Racial tensions in America have become more strained with the shooting deaths of several blacks, leading to protests that, at times, have become violent themselves.
An organized protest campaign started in 2013 in the wake of the shooting of unarmed teenager Treyvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Orlando. The movement then gained national exposure in 2014 for its street protests after the deaths of two black men, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, both killed by police.
Declaring “Black Lives Matter” to call attention to the killing of unarmed blacks during police confrontations, protesters claimed racial bias by police officers caused the shootings that could have ended differently without the use of deadly force.
Even President Obama joined in the debate by trying to reason with both sides, sharing the concerns of the community and families of those killed while encouraging law enforcement agencies to examine their training and outreach programs to help calm public anger and fear.
The issue has become so political that the Democratic Party added its support for the “Black Lives Matter” campaign in the official platform of the Party. Donald Trump, on the other hand, once threatened to fight any Black Lives Matter protesters if they tried to disrupt any of his events.
The world has become a battleground for extremists and terrorists who too often kill innocent victims in their blind defense of warped religious beliefs. And the United States has endured too many senseless killings by lone gunmen and deranged murderers shooting innocent men, women, and children with no real motive other than their own public death.
But the killing of unarmed black Americans at the hands of police officers should be more troubling, and it should trouble Latinos as well.
The Black Lives Matter campaigns doesn’t mean that ONLY black lives matter. It doesn’t mean that other lives matter any less. It isn’t a mutually exclusive statement at all.
What it does demand is that black lives matter as much as whites lives, brown lives, and all other lives.
As Latinos, too often the victims of police and court biases ourselves, we should stand with the Black Lives Matter movement to show solidarity with another minority group being unfairly treated by the justice system.
The same biases or prejudices that may exist toward blacks also affect Latinos. Our community is also over represented in the prison system, police arrests, and racial profiling on the streets. Our community is just marginally less affected by police misconduct and excessive
use of force.
According to a 2010 census study, Latinos are twice as likely as whites to be incarcerated. Although Latinos represent 16 percent of the U.S. population, Latinos make up over 19 percent of the prison population. Blacks make up 13 percent of the population but 40 percent of the incarcerated population. Whites, however, are 64 percent of the population, but less than 40 percent of prisoners.
Those who object to the use of “Black Lives Matter” and instead want to say “All Lives Matter” miss the real issue at hand. If all lives already mattered equally, we would never have been in the unfortunate position to ever need a Black Lives Matter movement.
The divisive nature of this presidential campaign is also adding to the racial tensions. Donald Trump launched his campaign by attacking Mexicans, moved on the banning Muslims, and this week falsely claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin calls President Obama “the n-word.” Race baiting at its worst. Trump is trying his best to make America racist again.
All lives should matter, that’s the point. Calling attention to a miscarriage of justice targeting a certain affected group is not racism. Ignoring that injustice is racism.
Brown lives matter. White lives matter. Black lives matter.
We know that in our hearts. Let’s make that a reality on our streets.