Standing at the Event Horizon of a Movement: Do We Seize Our Moment of Liberation?

by Tamba-Kuii M. Bailey

George Floyd died on May 25, 2020, at the hands of Derek Chauvin, a White Minneapolis police officer, who kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. George Floyd’s death represents an all-too-common story of Black people being unnecessarily killed during their interactions with law enforcement in the United States (US). While the unconscionable and ubiquitous experiences of police brutality within the Black community are not new occurrences, the reporting of police brutality through the use of live recordings, police body cameras, and social media have given us an all-access pass to view this systemic behavior. In the shadow of George Floyd’s murder, the US and world have witnessed a rise in daily protests and calls to end police brutality, institutional racism, and White supremacy. We have witnessed hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets with demands for justice, the end of police brutality, defunding law enforcement, and the end of racism across the country. These demands for fundamental changes in policing and the end of institutional racism have served as a catalyst of change and have forced many to acknowledge the racism and mistreatment that exist in many institutions across the country.

In juxtaposition to these current reactions, supremacy in the US. the video recording of the Rodney King beating in 1991 and the recording of Eric Garner being choked to death in 2014 were met with different responses. Recall the protests after the non-guilty verdicts of the police who were involved in the Rodney King beating, as well as the delayed actions taken against Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who killed Eric Garner. While many people within the Black community and others fighting against police brutality did engage in protests and civil disobedience, there was no sustained movement. Additionally, many of the institutions, now willing to acknowledge the systematic police brutality and institutionalized racism woven in the fabric of our society, dismissed those earlier behaviors as anomalies, rogue actions, and actions by “bad apples.” Simultaneously, these institutions rejected any calls to investigate the systematic nature of police brutality or racism against Black people. Although many were outraged as they watched these incidents of horror, it seemed these earlier incidents and the ensuing protests failed to light a fuse in the masses. These responses failed to galvanize people in the way that George Floyd’s death has done with so many now.

As we reel in the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, and Rayshard Brook (all killed by police) and watch the sustained protests against police brutality and racism, we must wonder what makes this moment and movement feel so different from the outrage experienced in the past. We must ask ourselves how do we employ anti-racism to address generations of police brutality, institutionalized racism, and White supremacy in the US. To offer some understanding of and explore strategies of anti-racism work directed at dismantling police brutality, systemic racism, and White supremacy, it is imperative that we explore the historical and modern-day experiences of police brutality in the US as an example of historic and modern institutional racism, as well as explore institutionalized racism and understand its consequences and manifestations.

HISTORICAL AND MODERN POLICING

The first organized and state-sponsored policing in the US began in the 1700s, with the formation of “slave patrols.” (1) These patrols, initially sanctioned in the antebellum south, were created to squelch forms of resistance from enslaved Africans such as revolts, insurrections, destruction of planters’ property, and offenses against the White population. (2) Also, these militia units were empowered to track and apprehend those enslaved Africans who had run away. (3) These patrols were empowered to search the quarters of enslaved Blacks, break up any organized meetings among Black people, and regulate the movements of enslaved and/or free Black people. (4)

These armed militia, often poor Whites, were given a wide latitude of discretionary power with regard to the tactics and treatment used against Black people at the time. The patrols were well-known for their cruel and inhumane treatment towards free and enslaved Black people. (5) Post slavery, these patrols were given the duties of enforcing the newly created Black Codes. In those states and cities where these patrols were disbanded, many of the individuals joined federal militia, state militia, and the ku klux klan as a means of continuing to exert control and intimidation towards Black communities. (6) It has been argued that these armed patrols played a significant role in determining what behaviors are classified as crimes and structuring the criminal justice system in America. (7) Ultimately, it has been argued that there was an ease in the transition from these patrols to that of formalized policing in the US. (8)

The modern-day system of policing, rooted in these earlier slavery patrols, has seemed to accept archaic beliefs and behaviors which have led to the false perceptions of Black criminality, the need to control Black Communities (e.g., the over policing of Black and Brown communities, stop and frisk programs), and the idea that deadly force is needed to stop the violent behaviors of Black individuals. Although not all police officers and police forces hold notably overt racist perceptions towards Black people and other people of Color in the US, police are not immune to the systemic racism that exists in our society. So, while many police may verbally disavow racist ideologies and discrimination, at a deeper, an almost unconscious level, they might have negative racial associations and beliefs of Black people and other people of Color that lead to an implicit racial bias. (9) This implicit racial bias can negatively impact police officers’ judgement and treatment of Black individuals, while positively influencing their judgement and behaviors towards White individuals. (10)

In addition to the impact of implicit racial bias on policing behaviors, police officers are given “qualified immunity. ” This legal term means that public officials (including police officers) cannot be sued for actions and behaviors while acting in their professional capacity and performing their job. (11) The idea of qualified immunity for police is that they should be shielded from lawsuits and allowed space to make some mistakes when making split-second decisions and actions in tense situations. (12) Police officers are granted this immunity even if they are found to have violated an individual’s constitutional rights. Based on this understanding of qualified immunity as well as the fact that police can experience implicit racial bias, it is not difficult to understand how police brutality towards the Black communities has gone unchecked for decades.

BLACK CODES AND THE 13TH AMENDMENT

Along with the influence of these patrols on modern day policing, it is important to understand and contextualize the impact of the Black Code laws and 13th amendment on police brutality and the criminalization of Black people. At the end of slavery, a new system of laws was constructed and legalized to maintain essential components of slavery and to punish any Black individuals violating these laws. (13) This new legalized system of oppression, called Black Codes, forced Black people to work under similar conditions experienced during slavery and held in place the continuation of racial oppression. (14)

While the Black Codes regulated a wide range of daily living for Black people, such as property rights, voting rights, rights in court, marriage, travel, and gun ownership, the central element of these laws focused heavily on work and contractual obligations for work. (15) For example, in South Carolina, there was a Black code that stated employers (White individuals) were referred to as “masters” and Black employees were referred to as “servants.” These “masters” were given the right to whip “servants” under the age of 18 years old as a means of discipline when the “masters” perceived the “servant” as being unruly. (16) A law in Louisiana, stated that employees (Black individuals) were given only ten days at the beginning of the year to find a job and sign a one-year labor contract. If a Black person did not have a job at the end of the ten-day period, then that person could be jailed for vagrancy. Once the employees entered into these contracts, they could not quit or stop work until the contract was fulfilled. Otherwise, the employee will face punishment and loss of wages. (17) In Mississippi, there was a law that allowed anyone to apprehend and return, by force, any Black employee who quit the services of his or her employer prior to expiration of a work contract. (18) These types of Black code laws continued the oppression and White supremacy that began during slavery. These laws criminalized Black individuals and legalized harsh punishment for those Black individuals found guilty of breaking the Black Codes. The Black Codes seemed to convey a message that Black men, in particular, needed to be feared, controlled, and punished to protect the White population.

The 13th Amendment of the Constitution, while formally ending the law of slavery in the US, allowed for the continuation of practices and treatment associated with slavery for those convicted of a crime. (19) The 13th Amendment states “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” (20) We see that the 13th Amendment, by providing an exception for the continuation of slavery as a form of punishment, influenced the way in which the southern penal system crafted vile forms of treatment for Black prisoners. (21) Thus, the combination of the Black Codes, the 13th Amendment, and historical policing practices have given way to a complex cycle of systemic racist oppression, which has led to greater incidents of police brutality and higher rates of arrest and incarceration for Black individuals than their White counterparts.

RACISM AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM

To understand the undergirding system driving police brutality, oppression, and the dehumanization of Black people in the US, we must examine racism and institutionalized racism. Racism is a system of power, dominance, subjugation, and privilege created from racial stratification classification. In the system of racism, Black people and other people of Color are viewed as being inferior, deviant, and violent, whereas White people are viewed as superior, normative, and the dominant racial group. (22) This ideology of racism is followed by discriminatory and prejudiced behaviors, where the dominant racial group asserts its power through control and oppression of people of Color. (23) This system of dominance and power is maintained and replicated through cultural, individual, and institutional actions within society across cultural, legal, medical, religious, political, and educational settings. (24)

Cultural racism occurs when the White racial majority asserts that their cultural heritage and their definition of what constitutes culture and art are superior and more valuable than that of people of Color. (25) In addition, cultural racism imposes these beliefs of a superior cultural heritage onto other groups, while ignoring the cultural heritage of people of Color. (26) An example of this cultural racism is playing itself out amid the current protests. There have been multiple calls for and the removal of monuments and statues honoring White confederate soldiers and officials along with other White individuals who lauded White supremacists’ ideology. The cultural racism response to the removal of these figures has been to say that “we cannot let these radical people destroy our heritage” or “they are trying to take away our culture.” These statements convey a belief that these memorials are of important cultural value and should be valued by all. This sentiment fails to acknowledge the one-sided nature of praising historical figures who believed in and fought to preserve the system of racism and White supremacy in this country. This sentiment is in juxtaposition to so many of the country’s elected officials who oppose adding Harriet Tubman, a historical figure and cultural icon for so many people, to the twenty-dollar bill.

Individual racism is described as any discriminatory attitude or action, by a person of the dominant White majority, that attempts to subordinate and exert power on a person of Color. (27) Typically, racially motivated hate crimes and racial microaggression (28), which are subtle, innocuous degradations and putdowns, fall under this designation of individual racism. Individual forms of racism have been found to add to the chronic stressors that many Black people frequently experience. Another component of individual racism is the phenomenon of color-blind racism. A color-blind racism reflects an attitude or belief that race should not and does not matter in today’s society. (29) Additionally, individuals subscribing to this belief system assert that while racism was a horrible experience of the past, all people now have equal access to all resources and receive equal treatment under the law. (30) Finally, this belief system allows individuals to deny that racism and White supremacy continue to benefit White individuals. (31) By ascribing to this belief system, it allows individuals to publicly admonish racism while at the same time continuing to benefit from structural and systemic racism.

In contrast to individual racism, institutional racism represents the manifestation of racist ideologies in the policies, practices, or structures of an institution (e.g., law enforcement, judicial, educational, religious, corporate, housing, finance, government, and/or medical) that creates, supports, or enforces decisions that oppress people of Color and simultaneously benefit the White majority group. (32) Institutional racism is so ingrained into the fabric of society that we no longer believe that oppressive actions against people of Color are racist, but more so a consequence of individual actions. Based on this assertion, when people of Color are denied a bank loan or access to housing, health care, or educational resources, the societal discourse would say these denials occurred because the individual lacked the merits to qualify for the loan, rather than viewing the incident as a consequence of institutional racism. Additionally, the notion of systemic racism has been replaced with the seemingly innocuous concept of meritocracy. Acceptance of the meritocratic belief that someone’s success or failure is due to their individual abilities, offers our society a thin veil of denial that keeps us from recognizing the patterns of institutionalized racism across the country and the globe.

This veil of denial also pushes society to look for and rebuke individual forms of racism, while failing to acknowledge the generational damage caused by systemic racism. This overly zealous search for acts of individual racism offers the dominant White group scapegoats in the form of individual “bad apples” to whom they can point as causing the racial unrest in our society. Also, this search for individual acts of racism offers the white majority cover for their failure to critique their own active or complicit contributions and maintenance of systemic racism. This focus on individual racism also inhibits the White majority from investigating their own racist attitudes and perceptions that are replicated in structure of the country and the ways in which they benefit from structural racism. In addition to this understanding of what racism is, we need to understand some of the consequences of racism on people of Color.

The effects of racism can have a lasting and profound impact on the experiences of Black people and other people of Color. (33) Social science studies have found that racism has a negative and detrimental impact on the physical and mental health of Black people and other people of Color. (34) In terms of physical health, research has found relationships between racism and higher levels of stress, poor cardiovascular health, weight gain, poor sexual health functioning, poor physical health, and premature births. (35) It has been found that the mental health effects of racism may be expressed as “anger, fear, sadness, resentment, or bitterness.” (36) Also, it has been argued that experiences of racism can lead to the internalization of racists attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes regarding Black people. (37)

In addition to this direct effect of racism, it has been argued that racism can have a vicarious effect on Black people and other people of Color. This vicarious form of racism occurs when a person of Color witnesses or learns of an experience of prejudice or discrimination that happens to someone known to the individual. Although the individual did not directly experience the racism, learning of the incident can create as much distress, anxiety, sadness, a heightened sense of danger, and vulnerability as the person who directly experienced the racism. Thus, I argue that the protest signs and shirts with George Floyd’s statement of “I can’t breathe” are recognition of the pain and suffering from this vicarious experience of racism.

ENGAGING IN ANTI-RACISM WORK

To effectively address police brutality and create lasting change in this society, we must work to understand and dismantle the system of institutional racism that is so pervasive across the foundation and structure of our society. While there is no single, dogmatic approach to engaging in anti-racist work (38), there are several overarching characteristics that exist in this work. To engage in anti-racism work, we must first have a common understanding of what antiracism work looks like. Anti-racism work serves as a broad term for behaviors, practices, action plans, and strategies used to confront, challenge, disrupt, dismantle, and eradicate racist policies and practices. (39) Anti-racism work must attempt to eliminate the power, prejudice, White supremacist ideology, stereotypes, disparities, and unequal treatment associated with racism. (40) This understanding of anti-racism represents an active process where individuals across communities work collaboratively to end racism and deleterious effects of this phenomenon. Additionally, anti-racism efforts work to affirm the value, humanity, and lived reality of people of Color.

In terms of the goals of anti-racism work, it is focused on challenging the White supremacist ideology that asserts the notion of superiority for White individuals and inferiority for people of Color. Also, anti-racism work has the goal of eliminating all policies and laws that legalize and sanction the violent and brutal force that is directed at people of Color. Another goal of anti-racism work is to contribute to the educational process where all people learn the characteristics and components of racism as well as how to move towards an anti-racist society. Further, anti-racism work strives for the establishment of a multi-racial, shared democratic process where the experiences of all communities are factored into the development of laws, policies, actions, and initiatives at all levels (local, state, and federal) of functioning.

BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

Black Lives Matter serves as an example of a movement that engages in anti-racism work by working to eradicate cultural, individual, and institutional racism in this country. The Black Lives Matter Movement grew out of a response to the killings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. The Black Lives Matter Movement works on confronting the inequities and injustices faced by Black people that are rooted in systemic racism and White supremacy. Further, this Movement works to eradicate all forms of injustice by holding our public and elected officials accountable, challenging racist policies in institutions, demanding equal justice under the law, and monitoring the impact of actions that negatively impact the lived experiences of Black people. The Movement affirms the culture and heritage of Black people in the US and across the diaspora by working to uplift and support Black families and assert the humanity of Black people. In fact, the Black Lives Matter Movement works toward freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people. Thus, Black Lives Matter recognizes that anti-racism work must involve people of Color as well as the White community.

It seems that, as a society, we now stand at the event horizon of a movement to address the systemic and structural racism in this country and around the globe. This moment, the energy, and the seemingly endless dedication to changing our society feels like we are donning the cloth of a new society. What remains to be seen is if we will seize the opportunity to grab hold of this new society by weeding out the racism and White supremacy that have permeated our beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, policies, and procedures. My hope is that we all take the leap of faith and go beyond the event horizon, never to return.

TAMBA-KUII BAILEY, currently living in Grand Forks, grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland by way of North Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. Tamba-Kuii moved to North Dakota to teach graduate students in counseling and counseling Psychology. Tamba-Kuii’s research focuses on Black psychology and the ways in which racial oppression impacts the mental health function of Black people.

Endnotes and References

1. Turner, K. B., Giacopassi, D., & Vandiver, M. (2006). Ignoring the past: Coverage of slavery and slave patrols in criminal justice texts. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 17(1), 181-195.

2. Reichel, P. L. (1988). Southern slave patrols as a transitional police type. American. Journal of Police, 7, 51.

3. Ibid.

4. Durr, M. (2015). What is the difference between slave patrols and modern day policing? Institutional violence in a community of color. Critical Sociology, 41(6), 873-879.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Turner, K. B., Giacopassi, D., & Vandiver, M. (2006). Ignoring the past: Coverage of slavery and slave patrols in criminal justice texts. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 17(1), 181-195.

8. Ibid.

9. Monteith, M. J., Voils, C. I., & Ashburn-Nardo, L. (2001). Taking a look underground: Detecting, interpreting, and reacting to implicit racial biases. Social Cognition, 19(4), 395-417.

10. Richardson, L. S. (2017). Implicit racial bias and racial anxiety: Implications for stops and frisks. Ohio St. Journal of Criminal. Law, 15, 73

11. Baude, W. (2018). Is qualified immunity unlawful. California. Law. Review, 106, 45.

12. Ibid.

13. Du Bois, W. E. B. (1998). Black Reconstruction in America: 1860-1880. New York: The Free Press.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Jones, D. E. (2016). The Unknown Legacy of the 13th Amendment.

20. U.S. Constitution. Amendment XIII 21. Gilmore, K. (2000). Slavery and prison— understanding the connections. Social Justice, 27(3 (81), 195-205.

22. Harrell, S. P. (2000). A multidimensional conceptualization of racism-related stress: Implications for the well-being of people of Color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70, 42-57.

23. Pieterse, A. L., Todd, N. R., Neville, H. A., & Carter, R. T. (2012). Perceived racism and mental health among Black American adults: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 1-9.

24. Feagin, J. R., & Sikes, M. P. (1994). Living with racism: The Black middle class experience. Boston, MA: Beacon Press

25. Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and racism (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

26. Ibid.

27. Constantine, M. G. (2006). Racism in mental health and education settings. In M. G. Constantine & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Addressing racism: Facilitating cultural competence in mental health and educational settings (pp.3-14). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

28. Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62, 271–286.

29. Gushue, G. V., & Constantine, M. G. (2007). Colorblind racial attitudes and white racial identity attitudes in psychology trainees. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 321.

30. Neville, H. A., Worthington, R., L, & Spanierman, L. B. (2001). Race, power, and multicultural counseling psychology: Understanding White privilege and color blind racial attitudes. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (2nd ed., pp. 257–288). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

31. Ibid.

32. Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and racism (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

33. White, J. L., & Parham, T. A. (1990). The psychology of Blacks: An African-American perspective (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

34. Ibid.

35. Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research. Journal of behavioral medicine, 32, 20-47.

36. White, J. L., & Parham, T. A. (1990). The psychology of Blacks: An African-American perspective (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

37. Bailey, T. K. M., Chung, Y. B., Williams, W. S., Singh, A. A., & Terrell, H. K. (2011). Development and validation of the Internalized Racial Oppression Scale for Black individuals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 481-493.

38. Gillborn, D. (2006). Critical race theory and education: Racism and anti-racism in educational theory and praxis. Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, 27, 11-32.

39. Berman, G., & Paradies, Y. (2010). Racism, disadvantage and multiculturalism: towards effective anti-racist praxis. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(2), 214-232.

40. Ibid.