![Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter]()
So it appears that we are at a cross roads. We find ourselves at the intersection of Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter in the wake of the execution of Alton Sterling by Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II members of the Baton Rouge police department, the murder of Philando Castile by Minnesota policeman Jeronimo Yanez whose death was officially ruled a homicide and the murder of five Dallas law enforcement professionals whose lives were taken by Micah Johnson during a protest rally.
But there was a key word in my opening statement that really sums up where we are. It just appears as though we are at a crosswords. Appearances and perception have significantly swayed the opinions of millions to be for or against institutionalized and systemic racism. Are we really perceiving situations as they are or are we perceiving them as we want them to be or as our sometimes limited experience allows them to be?
It appears to me that anyone with vision would understand that the Black Lives Matter movement does not marginalize the lives of others outside of the black experience. It simply points out as all of our data tells us that black people are being killed and oppressed far greater than the rest of the population and in a way that is systematic and systemic. It appears to me that being anti-police brutality does not mean that one is anti-police. It appears to me that you can be sympathetic to the unwarranted and wrongful deaths of black men and be sympathetic to the unwarranted and wrongful deaths of police officers.
It appears to me to be a problem for media to say that the Dallas police officers were executed but yet Philando Castile’s death although ruled a homicide by our own system was unfortunate but we must do an investigation to even prove that even though we have one of the most competent and credible eyewitnesses in Diamond Reynolds coupled with her unprecedented Facebook Live Stream viewed by millions in the history of police brutality, excessive force and incompetence cases in the history of the Unites States Of America. It appears that there has been difficulty on the part of some but not all of mainstream media to admit that Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were “ambushed” just as the Dallas police officers who were killed during what had been a peaceful protest were.
It appears to me that a man who was selling CDs outside a store with the store owners permission was tried, convicted and executed on the spot yet Dylann Roof who mass murdered nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and who said he was inspired by George Zimmerman who killed Trayvon Martin and had “no choice” but to kill black people could not only be taken into police custody without a scratch on him but actually be taken to Burger King by police on the way to being booked because he told cops that he was hungry.
It appears heroic to me that on 9/11/01 Sergeant Rodney Gillis, from Truck Eight, would take a squad of men into the World Trade Center South Tower, as would Sgt. John Coughlin. with police officers Brian McDonnell, Steve Driscoll, Vincent Danz, Ronnie Kloepfer, Santos Valentin, Thomas Langone, Wally Weaver, Paul Talty, Jerome Dominquez and Detective Joe Vigiano where they all would help to save hundreds of lives that day, but they would trade their lives for such heroics.
It appears to me that John Ehrlichman aide to President Nixon admitted that the “War On Drugs” which continues today was manufactured by Nixon’s administration as a way to mass incarcerate black people. It appears that evidence shows that for every 1000 black people killed by police only 1 is convicted of a crime. It appears that education is supposed to be the great equalizer but African Americans graduation rates are significantly behind whites and those with college degrees make significantly less than whites. It also appears that 50% of Americans under 18 are minorities and that minorities will be the majority of Americans within my lifetime.
It appears to me that having gone to all separate and horribly unequal black elementary schools, then having had the benefit of going to a Q.I.E. middle school (Quality Integrated Education), a virtually all white high school Williamsville North High School, a predominately white university Syracuse University, attending predominately black churches, being one of very few people of color in all of my jobs, being a part of the black media working with major publications, having my blog labeled as “black media” simply because I am black and as an expert and authority in black media it appears to me that many whites have no idea what cultural appropriation is or what white privilege truly means, having lived in at one time an all black neighborhood but growing up for most of my life and all of my adult life living in mostly white neighborhoods, having been called the N word at school, going to church, on vacation and at work, having had my husband be pulled over for no reason more times that I can count when we moved into our predominantly white neighborhood, to having some neighbors welcome me with open arms, to nearly dying during childbirth because of being treated poorly by my own doctor due to my race yet having other white, black and Indian doctors work tirelessly to save me and my child, I’ve had black people and white people steal from me, I have had both black and white people mentor me, I have been able to live simultaneously in the black world and white world offering me a somewhat balanced an clearer experience with both black and white as you can probably get in America.
It appears to me that this cross roads of Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter doesn’t actually lead in two different directions it actually only leads in one. There can only be one direction to take. It is the path where there is validation that Black Lives have been senselessly taken, destroyed, oppressed and marginalized. It is a path that acknowledges that Black Lives have been severely impacted by police brutality, misconduct and manufactured mass incarceration on behalf of all levels of government. It is a path that acknowledges the targeting that Black Lives have continually faced. It is a path that acknowledges that Black Lives and Blue Lives can coexist, collaborate and thrive but there needs to be reform and consequences for all not the select by the selectee. It is a path that acknowledges that Black Lives deserve dignity, justice and respect and has been routinely denied that throughout our history as a country. But that it can change if we take a path that sets us on the course to beginning to repair this centuries old damage. It appears that if all people could acknowledge that these atrocities have and are happening to black people then it would truly feel like all lives matter.
This full article originally appeared on Ladies Live And Learn.com.
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The Baton Rouge police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling early Tuesday were identified as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II Wednesday.
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So it appears that we are at a cross roads. We find ourselves at the intersection of Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter in the wake of the execution of Alton Sterling by Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II members of the Baton Rouge police department, the murder of Philando Castile by Minnesota policeman Jeronimo Yanez whose death was officially ruled a homicide and the murder of five Dallas law enforcement professionals whose lives were taken by Micah Johnson during a protest rally.
