How To De-Weaponize Racism

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona @theeastlondonphotographer

Racism is an oppressive weapon. Not many people think of it this way, but it is and has always been used as a weapon by the US government, the police, and even white women at the park. Anti-Black racism has been used to justify the enslavement of west Africans, the destruction of prosperous free Black communities and the lynchings of Black men, women and children. Then and now, racism has been used the way it was intended, as a weapon. A weapon that I believe should be considered a form of terrorism. Let’s be honest, it meets the qualifications:

“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. ”

Not convinced yet?

In 2020, this year, if you have lost track of time, three white men lynched a Black man — a runner, a member of this outdoor community, simply because they had predisposed notions that Black bodies in predominantly white spaces must have criminal intent. If you don’t think that murder was politically aimed, take a moment to understand that racism has always been politically aimed.

Photo by, Maria Oswalt @mcoswalt

Racism has always been about labeling Black bodies as criminal in order to justify over policing and segregation and depriving Black people of basic civil rights. Ever heard of redlining? Jim Crow Laws? What about gerrymandering? Or voter suppression? And the prison industrial complex which literally feeds off of colored bodies. Before you dismiss what you do not know, take a moment to look these terms up. Don’t ask a Black friend. Use Google.

Keep in mind that the recent videos circulating the Internet depicting the lynchings of Black people by police and self deputized white citizens don’t indicate that racism is getting worse. To borrow the words of Will Smith, racism is just getting televised. Keep that in mind when you initiate conversations with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Sometimes our naïveté is just another painful reminder that people only care when these murderers are recorded. What about the murders that weren’t?

Systemic racism means the systematic silencing of BIPOC voices. When you start hearing and most recently, seeing, Black bodies being killed on video, and still Black people have to fight like hell to gain any semblance of justice, you start to realize that there’s something bigger at play than just a few bad apples. Honestly, at this point, fuck the whole orchard.

 Although I am not here to fill you in on facts that you can effortlessly find online, I want you to imagine something with me for a minute. Hopefully by now you have heard of Christian Cooper. He is a Black man living in NYC and an avid birder, who was birdwatching in Central Park when he spotted a white woman walking with her dog off leash. He reminded her that dogs are required to be leashed in that area of the park.

Now, the way our racist society is structured means that Christian was taking a big risk by reminding a white woman of the park regulations. This is something that many Black people avoid since their safety in predominantly white spaces is already not guaranteed. And U.S. society values the lives of white women over the lives of Black men.

Central Park Karen did not disappoint. She was caught on camera falsifying a 911 call and claiming that she was being threatened by an African American man. This incident unfortunately has deep roots in U.S. history and the lynching deaths of black men and boys who were brutally murdered after false claims by white women and girls. It’s history this country would rather bury than deal with.

Now we know how the present day story unfolds and luckily Christian ended up safe, but I want you to imagine this. Imagine if we had never heard of this story. Imagine it never existed, never happened. One thing I could guarantee is that this white woman would have posted a BLACK SQUARE on her Instagram. Remember racism is brought upon by fear and hate.

Although we constantly think of it in the form of hate, sometimes we see it in the form of fear. A fear embodied typically by white women — the most protected demographic in the United States —white women who have come to be known by the shorthand, Karen.

Photo by, Mattia Faloretti @mattiafalo

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What To Do If You Encounter A Karen

Has someone ever threatened to call the police on you for simply existing? For breathing. For having the wrong skin color. I am not talking about you breaking the law, I am talking about you simply EXISTING! Maybe you were out running, or at a park with your family, or at the trailhead trying to get into your vehicle.

If it hasn’t happened yet, the likelihood of it happening is very high if you are Black, non-white Latinx or Afro Latinx. As someone who teaches Criminal Justice, I want to provide you with some empowering methods that can be used if you ever encounter a Karen, or worse the police.

1.     Plan: Plan ahead. If you identify as Black, non-white Latinx or Afro Latinx, chances are you’ve already had “the talk.” Planning is important. It helps one be proactive and prepared. It can help guide when to engage and when to walk away. Questions that can serve the plan include; Are you willing to walk away? Are you comfortable engaging in hostile dialogue with someone who doesn’t see you as fully human? Is your phone charged? Do you assess that bystanders will be willing to help?

What are your limitations, emotionally and physically? What are your strengths and how can they help you in this situation? Are you going to a protest? Can you take white friends with you? Evidence shows that white people are treated better by police. Be proactive and know what your plan is.

2.     Rehearse: Before any of this happens, rehearse. Know what you are going to say and how the words you say are going to protect you — hopefully. Practice with a friend or family member. How will you respond if someone tells you “this is America, so SPEAK ENGLISH.” How will you react if someone questions your right to be on the trail or assaults you and your white partner? Go over multiple scenarios and be confident in what you are saying. Remember everything can and will be used against you. Your survival is the goal.

3.     Stay Calm: It sucks. I know. I grew up in a fairly violent community where physical fighting solved a lot of problems. No police intervention, no mediation, just an old-fashioned brawl. Punching Karen in the face would be incredibly satisfying. However, it is important for you to stay calm in the moment. Try to be conscious of your breathing. Take a moment to back off (if you can) and count your breaths. They probably feel fast and shallow right now. Maybe your vision has narrowed, your hands are trembling and your heart rate is through the roof.

Set a number in your mind that is relevant to you. I always choose 4, because that is the number of people in my family. I start by counting myself, then my wife, then I move on to my two children—Thinking of them and how important they are to me after each breath. I think about how I want to see them again.

4.     Video or Voice Record: It is a privilege to have a phone, and it is an even bigger privilege to never have to pull it out to protect yourself. Have a video or audio recording application ready to go. Rehearse pressing record on your phone quickly or surreptitiously. Our phones allow for something known as Quick Keys. Have your friends do the same. These can be helpful when you need to pull your phone out as you are being verbally attacked or physically assaulted by police.

Be sure to always have your phone charged. Also, be ready for video or audio recordings to not be validated because justice is elusive if you have black or brown skin. When in doubt, go LIVE on social media. If you are arrested, the police could destroy your phone and there goes the evidence. Remember the orchard I mentioned, yeah, this shit is real.

5.     Survival Is Key: Your life is important. You matter. Black Lives Matter. Regardless of what you planned, rehearsed, amount of breaths you took, and whether or not you are recording, it is important to know that your life matters. Regardless of how you are treated by police or white Americans. Even if you don’t survive.

Survival is the goal, but our best hope for survival is not living in a racist society. Since that’s not currently an option, try to use your best judgment. Depending on the scenario, survival might look like not resisting arrest and having a friend/bystanders record how you are treated by police. In a different scenario, it might look like yelling for help or telling Karen to f—k off and standing up for yourself. Be ready for this as well. No one wants to become the next hashtag while bystanders record your demise and later mourn your death on social media. A lot of this is out of our hands, but do what you can to survive.

6. Decompress: If you end up getting away from this situation safely, think about how you plan to decompress from the trauma. What you just experienced was traumatic. Set time for yourself to grieve and settle in with your emotions for as long as you need. Talk to someone, whether it is a counselor, friend, or loved one.

7. Amplify Your Story: The last step is telling your story, or, if you are white, amplifying the stories of Black and Brown victims of racism and police brutality. The hard reality is that sometimes BIPOC don’t survive racist encounters — especially once police are involved. If you do, consider telling your story. I don’t mean, hug it out with racist Karen, as Black and Latinx victims of racism are often pressured to do. I mean sharing your story publicly for the entire world to see and hear.

If there is one thing we have learned within the last few weeks it’s that rapid social change is possible. Of course, would any of the recent social changes we’ve witnessed have been possible if George Floyd wasn’t murdered slowly by police while being recorded by multiple bystanders? That’s a hard question. Eight minutes and forty-six seconds is a long time, America.

Photo by, frankie cordoba @byfoul

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what if you encounter the police.

It is also important that you know your rights. As the NAACP laid out:

“You have the right to remain silent. If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud. In some states, you have to say your name.

You have the right to refuse to a search of yourself, your car, or your home.

If you are not under arrest, you have a right to calmly leave. Make sure to ask to leave before doing so.

If you are arrested, you have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one immediately.”

Photo by, Spenser @spensewithans

Of course, this is all easier said than done. The key to de-weaponizing racism isn’t to add more black and brown cops to the police force. To borrow the words of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I fear I am integrating my people into a burning house.”  Integration into a toxic environment that enables both white supremacy and racist policing is a measure that is doomed to fail.

One example is of Alex Keung, a rookie police officer and African American who was one of three Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting the second degree murder of George Floyd. During the more than eight minutes it took for Floyd to die, Keung did not speak up or take actions to save Floyd’s life. Instead, he held Floyd’s back down while the former struggled to breathe. And yet, Keung claimed to have joined the Minneapolis PD with the goal of preventing police brutality. So what went wrong?

What went wrong is you can’t simply add more black and brown cops to a racist system. The entire system enables police brutality; the entire system is designed to degrade and dehumanize Black and Brown people, therefore, the entire system has to go. It’s that simple.

Although the methods I mentioned above may be helpful in some situations for some people, understand that liberation from institutionalized and cultural racism is the goal. The Central Park “Karens” exist because the police and criminal justice system are designed to protect the feelings of white women over Black lives. Just Google Emmett Till. They would not exist if there wasn’t a system to back them up. The racial trauma that is felt by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color is brought on by a long history of oppression, colonialism, white supremacy, and racial violence that continues to this day.

I am here to tell you that the narrative of white oppressors over policing us and inflicting violence on Black and Brown communities is not a thing of the past. Please protect yourselves in all spaces, and may we continue to de-weaponize white terrorism and white degradation of Black and Brown lives.

Cover photo by, Clay Banks @claybanks