Ferguson Unrest Signals US Struggle With Racial Injustice

The Istanbul Daily Sabah ^ | August 23, 2014 | Begüm Tunakan

[2ndDivisionVet]

ISTANBUL — For the last 12 days, the predominantly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri has been the site of racially charged civil unrest that came after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot to death by a white police officer. Another unarmed black man named Kajieme Powell was also shot by a white police officer a total of 12 times and killed. These two police shootings point to the issue of racial injustice in America. It has also exposed the reality of an American society sharply divided over race. It is possible that if Michael Brown had been white, he might still be alive today. Therefore, many black Americans' lives are under risk of being shot by a police officer at any time, as the video recording of Powell's shooting by police shows.

For the majority of black people, the latest demonstrations and clashes between the police and protestors are related to the issue of race, as a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates.

According to the survey, there is a wide racial difference between blacks and whites over the police shooting of Michael Brown. The vast majority of black Americans – 80 percent – believe that police brutality is related to race and that the police are more likely to profile them as gang members and criminals, even if they are neither, and see them as a security threat. Another finding is that 65 percent of black Americans say the police have gone too far in responding to the protests concerning the shooting. However, whites are divided with only 33 percent of respondents saying the police have gone too far and 32 percent defending the police's excessive use of force against protestors, while 35 percent of whites offered no comment.

A higher percentage of whites think that race became the main issue and got too much attention in the shooting of Brown. Compared to the case of Trayvon Martin's shooting death in July 2013 in Florida, another southern state with a history of racism, 60 percent of whites indicated "race received more attention in that case than it deserved." Today, the percentage of whites has decreased to 47 percent; however, it still shows that a high percentage of whites have not given that much attention to the issue of race and injustice within American society.

The shooting and killing of blacks by white Americans has a long history. Americans have long witnessed the killings of black people and the injustice. The case of Trayvon Martin, another unarmed 18-years-old black American from Sanford, Florida, who was killed last year by George Zimmerman, caused protests after a Florida jury found Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of Martin even though he was accused of being motivated by racism in the shooting. The case of Martin led to growing anger and nation-wide action. Protests over Zimmerman's acquittal were held in more than 100 cities with many people calling for justice.

U.S. President Barack Obama also addressed the death of the unarmed black teenager saying, "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," in a press conference at the White House. "And when you think about why, in the African-American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away," President Obama said, while adding that the U.S. was "still not a post-racial society."

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, both prominent black figures in American history, fought against racial discrimination in order to abolish racial bias in society. Malcolm X was a black American Muslim civil right activist and an advocate for the rights of blacks who courageously resisted white racism. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history and a civil rights leader, fought against discrimination to eliminate racial oppression in American society. Black Americans have long been considered a threat by police departments in the U.S. The situation in violence-hit Ferguson reflects that race warfare is a main point in understanding why black people in American society have been shot by white police officers. Socio-economic status is inextricably linked to race, being white or black. Therefore, there is a widespread misperception by many white Americans that there is a correlation between skin color and social status. The U.S. census bureau reports that there are 50 million Americans living below the poverty line: Poverty is often equated with criminality by police in black communities. This shows why those who are both black and poor are most likely exposed to police brutality.

According to data on black Americans, 28.2 percent of black families are living in poverty and they are "three times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than whites, more than three times more likely to be handcuffed [and] almost three times more likely to be arrested," compared to other races in American society.

[2ndDivisionVet]

But how many Armenians have we killed?

[Cubs Fan]

istanbul huh?

I wonder what they would have done with a guy who stole 50 dollars worth of stuff, shoved the shopkeeper, and then slugged a cop and tried to steal his gun.

[BenLurkin]

Criminality is not a civil right.

[elcid1970]

The perpetrators of the Armenian massacre, the Kurdish massacre, the Greek massacre, & the invasion of Cyprus, now deign to lecture America about human rights & race relations.

We get it!

[Prospero]

Anything heard from Occupied Constantinople these days is heard from the reborn Ottomans, state sponsors of ISIS.

Ask them how many members of PKK are still in their jails, and if a majority of their population isn't, in fact, Kurds.

Tell The Turk to pee up a rope.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I’m guessing that a Turkish Michael Brown would’ve been buried in two pieces.

[Cowboy Bob]

If Turkey is so concerned about how we treat our Negros, they are welcome to adopt them and raise them. I’ll help pay for the transatlantic shipping costs.

[A CA Guy]

Rioting because you are criminal is not American, it is more out of the Planet of the Apes.

[Organic Panic]

The more I read stories like this it is increasingly clear that what is really wanted is a get out of jail free card for black thugs. Jackson, Obama, Holder, et al want to criminalize self defense when attackers are black. How can anyone conclude otherwise?

[Pearls Before Swine]

I’m kind of concerned about the War on Whites, myself. Affirmative action, increased taxes, lax enforcement of the law on minorities. For a working person, any conviction is a big deal. For a favored sub-group, not so much.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Notice how he talks about Malcolm X being a Muslim (not really, NOI are considered infidels by most real Muslims) but fails to mention MLK, Jr’s religion?

[SkyDancer]

[Zuben Elgenubi]

200 cops on overtime costing millions of dollars. They should just end the demonstrations by giving every protestor $1000 and send them home.

[Vinylly]

As I understand it, a theif usually has his hand cut off if he is caught stealing in Muslim countries. Maybe that’s what we should be doing.

[PIF]

“Ferguson Unrest Signals US Struggle With Racial Injustice”

Ferguson Unrest Signals US Democrats Struggle to Gin Up Racial Injustice and Take Their Beloved Leader Out of the News

[RoosterRedux]

And it's not race at all...it's thug culture.

These thugs could just as easily be White, Asian, or Hispanic.

[Cry if I Wanna]

I’m an Asian American female married to a Caucasion American man. Neither me or any of our four kids have ever experienced any discrimination. I don’t usually use labels like this either. We’re just Americans and we don’t worry about stuff like that.

[Straight Vermonter]

I saw this picture just before I saw this story.

[CodeToad]

I don’t struggle as I don’t see there being injustice only towards blacks. I see injustice towards everyone. Blacks are just self centered and think it is always about them.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Some facts FBI Homicides Statistics

Year of Stats	Race of Victims	Total	White Offenders	Black Offenders	Unknown & other
2009	White	3,518	2,963	454	101
	Black	2,867	209	2,604	54
2008	White	3,643	3,036	504	103
	Black	3,024	230	2,722	72
2007	White	3,587	2,918	566	103
	Black	3,221	245	2,905	71
2006	White	3,709	3,026	573	110
	Black	3,303	208	3,034	61
2005	White	3,785	3,150	516	119
	Black	3,289	230	2,984	75
2004	White	3,727	3,123	522	85
	Black	3,067	228	2,784	55
1995	White	4,954	4,124	699	131
	Black	4,764	281	4,422	61

I did not find data for the years 1996 through 2003

Here's 2008

Here's 2010 (not shown above)

Here's access to the rest. www.fbi.gov About Us CJIS UCR Crime in the U.S.

Crime in the United States, YYYY U.S. Department of Justice — Federal Bureau of Investigation Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter Table 43a Arrests by Race Includes all ages.

YEAR		Total		White		Black		American Indian or Alaskan Native		Asian or Pacific Islander			Total		White		Black		American Indian or Alaskan Native		Asian or Pacific Islander
2008		9,859		4,721		4,935		99		104			100.0		47.9		50.1		1.0		1.1
2009		9,739		4,741		4,801		100		97			100.0		48.7		49.3		1.0		1.0
2010		8,641		4,261		4,209		91		80			100.0		49.3		48.7		1.1		0.9
2011		8,341		4,000		4,149		105		87			100.0		48.0		49.7		1.3		1.0
2012		8,506		4,101		4,203		102		100			100.0		48.2		49.4		1.2		1.2

I was surprised to find FBI victim/offender race data released during the Obama Administration. The DoJ survey (emphasis on survey) of crime victims after 2008 no longer has the Table 42 data. If someone knows where the Table 42 data are displayed for year 2009 and beyond please let me know. Thanks.