As I gather up the nerves to write this blog, Chicago protesters are marching calmly through the streets tonight in protest of the murder of 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald. Laquan was shot 16 times, as he walked away from the police while they searched the streets for a person who neighbors claimed had broken into cars. As Laquan walked away holding a 3 inch knife in his hand, Officer van Dyke shot him 16 times, even after he was already on the ground. The family has already won a $5 million dollar settlement from the city of Chicago, now they are seeking justice in the form of a first degree murder conviction, at most.
The video of Laquan being shot down has been kept from the public for over a year, and finally they released the video amidst the charges being brought upon the officer for murder. Investigators both federal and state went through the video second by second to try to figure out what happened. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said Van Dyke had been on site less than 30 seconds, and out of his car for six seconds, when he started shooting; no other officer at the scene fired any shots.
Tonight, activists are calling for calm; and we can’t blame them because – this IS Chicago. In a city notorious for violence, people all across social media are giving the city of Chicago a hard time for making what they call, a “big deal” about this particular murder. With one of the highest murder rates in the country, people across the country are very cynical about the murder of Laquan McDonald. But, we would caution the cynics to remember, as police officers, they are placed in their positions to protect and to serve – and uphold the law. Only a trial will determine whether this officer will be punished for the murder of Laquan; or if he will walk among many of his counterparts who have been found not guilty and have the ability to walk away, without punishment.
While one would agree that the issues facing the youth of Chicago are substantial – the number of young black men who die at the hands of other black men are sad reflection of some deep rooted issues within our culture. At the same time, we are left to fight a battle with the very people who have taken a vow to protect and serve. Young black men who are trying to do right have to beware of the killers that look like them AND the killers portraying themselves as officers.
Today, we cannot simply surmise how to control the criminals of the Chicago streets, or streets in any town; criminals who gun down young men over turf, drugs, beef or power. This is a work in progress where communities will have to get involved with their youth to figure out what is continuously causing this behavior. Today however, we must address the modern day lynchings that keep happening within our communities, where white/black officers feel they have been granted the power to take a life of another person, simply because they have on a hood, they didn’t put out a cigarette, they were playing with a toy gun (Tamir was a CHILD), or they are walking away. What the police are doing are modern day lynchings and even in 2015, they are walking away with a slap on the wrist. In the early 1900s, journalist Ida B. Wells stated:
“In fact, for all kinds of offenses – and, for no offenses – from murders to misdemeanors, men and women are put to death without judge or jury; so that, although the political excuse was no longer necessary, the wholesale murder of human beings went on just the same.”
In 2015, everything that Ida B Wells wrote about still rings true today; as clear as a bell. Until police are held accountable for their acts of terror against innocent citizens, the same way any criminal is brought to justice for murdering another citizen – there will be no pause in our fight for justice, there will be no slack in holding lawmakers and police (good and bad cops) accountable, and there can be no rest in the fight for black lives.
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