The Ones that Burn Crosses
Despite recent events in Dallas, wherein the media has flipped the national narrative on police brutality into a circus of sympathy for the same structure that has destroyed countless Black lives, let us not forget what the police really are.
Let us not forget our history of how the police began as slave catchers, protecting the rights of rich whites to their human property. Let us not forget that the police throughout the 20th century functioned as the strong arm of state, aiding and abetting the Klu Klux Klan, upholding racial and economic segregation in order to protect the wealth of white people. Let us not forget that in the last 30 years, the police are THE essential component in the prison-industrial complex, a multibillion dollar business scheme to put disproportionate numbers of people of color in prison and continue generating wealth for rich white people.
In 2015, the number of people killed in so-called acts of terrorism was LESS THAN 25, but the number of people murdered by the police was 1,134. Halfway through this year, the number of people murdered by police is over 530. The exact numbers are unknown because the federal government refuses to keep track of police killings.
The police have and continue to be the foot soldiers of white supremacy, terrorizing marginalized communities, making sure the poor stay poor.
In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter