The New York Verdict and What I Plan to Do

I did not write directly about the death of Michael Brown although what happened in Ferguson was on my mind and I referred to it indirectly. I was not planning to write about the death of Eric Garner but then I saw a tweet last night that reminded me that if you do nothing in the face of violence and injustice you are contributing to it.

So what will I do? My immediate action is relatively straight forward: assist in putting pressure on state and federal authorities to re-examine both cases as well as others like it. It does make a difference if you call your representatives on this. So please do. A next step is also relatively clear, which is to support legislation that requires outside prosecutors in any cases of police violence. As the SF Public Defender writes “[i]t is rare for grand juries to return indictments against police officers, at least in part because local prosecutors rely upon local police to bring their cases.

Beyond that it gets a lot harder. Yes, cameras will help but initially only to create more evidence. As we have just seen evidence without accountability doesn’t mean much. Still, better evidence than no evidence. The underlying causes here though are so much deeper as to seem intractable: hundreds of years of oppression of black people and the militarization of police driven by a fear of terrorism.

My own focus will be on continuing to advocate for a Basic Income Guarantee. Why? Because I believe it can help us get out of a system of self-reenforcing structural inequality. It can provide the basis for communities to strengthen themselves. Both of these seem essential to overcoming violence against black people.