Black Votes Matter
Reason No. 43 © 2016
In 2016, it is estimated that over 194 Blacks have been killed by the police.
In many instances, the police officers doing the killings got a proverbial slap on the wrist. It happened in Ferguson. It happened in New York. It happened when Trayvon Martin was murdered, and it happened in Minnesota, Charlotte and Baton Rouge.
In a fair and just society, the punishment would be similar for similar crimes. If a black person killed a police officer “in cold blood,” you better believe he would be sentenced to life or capital punishment. The same should apply to police officers who kill Blacks “in cold blood.”
Protests are effective for a few days, maybe a week. But voting is a more long term answer.
When we vote, we become eligible to serve on juries. It is the jury, or a judge, who decides if a police officer went rogue and used unreasonable force in police-citizen shootings. If you’re on the jury, you may or may not see things different; but at least, you will have a voice.
In some situations, like the Joe McKnight shooting in New Orleans, a white person, who was not a police officer, killed a black person and was treated just as favorably as white cops who’ve killed Blacks. McKnight’s killer had been involved in another violent road rage incident but was also released. Imagine a black person being freed under those circumstances. It won’t happen in real life, you would have to imagine it.
By voting, Blacks can elect the judges, the mayors, the prosecutors, the governors, etc. When we vote, we’re more likely to serve on a jury that truly reflects the makeup of the community. Remember, jurors are selected from voter rolls. If you don’t vote, you want be any voter rolls.
If we want a temporary fix, protest. If we want a long-term answer, vote.
Reason No. 43 © 2016
In 2016, it is estimated that over 194 Blacks have been killed by the police.
In many instances, the police officers doing the killings got a proverbial slap on the wrist. It happened in Ferguson. It happened in New York. It happened when Trayvon Martin was murdered, and it happened in Minnesota, Charlotte and Baton Rouge.
In a fair and just society, the punishment would be similar for similar crimes. If a black person killed a police officer “in cold blood,” you better believe he would be sentenced to life or capital punishment. The same should apply to police officers who kill Blacks “in cold blood.”
Protests are effective for a few days, maybe a week. But voting is a more long term answer.
When we vote, we become eligible to serve on juries. It is the jury, or a judge, who decides if a police officer went rogue and used unreasonable force in police-citizen shootings. If you’re on the jury, you may or may not see things different; but at least, you will have a voice.
In some situations, like the Joe McKnight shooting in New Orleans, a white person, who was not a police officer, killed a black person and was treated just as favorably as white cops who’ve killed Blacks. McKnight’s killer had been involved in another violent road rage incident but was also released. Imagine a black person being freed under those circumstances. It won’t happen in real life, you would have to imagine it.
By voting, Blacks can elect the judges, the mayors, the prosecutors, the governors, etc. When we vote, we’re more likely to serve on a jury that truly reflects the makeup of the community. Remember, jurors are selected from voter rolls. If you don’t vote, you want be any voter rolls.
If we want a temporary fix, protest. If we want a long-term answer, vote.