KING: In the eyes of our justice system, a black life means less than a white statue
SHAUN KING
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, August 17, 2017, 12:31 PM
White Supremacists used bats, flag poles, 2x4s and brass knuckles, along with their fists and feet, to brutalize Deandre Harris.
(ZACH D ROBERTS/ZUMAPRESS.COM)
person of interest" in the brutal attack.
Cops have yet to issue arrest warrants after Harris' savage beating.
(IAN FRANK)
The other is Michael Ramos, who tried to delete a Facebook video in which he's seen bragging about the assault. Ramos — who later claimed in a separate video thathe's not racistbecause he's Puerto Rican — has not been identified by police in connection with the investigation.
That was Saturday. This is Thursday.
Now, let's juxtapose the freedom of the men who attacked Deandre Harris with that of a courageous young sister named Takiya Thompson from Durham, N.C.
Takiyah Thompson was quickly charged with multiple felonies for pulling down a Confederate statue in Durham, N.C.
(JULIA WALL /THE NEWS & OBSERVER )
On Monday, Takiya Thompson wrapped a yellow strap around the neck of a Confederate statue in downtown Durham while people there in the community, primarily white people, helped pull it down, then stomped on it.
On Tuesday, Takiya was charged with multiple felonies then arrested. Do you hear what I'm saying? A black woman played a role in taking down a statue and justice is swift, but a group of white supremacists nearly kills a young black man, and all of a sudden justice slows down to a snail's pace.
I was told Wednesday from a source inside of the Charlottesville Police Department that they'd soon be issuing arrest warrants in the attack on Deandre Harris, but I'll believe it when I see it. It should've already happened. What this delay tells us is that in the eyes of this justice system, a black life means less than a white statue. In essence, even white statues have white privilege, and damaging them brings felony charges that have not been brought against the men who mauled Deandre Harris.
Thompson wrapping a yellow strap around a Confederate statue and helping to take it down somehow brings a quicker police response than when a black man is beaten within an inch of his life by white supremacists.
(STRINGER/REUTERS)
I started off by saying I don't quite have the words for how I'm feeling. By that, I mean to say that I think our nation has crossed into an ugly new era. White supremacy and bigotry have been present here since the formal founding of this nation, but to have a President of the United States endorse and defend them the way Trump has done has emboldened these bigots in a way that bigoted police commissioner Bull Connor did in Birmingham generations ago in the era of the Freedom Riders.
Trump is our Bull Connor. The question that I want to ask is, if Trump is Bull Connor, and our nation is facing a crisis of bigotry, who are you? What will you do? What will you demand? How will you stand up? Because the time demands it.
SHAUN KING
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, August 17, 2017, 12:31 PM
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White Supremacists used bats, flag poles, 2x4s and brass knuckles, along with their fists and feet, to brutalize Deandre Harris.
(ZACH D ROBERTS/ZUMAPRESS.COM)
person of interest" in the brutal attack.
Cops have yet to issue arrest warrants after Harris' savage beating.
(IAN FRANK)
The other is Michael Ramos, who tried to delete a Facebook video in which he's seen bragging about the assault. Ramos — who later claimed in a separate video thathe's not racistbecause he's Puerto Rican — has not been identified by police in connection with the investigation.
That was Saturday. This is Thursday.
Now, let's juxtapose the freedom of the men who attacked Deandre Harris with that of a courageous young sister named Takiya Thompson from Durham, N.C.
Takiyah Thompson was quickly charged with multiple felonies for pulling down a Confederate statue in Durham, N.C.
(JULIA WALL /THE NEWS & OBSERVER )
On Monday, Takiya Thompson wrapped a yellow strap around the neck of a Confederate statue in downtown Durham while people there in the community, primarily white people, helped pull it down, then stomped on it.
On Tuesday, Takiya was charged with multiple felonies then arrested. Do you hear what I'm saying? A black woman played a role in taking down a statue and justice is swift, but a group of white supremacists nearly kills a young black man, and all of a sudden justice slows down to a snail's pace.
I was told Wednesday from a source inside of the Charlottesville Police Department that they'd soon be issuing arrest warrants in the attack on Deandre Harris, but I'll believe it when I see it. It should've already happened. What this delay tells us is that in the eyes of this justice system, a black life means less than a white statue. In essence, even white statues have white privilege, and damaging them brings felony charges that have not been brought against the men who mauled Deandre Harris.
Thompson wrapping a yellow strap around a Confederate statue and helping to take it down somehow brings a quicker police response than when a black man is beaten within an inch of his life by white supremacists.
(STRINGER/REUTERS)
I started off by saying I don't quite have the words for how I'm feeling. By that, I mean to say that I think our nation has crossed into an ugly new era. White supremacy and bigotry have been present here since the formal founding of this nation, but to have a President of the United States endorse and defend them the way Trump has done has emboldened these bigots in a way that bigoted police commissioner Bull Connor did in Birmingham generations ago in the era of the Freedom Riders.
Trump is our Bull Connor. The question that I want to ask is, if Trump is Bull Connor, and our nation is facing a crisis of bigotry, who are you? What will you do? What will you demand? How will you stand up? Because the time demands it.