A trend has been popping up lately in the United States. I should rather say that this trend is resurfacing, or becoming popular again, because it is not new, it has only just become rampant all over again. You may attribute this resurgence to whatever you may. I have my own suspicions but wouldn’t say it…..for now.
Anyway, this trend is what I call “living in America while black.” The trend has no definition, rather it has manifestations and some of these manifestations will be discussed in this piece. The most recent, popular and fatal manifestation of the trend was the case in Florida, where a young black kid named Trayvon Martin was followed, harassed, shot and killed by a white Hispanic man named George Zimmerman for walking in a certain neighborhood while black. There isn’t much I can say about this case as it is still pending in court but you get the idea.
There are hundreds of manifestations of this trend happening almost on a weekly basis all around America. While some of them end in fatalities, many end in assaults while a majority just end in violated civil rights and harassment. But, the most disturbing aspect of this trend, the thing that got me writing this piece is the fact that it is slowly but steadily creeping into the laws of the land. This can be seen from the stop and frisk laws that are being enacted by many cities all around the country which gives law enforcement agents the legal right to practice the trend. Every statistic points to the fact that black men are the overwhelming majority of victims of this so called “stop and frisk” exercise which, from every indication, just harasses and dehumanizes them simply for being out and about while being black.
A recent example of this legal manifestation of living in America while black trend is an incident that took place in Pittsburgh. This latest incident involves a young black high school honor student who was beaten to within a breath of his life by three undercover Pittsburgh Police Officers. This student named Jordan Miles is an 18-year old violinist and honor student at Pittsburgh’s prestigious Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) high school. Mr. Miles was reportedly on his way to his grandma’s house when he was attacked for “being on his way to his grandma’s house while being black.
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In the words of the three Police Officers – Richard Ewing, David Sisak and Michael Saldutte – who attacked him, they saw Miles at 11 pm on January 11 near a house on Tioga street. They said they saw a heavy object in his coat and ordered him to stop while identifying themselves as Police Officers. According to the Police Criminal Complaint, “Mr Miles ran and the officers shot him with a Taser and struck him several times during the struggle.” The complaint says with “Miles having assaulted two Police Officers, believing that he was armed, unable to handcuff him, and Miles not following any commands, [Officers Saldutte and Ewing] began to deliver knee strikes to both sides of Miles’ body in an attempt to get his hands behind his back. At this point, Officer Sisak delivered 2 – 3 closed fist strikes to Miles’ head/face with still no effect”
“The Complaint said the heavy object in Miles coat turned out to be a bottle of Mountain Dew.”
Of course, Mr. Miles’ account of the events contrasts that of the officers. Asked why he resisted, Miles said that the men never identified themselves as Police and he believed they were trying to abduct him. So he ran and was promptly tasered. Then, after he fell to the ground, he resisted and was kneed in the ribs and struck with multiple closed fist punchers to his head and face. Miles’ family attorney also added that a chunk of his hair was yanked out (see photo) and a tree branch pierced his gums. According to news reports, Miles has no prior criminal record. I don’t know if having a prior criminal record makes this unprovoked assault right.
Anyway, I don’t know which of the two accounts you want to believe, but I strongly doubt that young Mr. Miles was willing to take all the beating he got in this incident just to protect a bottle of Mountain Dew.
