An earlier version of this column stated that the
Rochester Police Department had not responded to our request for information on
its military-style equipment and the policies for its use. The RPD has now provided
a list of equipment and a list of events in which its military vehicle might be
used, and this column has been updated to reflect that. More information on how
the equipment can be used is available here
As if we needed one, the news out of Ferguson, Missouri, is
yet another reminder of the divide between black and white Americans, one that
is having serious consequences.
Ferguson deserves the focus it’s getting, not only because
the killing of Michael Brown was such a tragedy but also because the early
police reaction to the protests was such an outrage.
And despite the violence that has erupted during the
protests, there’ve been two positive developments: widespread criticism of
Ferguson police officers’ response and media coverage of the police use of
military equipment.
The news about Ferguson will die down eventually, though.
And another big story will grab our attention.
And that’ll be yet another tragedy. Because
the Ferguson developments have roots. Those roots exist throughout the
country. They exist in Rochester. They existed in Rochester in 1964, and
they’re every bit as alive now.
All last month – with speeches, articles, radio and
television programs, exhibits – Rochester observed the 50th anniversary of the
’64 riots. But you have to wonder: During all of that solemn introspection, did
we learn anything? Anything that will result in significant
change?
There was plenty to learn. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if
the only role the anniversary played was to refresh the memories of people who
already knew about the riots and to provide a local-history lesson for those
who didn’t.
In Ferguson, black community leaders have tried to insure
that the protests are peaceful, but there’s been violence anyway, as there was
in the Rochester riots. And Ferguson is giving communities like Rochester a
warning.
This community won’t come to grips with its own racial and
economic divide – and the warning from Ferguson – overnight. But at the least,
we can begin to recognize that the roots of the protesters’ explosion are the
same as the roots of Rochester’s 1964 riots.
And there are some things we should do right now.
First, we can become informed about the militarization of
our own police departments – what equipment they have, the policies for its
use, and the circumstances under which it can be used.
The Rochester Police Department has one MRAP vehicle – a
mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicle – which it acquired in June of
this year, the RPD says. And it has the SWAT equipment that you would expect a
police department to have: night goggles, masks and clothing to protect
officers from chemical and biological hazard, that kind of thing.
There are indeed occasions when police officers might need
to have that equipment. But the public has a right to know what the equipment
is – and the policies and justification for using it.
The RPD says the MRAP vehicle would be used in situations
involving armed, barricaded suspects; negotiation with armed suspects; chemical
or biological attacks; natural emergencies; and similar events. It could also
be used during natural disasters because of its size, weight, and four-wheel
drive features.
The key, then, is for police departments to have policies,
training, and oversight that insures that the
equipment is used under the right circumstances, and not during events such as
peaceful protests.
Second, we need to thoroughly assess the criminal justice
system: drug policies, stop-and-frisk policies, loitering policies, all the
things that humiliate, dehumanize, and criminalize so many young black youths.
And third, we need to get serious, at last, about addressing
the roots of the problem that are at the heart of all this – in Ferguson, in
Rochester, throughout the country.
“Make no mistake,” Tufts University Professor Peniel E. Joseph wrote on The Root earlier this week. “Brown’s
killing is not the root cause of Ferguson’s violence. It’s merely the spark
that triggered it. Poverty, segregation, unemployment, and a climate of
anti-black racism haunt tiny Ferguson and the wider St. Louis metropolitan
area. Riots, Dr. King reminded us, are ‘the language of the unheard’ and
oppressed.”
The 1964 riots shocked Rochester. Leaders of the white
community hadn’t seen them coming, couldn’t understand why they had happened,
and didn’t see that they bore any responsibility, for the cause or for the
solution.
Fifty years later, some things have gotten better. But the
poverty, segregation, unemployment, and racism remain. In fact, they have
grown.
In a recent New York Times column, Charles Blow quoted
Langston Hughes: “What happens to a dream deferred?”
“Today,” wrote Blow, “I must ask: What happens when one
desists from dreaming, when the very exercise feels futile?”
Rochester, like Ferguson, has plenty of alienated people for
whom dreaming seems futile. But too many of us, like the Rochesterians of 1964, don’t see them.
And Ferguson seems far away.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2014.
Well, rioting and looting aren’t going to give anyone a good feeling toward you or erase and negative stereotypes. You can’t force someone to like you. If you want to be liked, be likable, if you want to be accepted, act acceptably.
The behavior of the people in Ferguson is shameful. Even more shameful is the attitude of those like the author who seem to feel that this is a problem of white racism. It is not. The problems in the black community will only be solved once we realize that race hucksters sowing an attitude of injustice hides the real problems.
@sanity the looting and rioting is the only voice that a people who have felt. de-valued for too long, have. The media is focused on the riots, while the loss of life of a human being gets headlined on page 2. Any one with any sense of decency can’t condone the riots. The bigger issue is that pot that was placed on that back burner now angrily boiling over. Racism. Generation Y and Z don’t want to march and demonstrate – in order for white society to value them. We did that 60 years ago! It did not work. Read: it didn’t work. A true, authentic conversation must be had because the younger generation who face an anemic economy, education being taken over by greedy corporate interest, a horrifically unjust justice system are desperately taking matters in their own tired hands.
@sanity–clearly, acting acceptably hasn’t fixed anything. Keeping quiet is why the police force in Ferguson feel it’s acceptable to shoot to kill for jaywalking. In this country, no one hears you unless you scream.
Grand Jury today on the shooting. Maybe some day REAL answers about what happened will be available. It’s a shame that all of the early information about this was from Youtube and twitter, as most of it was incorrect. Mr. brown was not shot in the back, the cop did not stand over him to finish him off, etc. If this nonsense had been addressed PROMPTLY most of the problems could have been avoided.
I think an even bigger problem is the White , Black , Asian and Hispanic Politicians have all forgotten about the American People. What has the Black Cacuss actually done for the Black community? Just like the White, Asian and Hispanics Politions, NOTHING. The money they raise to help the American People ends up in there Pockets While the whole time they claim they are helping us. Government is to big to corrupt. What the Minority Populations dont see, understand and feel is that The money Hungry Politicians and Capitalists are doing, is merely creating a society of control that they use against all of us to benefit themselves and there buddies. The rich elites have done this since the begining of time. This is ultimitley the cause of every Violent outbursts in all of the societies on this Planet. ITS CALLED SLAVERY. As a White man educated and with a skilled trade my wife a nurse with a bachelors degree we are doing no better than when I was 16. I’m personaly devistated by the gross loss of income since the Manufacturing industry began its collapse in 2006. In my opinion the powers to be have been devaluing the people who make them rich for ever. What the public needs to do is wake up from there Ipads, video games and smart phones and realize we are being brain washed and are all victims to the rich elite. Remember the Revolutionary War and what that was about, the Civil War. Guess we havent learned from our Histories Yet. All races that fall uder the 1% are victim to this. We all need to banned together and take back our rights, freedoms and quality of life. This is not a race thing!!! Its a Power struggle as to whom the King is.
Once again, a case is being tried in the media without any facts. This only adds fuel to the fire, and causes more problems. Alleged “witnesses” who claimed they could see flames coming out the barrel of the gun (only in the movies), that Brown was shot in the back (disproved by family’s autopsy) that the cop stood over Brown and finished him off (also disproved by autopsy). Mr. Brown’s companion claimed the cop car door struck them and bounced back into the cop who became so enraged he started dragging a 6’4″ 290 lb. man into the police car through the window. Sounds contrived. Showing the convenience store video was “character assassination” but really shows why Mr. Brown might have reacted badly to the cops. The media and the rumor mill are creating a story and this conflict
We’ve seen enough on YouTube to conclude that police harassment targeting blacks is real. I’m sick of racking my brains in defense of incompetent and unfit law enforcement.
I’m not bothered by the rioting and looting. Don’t criticize the media. Turn off CNN if it’s not your thing. They’ll get the message soon enough.
“And third, we need to get serious, at last, about addressing the roots of the problem that are at the heart of all this – in Ferguson, in Rochester, throughout the country.”
I agree, but we have a black president, a black attorney general and people like Al Sharpton fanning the flames.
Meanwhile, Blacks, sometimes even black children are being slaughtered by other blacks almost daily all over this country. You would think that City News and other “news” papers would care and want to address this issue.