All Lives Do Matter
These are some thoughts I have on the issue of Black vs All lives mattering… I’m far from bashful but this is a subject I haven’t weighed in on because I understand and agree with both sides of the conversation. Let me start by saying that I believe many people that are saying All Lives Matter (ALM) may have a misunderstanding about what Black Lives Matter (BLM) really means. Giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming that’s the case, I’ll try to explain what BLM is largely about in my opinion. Disclaimer: I am not a “member” of BLM and haven’t spoken to anyone associated with the “official” BLM movement so please take this simply as the opinion of a black person that has major concerns about whether my life matters to some.
Like me, I would think that anyone associated with BLM agrees that all lives should matter. To that point, when the chorus of BLM began, it was to remind the country and the world that we (black people) are or should be included in “ALL” … There have been several incidents over the past few years that have blacks questioning our place in this society. This is akin to a family with three children and the middle child feeling slighted at every turn. When she comes to mom and dad to express how she feels, the last thing she needs to hear is that all our kids matter so deal with it. She needs to understand why she matters to you. Black Americans aren’t asking for any special favors but rather to be treated equally across all aspects of a society that promotes that importance of ALL lives. The latest examples is the case happened over the past two weeks when a black couple was killed by police while sleeping in their car after a date or an unarmed black guy is shot in the back seven times while running away from an officer.. This is tragic enough on the surface but this leaves several kids without a mom or dad. I’ll leave it to you to read the statistical indicators of what their lives will look like moving forward. Now, if you care to read further, I’ll explain a few other reasons why black people (including law abiding citizens like me) feel like their lives matter a little less than others...
I’ll baseline the situation by looking at the population breakdown in order for the rest of the picture to make sense…
White Americans are the racial majority, with a 63% share of the U.S. population, Hispanic and Latino Americans amount to 17.1%… African Americans make up 13.2% and Asian Americans are 4% of the population. I was actually pretty surprised to see how far Black Americans are behind Latinos in population but let’s move on…
With these population stats in mind, it’s pretty discouraging when juxtaposed to the prison population statistics. While only making up 13% of the population, Black Americans make up more than 36% of the prison population.
When you consider that equates to 1 in every 3 black male is likely to be incarcerated, the implications are mind blowing and helps to explain the what leads to the need for BLM movement. There are many reasons for this and many incarcerated blacks deserve their fate. That said, there are still many that are the victims of unfair sentencing laws and systemic racism.
Looking beyond the prison system and its impact on black families, there are many social issues that brings us to this point. I remember looking at non-stop news coverage of missing Natalie Holloway and wondering why we don’t see the same coverage when much younger black kids go missing. It’s not to say don’t cover Natalie Holloway’s disappearance or even suggesting that there be national coverage for EVERY missing person (young or old) but it’s ridiculous that there’s NEVER national coverage when a black person is missing. This is especially crazy when considering that blacks make up 41% of missing persons.
The last thing is probably the most obvious and has become the highest profile in recent years. Police brutality has been a problem for decades resulting in several riots throughout our history. President Lyndon B. Johnson to commission The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots. The findings of the resulting Kerner Report is astoundingly similar to the issues we continue to face 50 years later.
Many people confuse this argument to mean or even suggest that police officers are racists but the reality is that we all know and understand that’s not the case. Cops are there for blacks whenever there’s a problem just like they are for other races. I heard Rudy Giuliani argue the other day about how many black lives are saved by police officers in the line of duty as a result of a infamous Beyoncé Super Bowl performance . He completely misses the point. Many blacks live in crime-ridden, impoverished neighborhoods so the police is required to keep law and order. I’m not addressing the layers of issues surrounding black poverty, white privilege, and other such issues. There are black people in the suburbs, two-parent households, and well educated that are stopped, frisked, and harassed on a regular basis. I remember being followed by the Smyrna (GA) police officers driving from the movies or going to the store. I have a hard time driving through Smyrna today even though I’ve been told a lot has changed since the ‘90s…
Police officers of all races are both good and bad cops. A white officer that harasses, abuses, or even shoots a black person is not necessarily any more racist than the black officer that would do the same thing. The problem is the expectation that young black males inherently fit the criminal profile and are not to be given the benefit of the doubt. Listen, I’m not arguing that young black men don’t commit crimes and many of their crimes are against other blacks. So Rudy Giuliani is correct to point out the importance of the police in poor back neighborhoods. That said, I don’t see the same profiling of young white men when discussing mass shootings. Whenever a school, movie theater, mall, etc. gets shot by a young white kid, we’re told that it’s because of mental illness. While most people understand that it makes no sense, blacks view that as a slap in the face. Another exhibit of evidence in the case of why we need to remind everyone that Black Lives Matter also!
I don’t claim to have the answers but I really hope this (long-winded) soliloquy helps those feeling the need to respond to cries of “Black Lives Matter” with shouts of “All Lives Matter” understand a little bit about why BLM is necessary.
