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How Policing Affect Black People’s Live

How many Black friends have you had throughout your life? Have you considered that

your friend might have a different vision of life than you? Have you ever asked them what it is

like to be in their shoes? Many authors have, and the answers are heartbroken. In the article

'American racism and the Buffalo shooting,' the author Yamahtta Keeanga talks about what it is

like to constantly fear racism attacks as walking on the street or even in the safety of your

neighborhood, as sadly happened in Buffalo, New York. The shooting attack on the community,

the majority composed of the Black community, raised a discussion on what is possible to do to

keep such communities safe throughout the country and what is the police's role in the matter.

Black people have received different treatment from society from birth to death purely

because of their skin shade. The racism reserved for the Black communities goes beyond social

status quo or influence; it is guided by appearance. There are cases of famous Black soccer

players being attacked by the audience, called racist names, and disrespected by their races. Of

course, wealthy Black people have access to protection and respect that the ones from poor

communities, unfortunately, do not. Indeed, the entire world coming together to demand respect

for these players makes us believe that hope and justice can be claimed for all. Unfortunately, the

same desire for social reparation does not reach poor Black communities. On the contrary, by

being judgmental of race, articles show that the police are what bring fear and hopelessness into

these people's lives.

The primary reason Black Americans do not feel safe publicly is that people tend to be

extra judgmental towards people that 'look Black.' Unfortunately, the common sense that a Black

person walking alone on the street is a sign of a threat is strong and vivid nowadays. However,

behind that closed face, there is a human being that is scared for his life as much as you are for
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yours, but in a different context. In the "TED Talks: Stereotypes That Dominate the Black

Community: A collection of modern experiences", Deonte Clarke tells us a personal experience

that finally helped him to understand the world is not fair, even though his parents wanted to give

him a little hope. Clarke says that one day, as he was walking on the street, he realized a white

girl was looking back at him, looking very scared. At that moment, he noticed that she feared

him, a young black male walking alone in the same direction as her. On the other hand, Clarke

feared the girl would feel so scared that she might call the police, which could also be a terrible

experience for him. According to Nikole Hannah-Jones, a journalist for the ProPublica, 'as

Black, calling the police posed considerable risks as they treat witnesses like suspects.' In other

words, the fear of walking alone alongside a Black person on the street cannot be compared to

how they must be extra prepared to handle a situation where there are police involved because

their appearance will always talk louder than their voice.

Another reason Black Americans are prohibited from living happy lives is that the police

are insensitive toward them. It is rare to find a testimony of a Black person that has had a good

experience with the police. In fact, Silvia Foster-Frau et al., journalists for The Washington Post,

state that since the murder of George Floyd by a white officer, 'has been little or no improvement

in how police treat Black people […] and that they do not feel safe from attacks by the police or

other Americans.' That is to say that even after the movement Black Lives Matter has run around

the world to demand respect and safety for this community, there is still so much fear. For

example, many people felt targeted by their skin color during the coronavirus pandemic. While

the entire world was worried about following the safety rules and wearing masks, Black people

were nervous about becoming a threat by simply trying to survive the virus (qnt. in Taylor).

Although more voices are speaking u for this community, it is difficult to fight against an office
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that is meant to protect all equality. The police should be the example of impartiality and

secureness, not threat according to race.

One more reason Black Americans must face daily is the fear of the future. In a recent

article, Kiana Cox and Khadijah Edwards discuss how Black people face the future towards

them. According to the author, 'roughly half of the Black adults say policing (49%), the courts

and judicial process (48%), and the prison system (54%) need to be completely rebuilt for Black

people to be treated fairly.' Without such a change, the interviewees see no effective change for

Black people in the United States. Indeed, even though the vision for social change is clear to

them, they have very few expectations to see them implemented (Cox and Edwards). In other

words, the expectations of a great, lively, and happy life are shallow in such a community, for

fear is relentless in their lives. Therefore, it may be necessary for the police to rethink actions

and work for all regardless of beliefs or stereotypes.

In conclusion, the police must find a way to repair years of reasonless harassment

towards the Black community. These people have the right to enjoy life and feel as protected by

the law as every other American citizen. In fact, Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, in the 'TedTalks: How

we can make racism a solvable problem and improving policing' speaks of how he has worked

uninterrupted to find a way to make racism a solvable problem; the solution starts by retraining

the police, analyzing available data, and identifying the gap that shows unnecessary violent

actions towards Black people. Improving skills and monitoring how the police have been

enforcing the law towards the Black community is possible. Still, it takes hard work and

especially a strong desire to offer these communities a better life, just as the Pastor from Buffalo

dreams of.
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Works Cited

Clarke, Deonte. “Stereotypes That Dominate the Black Community: A collection of modern

experiences.” TedTalks.Com, Jan. 2018. Web. 02 Oct. 2022.

Cox, Kiana., and Edwards, Khadijah. “Black Americans Have a Clear Vision for Reducing

Racism but Little hope It Will Happen.” Pewresearch.Com, Aug. 2022. Web. 02 Oct.

2022.

Foster-Frau, Silvia et al. “Poll: Black Americans fear more racist attacks after Buffalo shooting”.

Washingtonpost.Com, May. 2022. Web. 30 Set. 2022.

Goff, Phillip Atiba. “How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem, and Improve Policing.”

TedTalks.Com, Jan. 2019. Web. 02 Oct. 2022.

Hannah-Jones, Nikole. ‘Yes, Black America Fears the Police. Here’s Why”. Propublica.Org,

Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Oct. 2022.

Lee, Jocelyn R. Smith., and Robinson, Michael A. “That’s My Number One Fear in Life. It’s the

Police”: Examining Young Black Men’s Exposures to Trauma and Loss Resulting from

Police Violence ad Police Killings.” Journal of Black Psychology, vol. 45, no. 3, Apr.

2019, pp. 143-184. Web. 30 Set. 2022.

Taylor, Derrick Bryson. “For Black Men, fear That Masks Will Invite Racial Profiling.”

Washingtonpost.Com, May. 2020. Web. 30 Set. 2022.