Surviving Police Encounters 101
The history lesson is right outside our doors!!!! Black people don't ask much of
this country, because frankly we don't expect much. But it's time our youth
learn a different kind of a lesson outside of the classroom, the way our
Brothers and Sisters did during the Civil Rights Movement. Black kids must learn how to embrace their culture, love and
respect each other, and acknowledge their history in order to create real
change in their communities.
It is a life lesson for all black and brown children--one that is more important than anything they could ever hope to learn at school. Our history has taught us how to fight and survive in a country that is fully prepared to kick you while you're down, and pretend that you and your rights as an American citizen don't matter.
"Our young brothers and sisters are on the front lines
against a growing culture of hate and implicit discrimination by law
enforcement officers who have no regard for black lives."
As our kids prepare to return to school with books in hand,
it is unfortunate that public and private schools in Illinois are now required
by law to teach children how to deal with confrontations with the police. The
Bill that was recently signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner authorizes a
new curriculum for driver’s education classes which includes interacting with
police, (instituted for the 2017-18 school year). But will it be enough to put
an end to the police involved killings?
The issue of police brutality and killings of unarmed people
of color has gotten so common place in this country that a Felony Street Law course is even being offered to young black men by The Dovetail Project, a foundation
for African-American men ages 17 to 24, aimed at teaching life skills, as well as how to avoid and survive escalating conflicts with police.
But parents must also take a proactive role in their children's lives. They must plan to attend the very next community police (CAPS) meeting in their neighborhood, and let the police know that they're concerned about how the police handle situations involving Black and Hispanic youth. And hopefully the beginning of this school year won't end with a police officer taking a paid vacation--because he took the life of another unarmed person of color.
Repost: USA Today 10/2016
But parents must also take a proactive role in their children's lives. They must plan to attend the very next community police (CAPS) meeting in their neighborhood, and let the police know that they're concerned about how the police handle situations involving Black and Hispanic youth. And hopefully the beginning of this school year won't end with a police officer taking a paid vacation--because he took the life of another unarmed person of color.
Repost: USA Today 10/2016
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