… by white colleagues who mistake them for criminals. That danger was tragically underscored in New York City last month, when Omar Edwards, a young African-American officer who was chasing a suspect, was shot to death by another police officer. The New York Police Department, and police departments across the country, must do everything possible to prevent such tragedies.
The New York New York Police Department says such “friendly fire†killings are rare, and it could not provide accurate statistics on how often they happen. But a provisional list provided by the department of fatalities caused by mistaken identity offers some sense the problem. Of the five officers mistakenly killed by colleagues since the 1970s, three were black and one was Hispanic.
– New York Times Editorial, June 11
Read more here. Regarding the Times’ editorial headline, The Danger of Friendly Fire, what if the friendlies have minds poisoned? Can they really be regarded as friendlies?
For what it’s worth, my words about the shooting of Omar Edwards.
New York Times Headline for June 15 Opinion Article by Brent Staples: Even Now, There’s Risk in ‘Driving While Black’
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Regarding America’s racial landscape, I believe there are risks at all levels of social interactions, thus, I would like to add the following for consideration of could-have-been headlines (or could-have-been sub-headlines) regarding Staple’s article: Walking While Black, Bicycling While Black, Working While Black, and, of course, two that hold significance for me and all my students, Learning While Black and Teaching While Black.
(more…)
Tags:Brent Staples, Driving While Black, Omar Edwards, racism, unconscious racism
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