The violence of the last week has reignited national conversations on police brutality against communities of color, police training, and gun control.
Here is a look into some of the most important voices and perspectives that Americans have been grappling with over the past week.
Black Lens, White Lens
Numerous writers have sought to carefully parse the racial dynamics of both the shootings and the public response.
In a commentary in the New York Times, Michael Eric Dyson, a sociology professor at Georgetown University, argues that the attacks in Dallas “hijacked” a nonviolent protest, and with it “the debate about the legitimate grievances that black Americans face.” He addresses the narrative of black “thugs” that is often used to justify police killings and calls on white Americans to be “honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed or discounted.”
Numerous articles have been circulating calling for white Americans to educate themselves about police brutality against communities of color and to take part in fighting racism.
The Washington Post responded critically to some of the most common claims that blacks and whites face the same level of police violence, that blacks face more police violence because there is more black-on-black crime, and that black parents simply need to teach their kids to better respect the police.
#AllLivesMatter v. #BlackLivesMatter
Each time a new incident reignites calls that “Black Lives Matter,” there is a defiant response from predominantly white communities that “All Lives Matter.” The debate erupted again this week, with news outlets like Fusion and Huffington Post explaining why “All Lives Matter” denies the specific discrimination that black Americans experience.
For the #AllLivesMatter folks out there. pic.twitter.com/b3aRysBl5o
Racism and the NRA
The last week has led to internal tensions and a rare debate on racism within the National Rifle Association, as well. According to the Washington Post, “members argue that the group did not do enough to defend gun owners’ rights by speaking out on behalf of Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, Minn., who was shot to death during a traffic stop” after telling officers that he had an open-carry license.
ICYMI. My latest: #SecondAmendmentSoWhite https://t.co/IlIiLjkSYO
Police Reform: Dallas is “one of the premier community policing cities in the country”
Ironically, the Dallas police department was considered a national leader in promoting diversity in its department and training officers in de-escalation techniques. Led by Police Chief David Brown, a black officer and a native of one of the city’s poorest communities, the department dramatically reduced both the number of officer-involved shootings and community complaints, encouraging transparency and focusing especially on engagement with the local black community. Listen to the NPR report here.
Meanwhile, Campaign Zero, a campaign to end police violence, has generated significant social media attention. The campaign offers a data-rich platform of specific policy proposals and case studies to achieve 10 major police reforms, including limiting the use of force, increasing community representation, improving officer training, ending for-profit policing, and demilitarizing police forces. The campaign is led by four black activists and incorporates recommendations from research organizations and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Obama: “These are not isolated incidents”
President Obama first responded to the shootings of Sterling and Castile from the NATO Summit in Warsaw on July 7th. While acknowledging that we do not yet know all the facts of the shootings, Obama said noted that the shootings of two black men by white police officers, “are not isolated incidents. They’re symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system.” The president went on to list statistics describing the systemic targeting of communities of color throughout the criminal justice system. He ended by calling on all Americans to view this as their issue: “when incidents like this occur, there’s a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if because of the color of their skin they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us. This is not just a black issue. It’s not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we should all care about; all fair minded people should be concerned.”
The next day, the President spoke again in response to the Dallas attack: “Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices that they make for us,” and then alluded, once again, to the debate on gun control. “We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, it unfortunately makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic.”
The President attended a memorial service in Dallas yesterday, in which he honored the lives of the five police officers and tried to pave a path forward.
“Faced with this violence, we wonder if the divides of race in America can ever be bridged… But Dallas, I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem.”
Beyonce: “Channel our anger into action”
Continuing the sharp political critique of systemic discrimination and police brutality that defined Formation, Beyonce wrote an open letter to her fans on her website: “We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities. It is up to take a stand and demand that they stop killing us.”
Providing links to Congressional representatives, the singer urged her fans to take action: “We all have the power to channel our anger and frustration into action. We must use our voices to contact the politicians and legislators in our districts and demand social and judicial changes.” Fans responded en masse, causing the Congressional website to crash.
Other black celebrities have also begun commenting on the violence. Beyonce’s husband, the rapper JayZ, released the piece “Spiritual” which revolves around the chorus:
Spiritual, yes it is spiritual…
I am not poison, no I am not poison
Just a boy from the hood that
Got my hands in the air
In despair don't shoot
I just wanna do good(Listen here)
In LA, the rapper Snoop Dogg led a march to the LAPD headquarters, calling for “ALL GANGS, ALL RACES, ALL GROWN MEN affiliated or not…we will stand UNIFIED.
The candidates
Campaigning came to a brief pause as both candidates cancelled events after the attacks in Dallas.
Hillary Clinton made an impassioned appeal to her supporters to”[listen] to each other” and imagine “imagine what it would be like if people followed us around stores, or locked their car doors when we walked past, or if every time our children went to play in the park, or just to the store to buy iced tea and Skittles, we said a prayer: ‘Please God, don’t let anything happen to my baby.’” She urged supporters not to be “indifferent” and called for criminal justice reform and gun control, as well as greater support for the nation’s police.
Donald Trump’s response to the attacks was stunningly thoughtful. Trump deplored the “horrific execution-style shootings of 12 Dallas law enforcement officers” but also said that, “The senseless, tragic deaths of two people in Louisiana and Minnesota reminds us how much more needs to be done.” In language starkly atypical for the campaign, he noted that
“Our nation has become too divided…[and ] Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn’t the American Dream we all want for our children.”
The activists
As police arrested hundreds of protestors across the country, this photograph of a Black Lives Matter activist being arrested by police in riot gear is becoming a national icon for the movement.