By Camille Taylor
Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the family of Terence Crutcher, a black man killed by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had the same question I had.
He asked, “Why was an unarmed black man who had committed no crime and needed a helping hand killed, but the N.Y. bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami wasn’t after engaging officers in a shootout and injuring an officer?” I think that’s a great question!
Think about the two situations. Mr. Crutcher’s car appeared to be stranded on the highway and video shows him holding his hands up as he’s approached by police, tazed by one officer, and shot dead by another. Even a man in a police helicopter labelled Mr. Crutcher a “bad dude” from up in the sky. On the other hand, N.Y. police had a photo of Mr. Rahami, and after getting a tip found him sleeping in a doorway. Rahami pulled out a handgun, shot an officer, and took off running. He was shot multiple times during the chase, and is now recuperating in the hospital. This man is accused of planting multiple bombs and injuring 29 people. Mr. Crutcher is a black man, accused of nothing, but ends up being shot and killed. The answer to this question is at the root of the anger, frustration, and fear felt by many in our country, but particularly by African Americans. I have several black men in my life: my spouse, son, grandson, nephew, and great nephews. I love them all very much. It pains me that even though they’ve all had the “talk” about how a black man in America must be extra careful, friendly, cooperative with authority figures, patient, calm, and compliant, that it won’t do them any good if someone looks at them and just sees a “bad black dude!” So, as we lament and wring our hands once again there is something we can do.
The YWCA is hosting a Humanity Summit on November 17th in Memorial Hall at Illinois Wesleyan. Register by October 7th for a discount or by October 31st for the regular cost. The goal of the summit is to offer an opportunity “for our community to grapple with important questions of cultural and systemic oppression in the form of many “isms” and challenge each of us to grow to become allies in the struggle for justice.” Some take aways from the summit will be to better understand oppression and privilege and their human costs, as well as make a commitment to take meaningful action.
Camille Taylor, a retired Counselor from Normal Community High School, has been an educator in this community for 34 years. She is active in the community currently serving as a church elder and board member for both the Baby Fold and the YWCA. She has been recognized by the YWCA as a Woman of Distinction for education, a Martin Luther King Jr. award winner for the City of Bloomington, a Distinguished Alumni by the College of Education at Illinois State University, a Human and Civil Rights award winner for the Illinois Education Association, and the H.Councill Trenholm Award recipient from the National Education Association for her work with diversity. She lives in Bloomington with her husband, Arthur, and is a mother and grandmother.
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