Guest commentary by Carlton Johnson
On Wednesday, August 3, two stories consumed my social media timelines. Two stories that would sink me into a weeklong abyss of despair and unrest.
- On August 1, Korryn Gaines, a 23-year-old mother, was killed by police during the service of a warrant for traffic violations. Gaines’ 5-year-old son was also shot during the incident.
- Earlier, on March 31, Earledreka White, a 28-year-old woman was jailed following a traffic stop; the arresting officer escalated the event, then arrested her for “resisting arrest.”
- Both women were African-American.
I was catapulted backwards to July 2015 when 28-year-old Sandra Bland suffered the same ordeal as White. Three days later, Bland was found hanged in her jail cell.
How did traffic violations escalate so far out of control for these young women? When did it become normal to “manhandle” a woman? Why was Gaines killed so quickly?
At the historical intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Cascade Road in west Atlanta, a shrine has been erected for the many African-American women who have lost their lives to police violence. At the unveiling ceremony, womanist scholar and pastor Melva Sampson began the libation prayer ritual by saying, “We are now in red hot critical times. It is time for those willing to fight for the humanity of black women to stand up. It is important for our women who believe to come forth, but it is equally important for black men to stand up and be counted.”
Since 2011, we have been overwhelmed by videotaped accounts of African-Americans being abused and killed by police. Most often, the victims are unarmed and non-threatening. Though we make up less than 13 percent of the population, 25 percent of the 653 Americans killed by police thus far in 2016 were African-American. Nine of those killed were African-American women; only 1 was armed.
Yet, “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams noted in his BET Humanitarian Award acceptance speech, “Looking at the data, we know that police somehow manage to deescalate, disarm and not kill white people everyday.”
Disarming or disabling Korryn Gaines seems not to have been an option – only “shoot to kill.” Yet on July 7, Bruce Ray, a 62-year-old white male taunted and shot at the police as they responded a call reporting violent behavior call. Ray was taken into custody, alive. Larry Wooster, a 72-year-old white male, was allowed a 67-hour standoff on July 28. Wooster was arrested, alive. Only one death resulted from the incident of the heavily armed militia of 40 who occupied an Oregon government building in January. That standoff lasted 41 days.
Korryn Gaines was killed in less than 6 hours.
Cliven Bundy, who led the Oregon standoff, was identified as a “sovereign citizen”; so was Gaines. Many television and social media reflections on this young woman were as violent as the police who killed her. However, one writer asked, “Why did sovereign law make Cliven Bundy a ‘patriot’ and Korryn Gaines ‘crazy’?”
With the death of Korryn Gaines, the number of African-American females murdered by police topped the number killed at this time in 2015. Coupled with other incidents of extreme police rage, we have a problem. At a McKinney, Texas, pool party, a 200-pound officer threw a tiny African-American girl to the ground and kneeled on her back. An even larger Spring Valley, South Carolina, officer grabbed an African-American high school student from her chair, knocked her to the floor and dragged her across the classroom. The violence against African-American women and girls is rapidly escalating. It is slowly fading as the exception and becoming the norm. Unacceptably so.
At least it is unacceptable for me and those of my family, church and community. As I gathered with my extended family on a recent summer weekend, I was overwhelmed by the thought that, on any given evening, I could get a call that one of the women sitting and laughing with me was pulled over, thrown down, choked, beaten or even killed by a police officer for something as minor as a traffic violation.
I was moved from anger to sadness. Grief. I realized that something I once held sacred is gone. If one of our daughters, sisters, or mothers is in trouble, calling the police may not be their best option. The entity once trusted to protect them just might kill them.
Earledreka White was so frightened of the officer that stopped her, that she called the police on the police! While still on the phone with dispatchers, her fears were confirmed. Instantaneously and unprovoked, the officer grabbed White in violent, arm-twisting ordeal.
Growing up I was taught that under no circumstances was it okay to hurt a girl. Even without the benefit of literature and research on the elevated regard of women in African cultures, the elders in our community were clear about the punishment due to anyone for hurting a girl. Young ladies were likewise taught not to expect violence from us. They were our sisters. They were to be honored, respected and protected.
I still believe that our sisters deserve to be honored, respected and protected. It is not sexist to care for a woman. Black women’s quest for long overdue equality does not change the fact that they are our sisters. As police violence against black women increases, it is urgent that we make their due protection as clear as the elders of my childhood community made it to me. Even deeper than recognition that Black Lives Matter is the recognition that Black Women’s Lives are precious and magnificent. They too are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Why was Earledreka White arrested? Sandra Bland should be living out her dreams. Korryn Gaines did not deserve to die.
The real question is, “What are we willing to do to stem the tide of violence raging against them?” As Melva Sampson offered in her passionate response to the death of Korryn Gaines, “We must ask ourselves if we are willing to die for this? Are we willing to sacrifice to the level of discomfort?”
For those who say we believe in the Belhar Confession, we must ask ourselves: Do we truly believe, that, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence?
Earledreka White, justice will be yours. Korryn Gaines and Sandra Bland, rest in power. For me and those who say they believe, in the words of Ella Baker, “We who believe in justice cannot rest.”
CARLTON JOHNSON is the operations officer for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He also serves as president of the Atlanta chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
