any other race.
• Black Americans are 1.3x more likely to be unarmed than any other race.
• There were only 27 days in all of 2019 when the police did not take a life
• 99% of killings by police have gone uncharged and handled with a settlement from the city.

A price for a life? Think about that.

Source: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/

#BlackLivesMatter Protests

This is not an #AllLivesMatter, #WhiteLivesMatter, #POC. This is an issue of the racial injustices that Black men and women are facing in their own home because of the color of their skin.

Dear White Americans,
Your ancestors are the ones who came to America and took the land from Native Americans and forced Africans to come to come to America to work for you. To the “my ancestor’s came here to be potato crop farmers”, yes, your ancestors may have faced racist and religious injustices here when your ancestors first arrived, but you’re still white today and not facing the same injustices as your ancestors did. Here is where the white privilege in America plays, you don’t have a description or a hyphen before “American”. You have the privilege of just being called an “American”. Not African-American, not Asian-American, not Hispanic/Latino- American, just American. That was the start of your privilege. Even the community that originally resided on this land, you call Native American. The difference between Asian and Hispanic/Latino communities versus the Black community is that we know specifically where we are from with a connection to our respective cultures and traditions because most of us are either first-generation immigrants, 1.5 generation, 2nd generation, or the growing population of the 3rd generation. Most Black people don’t know their specific ancestral roots because, again, they were forced to come to America to work for you, thus starting a life for many more generations to come. However, “Our homes are here in this hate filled country. We can’t go back to our countries because we were stolen from them hundreds of years ago and now we wouldn’t even be accepted if we tried to go back.” These are some words of a dear friend of mine. I hope you understand that you were born with an advantage. We (but I can’t speak for all) don’t hate you for this, but I, personally wish you were more aware.
Yours Truly, an “Asian-” American, a “Korean-” American, but nonetheless an American

It took me a bit of time to understand the reasoning behind the looting and destruction of a lot of these protests, but let me assure you, it’s not all Black Americans who are doing this, it’s also the other non-Black communities who come to support the protests. So why is this looting, burning of cars and flags, and breaking windows happening? Here’s an analogy for you. Imagine yourself as a teacher teaching a lower elementary level class. One of your students, who is traumatized and treated unfairly, has been asking for help and/or asking to be heard, but is denied or ignored multiple times. One day, this student causes a ruckus in the class, throwing pencils and erasers, going up to Sally and John’s desk and shoving their desk materials to the ground, and crying out that he or she wants to be heard. Is the child wrong for lashing out, damaging a bit of Sally and John’s school materials? What if some of the other kids might see this and take this as an opportunity to cause a bit of destruction and chaos as well? What are you going to do as the teacher? Option A) Ignore this student, Option B) Use force, grab the child by the arm, drag the child out of the classroom, yell at the child to be calm, and tell him or her that he or she is disturbing everyone else or Option C) Handle the situation and figure out a solution. I would hope you chose Option C. Option A and Option B are what the system of America is doing to the Black community right now. They have peacefully protested for years, and yet nothing has changed. This looting, arson, and vandalism are a cry for a need to change. A protest does not necessarily mean it must be peaceful. A riot is a protest with violence involved. That violence does not mean it comes only from one side because it can come from the other side.

Some of the stories

Here’s a link so that you can view most of the stories from most recent to 2015 unarmed Black Americans who were killed: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed. Here’s another link for ones prior to that: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmedprofiles

For me, I did a little digging on my own until I felt mentally and emotionally destroyed. I could only do 21 stories before I realized I was holding back tears with shaking hands, I finally understood the reality of the absolute horror. Here are the people (randomly selected names I found from lists and references):

• Trayvon Benjamin Martin, 17
  A son with Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea wearing a black hoodie
  Date- Feb 26, 2012
  Location- Miami Gardens, Florida
  Shooter- George Zimmerman
  Reason- Martin was walking to his father’s house with a black hoodie on carrying a bag of skittles and Arizona Iced Tea. Zimmerman found this suspicious, called the police, was told to remain in his car, still decided to step out of his car, and shot Martin.
  Convicted? No — Zimmerman actually filed a lawsuit against the Martin family for $100 million
• Samuel DuBose, 43
  A father
  Date- July 19, 2015
  Location- University of Cincinnati, Ohio
  Shooter- University Police Officer Ray Tensing. Fired
  Reason- Tensing asked for a license, DuBose could not provide one. Tensing attempts to open the door, DuBose drives away, Tensing shoots not only killing him, but claiming to that DuBose dragged him under the car.
  Convicted? $1 million bond for pleading not guilty. University of Cincinnati compensated DuBose’s children with future education at their institution.
• Brendon Glenn, 29
  Unarmed homeless man
  Date- May 5, 2015
  Location- Venice, California
  Shooter- LAPD Clifford Proctor. Resigned
  Reason- Proctor claimed that he saw Glenn put Glenn’s hand on his partner’s holster and decided to shoot. His partner claims he did not feel Glenn’s hands anywhere near his holster.
  Convicted? No- City compensated family with $4 million
• Freddie Gray, 25
  Carried an opener knife, also known as a folding knife
  Date- April 12, 2015
  Location- Baltimore, MD in BPD transport van
  Shooter- Tased, 6 officers — Alicia White, Brian Rice, Caesar Goodson Jr., Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, William Porter
  Reason- He had a legal blade and officers put him under their knees, fell in a coma, then death. Did not report medical emergency immediately, 80% of his spine was severed from his neck.
  Convicted? No- All back on duty in different units. White claimed “I’m so relieved that this nightmare is over” once the final verdict was declared.
• Natasha McKenna, 37
  Diagnosed with Bipolar and Schizophrenia
  Date- Feb 3, 2015
  Location- Fairfax County, VA
  Shooter- Stun gun from county jail officers
  Reason- She was shackled both ankles and wrists and stunned multiple times after her erratic behavior due to mental health breakdowns.
  Convicted? No- Settlement of $750,000
• Walter Scott, 50
  A Benz with a broken tail light, a father of four
  Date- April 4, 2015
  Location- North Charleston, South Carolina
  Shooter- Officer Michael Slager. Fired
  Reason- Deemed it necessary to tase Scott, who continued to run. Slager shot 8 times hitting Scott 5 times.
  Convicted? Yes- 20 years in prison
• Michael Brown Jr., 18
  “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”
  Date- Aug 9, 2014
  Location- Ferguson, Missouri
  Shooter- Darren Wilson. Fired
  Reason- Wilson claims to have gotten a call about a robbery. Brown did take a pack of cigarettes. For some reason things escalated quickly. Wilson shot Brown 10 times. Left on the asphalt for 4 hours
  Convicted? No- some people actually took Wilson’s side, raised money for him to pay off his expenses and start a new life elsewhere
• Ezell Ford, 25
  Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia
  Date- August 11, 2014
  Location- Los Angeles, California
  Shooter- Officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas.
  Reason- 2 versions: 1) LAPD claims he reached for one of their holsters 2) He was handcuffed on the ground on his stomach, shot dead.
  Convicted? No- Settlement of $1.5 million
• Eric Garner, 43
  Gentle-Giant — “I can’t breathe”
  Date- July 17, 2014
  Location- Staten Island, NY
  Shooter- Choke Hold- Daniel Pantaleo
  Reason- Garner was selling “loosies” and Pantaleo held him in an illegal chokehold.
  Convicted: No- Settlement of $5.9 million
• Akai Gurley, 28
  A Father, who knew how to braid his girlfriend’s hair
  Date- November 20, 2014
  Location- Brooklyn, New York
  Shooter- Officer Peter Liang. Fired
  Reason- Was on patrol, heard someone in a stairwell and shot. The bullet hit Gurley in the chest, did not perform CPR but called union representative.
  Convicted? No- 5 years probation and 800 hours of community service with $4.1 million settlement
• Laquan McDonald, 17
  Date- October 20, 2014
  Location- Chicago, Illinois
  Shooter- Officer Jason Van Dyke
  Reason- McDonald had a small knife in his hand. Officers there prior asked for taser. Upon the arrival of Van Dyke, he immediately shot at McDonald 16 times. When he was reloading, another Officer told him to stop.
  Convicted? Yes- but only 81 month sentence and will probably serve only half of it
• Tamir Rice, 12
  A 6th grader, playing with a toy
  Date- November 22, 2014
  Location- Cleveland, Ohio
  Shooter- Officers Timothy Loehmann. Fired and Frank Garmback. Still on duty
  Reason- 6th grader had a toy gun. Garmback drove and broke distance protocol, Loehmann immediately got out and shot him.
  Convicted? No- $6 million settlement
• Yvette Smith, 47
  Mother of 3, Caretaker
  Date- Feb 16, 2014
  Location- Bastrop County, Texas
  Shooter- Deputy Daniel Willis. Fired
  Reason- Smith called 911 with a concern about two men arguing in front of her home with a possible gun. When Willis arrives, the situation was already defused, demanded Smith to come out of her house and shot her twice in the next three seconds of her stepping out of her home.
  Convicted No- $1.2 mil settlement
• Jamar Clark, 24
  A boyfriend attending a birthday party
  Date- November 16, 2015
  Location- Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Shooter- Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze
  Reason- Confrontation. Officers claim that Clark reached for their holster, but no one knows. Shot him. Witnesses claim Officers shot Clark after he complied and laid on the ground
  Convicted? No- $200,000 settlement
• Rekia Boyd, 22
  A girl hanging out with her friends
  Date- March 21, 2012
  Location- Chicago, Illinois
  Shooter- Off-duty Officer Dante Servin. Resigned
  Reason- Argument broke between Servin, Boyd, and her friend Antonio Cross. Cross approached Servin with a cell phone in her hand, which Servin claimed was a gun and shot at them. Boyd was shot in the head.
  Convicted? No-$4.5 million settlement
• Shereese Francis, 29
  Diagnosed with Schizophrenia
  Date- March 15, 2012
  Location- Queens, New York
  Shooter- Smothered by 4 NYPD Officers
  Reason- Mental Breakdown when police arrived. She didn’t know they were the police. Police cornered her in her room and used force to restrain her, ended up smothering her in her own bed.
  Convicted? (I can’t find the information)
• Ramarley Graham, 18
  Aspiring traveler and veterinarian
  Date- Feb 2, 2012
  Location- Bronx, New York
  Shooter- Officer Richard Haste. Resigned
  Reason- Graham walked back to his grandmother’s house, went to the bathroom, and tried to flush down a bag of marijuana. Graham adjusted his waistband and with no search warrant and no verbal orders to comply, and shot him.
  Convicted? No- settlement of $3.9 million
• Manuel Loggins Jr., 31
  Marine Sergeant, a father
  Date- Feb 7, 2012
  Location- Orange County, California
  Shooter- Deputy Darren Sandberg
  Reason- Sgt Loggins was shot by Sandberg in a parking lot in front of his daughters after crashing into a school gate. His daughters were held captive for 13 hours, refusing any family members access to them.
  Convicted- No; $4.4 mil lawsuit settlement
• Sean Bell, 23
  A man at his bachelor party
  Date- November 25, 2006
  Location- Queens, New York
  Shooter- Officer Gescard Isnora, Ofc. Michael Oliver, Detective Marc Cooper, and 2 other Officers
  Reason- Bell was shot alongside his friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, Isnora assumed one of them was reaching for their guns and started shooting and the others followed in pursuit. Over 50 shots were fired.
  Convicted? No- Isnora and Oliver released on bond, Cooper released on own recognizance.
• Kendra James, 21
  Date- May 5, 2003
  Location- Portland, Oregon
  Shooter- Officer Scott McCollister
  Reason- She was in the passenger seat with a man who was getting arrested for a warrant. She climbed into the driver’s seat. McCollister saw this as a threat, told her to get out, pulled her hair, attempted to use pepper spray and a Taser, threatened her with a gun to her head, ended up using a gun and killed her.
  Convicted- No.
• Amadou Diallo, 22
  A Guinean Immigrant
  Date- Feb 4, 1999
  Location- Manhattan, New York
  Shooter- Officers Sean Carroll retired in 2005, Edward McMellon joined the fire department after acquittal, Kenneth Boss retired in 2019, Richard Murphy joined the fire department after acquittal
  Reason- Not in uniform. Followed Diallo and surrounded him. He reached for the back of his pocket and one of the officers yelled “GUN”. A total of 41 shots was fired.
  Convicted? No- All four were acquitted

I could not bear to look at anymore. There is almost no justice and even if there is, it isn’t to the fullest. Only 2 cases out of the 21 I looked at were convicted (these are in bold). I hope through these handful of cases you felt the injustices just as you did when you heard about Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.

What can you and I do as a non-Black American?

Stay informed. Be the support. Be aware that this is happening. Demand change from your government. Fight for the injustice. Listen and understand from the Black community. If you won’t take a second of your day to attempt to see through their lens and empathize with our Black American sisters and brothers, then keep your opinions to yourself. Until Black lives truly matter, America will never change for the better.