Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Forty-Eight Hours: So Much Death

July 8, 2016

By Nora Smolonsky

I am scared to look at social media. I am afraid of reading the news. I want to close my eyes and shut out the world. But closing my eyes will not bring back the lives that were taken. Closing my eyes will not make the killing stop. I have to keep my eyes wide open, I have to see, because if I do not, then I am a part of the problem; it is everyone's responsibility to fight injustice, racism and white supremacy.

According to The Guardian's interactive map of police killings in the U.S., the police have already killed at least 136 Black people in 2016, and have documented killing 258 Black people in 2015. This week alone, three Black men were killed by the police.

Alton Sterling was a Black man and father who was murdered by the police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while selling CDs outside a convenience store. He was in possession of a gun, which the police had no prior knowledge of when they arrived on the scene, according to David Graham's article in The Atlantic. I cannot help but notice the NRA's silence on the fact that Sterling, like everyone in America, had the right to bear arms.

Philando Castile was a Black man who was murdered in his car in front of his fiancée and her daughter by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. He was pulled over for a broken taillight. According to Graham, Castile was also carrying a gun he was licensed to carry, which he informed the officer about before he reached for his driver's license and registration. Again, the NRA has not spoken up to defend his right to bear arms.

Delrawn Dempsey was a Black man and father living in Brooklyn, New York, where he was unarmed when he was killed by a police officer who was driving a vehicle which was unidentifiable as a cop car, according to Al Baker of The New York Times.

The murdering of Black men by police is a national epidemic. But we must not remain ignorant of the simultaneous killings of Black women by police whose deaths are reaping less media coverage. Gynnya McMillen was one of these women. Amanda Beam of the Courier-Journal states that in January, 16-year-old McMillen was held in police custody for less than 24 hours and never came out. Her death is reported to have been caused by a prior medical condition, but this fact is under speculation. Say her name.

There is so much more to the lives these individuals led than their deaths. But I will only ever know them in the context of murder, racism and police brutality. Whenever I hear these names my heart will ache and my soul will fill with frustration and anger. I cannot begin to imagine the experiences of those who had the fortune of actually knowing these people as human beings, and not just as victims of a broken system.

I am a white Jewish woman. This is not about me. But that does not mean that I cannot and will not take action. I will advocate against gun violence, I will speak up against police brutality, I will fight racism by educating myself and those around me, I will walk the streets with my community demanding justice, I will vote, and I will support the people of color in my life in the ways they want to be supported.

I will not be desensitized to the senseless killings of Black and brown people and I will not say "all lives matter." In an interview with the Sally Kohn of The Washington Post, Black Lives Matter organizer Robbie Clark succinctly explains why this phrase is inherently problematic: "What we're saying right now is that all lives will actually matter when Black lives matter — and Black lives don't matter right now. So we need to say Black lives matter to change that." I will not tell my friends who are Black or other people of color to tell me what to do. People of color do not bear the responsibility of explaining their pain and struggle; it is not the job of the individuals experiencing oppression and violence to inform me about their own experience. It is my responsibility to educate myself and, where there is an appropriate space to do so, I will ask, "What do you need?"

I am frustrated, depressed and terrified, but these words are simply not enough. The police have to be held accountable for their disgusting actions and trained with a new system. However, this does not mean that police officers should become victims of violence or have their own lives taken. At a protest in Dallas, Texas, five police officers were killed and seven others injured. The suspected gunman was shot and killed by other officers present, according to CNN. The deaths of these people are no less tragic because of the fact that they were police officers. Being pro-Black does not mean being anti-police. Time again we have seen that guns will not stop guns, we must work together to find a peaceful way to put an end to the violence occurring between the police and civilians, particularly those who are people of color.

There needs to be a shift in the way that we function as a nation. As I said, it is everyone's responsibility to take action against these injustices. Mervyn Marcano, a spokesperson for Ferguson Action told Kohn that white people who want to get involved need to be more than allies, we need to be accomplices in the fight to dismantle oppression within the criminal justice system.

If you are interested in mourning and standing collectively, I have listed some of the events happening in the Boston Area this week below. If you are not in Boston, keep your eyes and ears open to find out how you can get involved in your city. Above all, do what you must do to take care of yourself; activists need to practice self-care to care for their communities.

Events

Nora Smolonksy is an HBI Gilda Slifka Summer intern.