Why Shouldn’t Black People Shoot Police?

#HungerStrikeForRacialJustice – Day 35:

​I am not advocating for any action whatsoever.  I am asking myself and Black folks the question:  Why Shouldn’t Black People Shoot Police?  The simple, straightforward answer is: No one should shoot at police officers because its illegal and an afront to the rule of law.
 
The situation we find ourselves in is not a simple one.  Here are some of the basics:

1. There have been only 14 days in 2020 where police did not kill someone.
2. Black people are 28% of those killed despite being only 13% of the population.
3. Black people are 3 times more likely to be killed by police than white people even though Blacks are 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed than whites.
4. The prevalence of police killings is not correlated to criminal violence.
5. Eight of the 100 largest cities police departments kill Blacks at a higher rate than the US murder rate.
6. 98.3% of killings by police from 2013 to 2020 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime.

                                                                                                                                                       Reference: MappingPoliceViolence.Org

21st century bread line in the nation's capitol -Washington DC October 9, 2020

So when you layer on the other facts of our situation, the intensity and sense of urgency for racial justice in Black communities across the nation is rational.

1. A global plague named Covid-19 that has disproportionally impacted the Black community resulting in thousands of deaths of Black Americans. 
2. Due to measures to contain the virus, millions of Americans have become unemployed.  According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate among Blacks is 12.1% compared to 7.0% for whites. 
3. Many of the jobs lost thus far due to Covid-19 may never return. 
4. Food insecurity has increased significantly.  While there is no current data published by the US, we know that in 2019, 19.1% of Black households were in this category. (Reference: USDA Economic Research Service; https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx)
5. Overall, the country is in an economic recession and the Black community is in an economic depression.

 
This reality is exactly why I have engaged in my hunger strike for racial justice.  I see an increasing likelihood that as the pandemic continues and the disparities outlined here intensify, we will see direct attacks on police in urban and suburban regions of the country.  In this context my question becomes relevant.

Black Panther Party 1971

At some point, if my prediction is accurate, the political leaders both locally and nationally will have to answer my question beyond the simple answer I provided at the beginning of this blog post.  I do not have an answer.  See, I wonder what I might do if confronted by police for a simple traffic stop or considered a suspect in a criminal investigation of which I have no knowledge. 
 
If I am confronted in my home without warning by police agents executing an erroneous no knock search warrant, what should I do?  Remain calm knowing that I am innocent of any crime or come out shooting knowing that I could be killed inadvertently?  Black men and women who are law abiding citizens are now being forced to make a judgement call to live or die when they encounter the police.  The longer we go on without national legislation addressing obvious racial injustice in the face of mass, nationwide protests, the greater the likelihood we will have anarchy and random violence directed at police in the Black community.  It can occur whether it’s in urban or suburban areas.
 
Without national leadership on this issue each of us will have to make a life or death decision in a split second.  Sound familiar? Its exactly what each police officer must do when they encounter us, the presumed criminals.