Today I had an extremely thought provoking conversation. I am a part of a group here at SCI Phoenix that will remain nameless for the sake of anonymity for those within the group. Somehow during our conversation, the topic of policing and its impact on communities of color became the major part of this weeks discussion. The conversation became contentious when one of our group members expressed the opinion that negative perceptions of communities of color by police (that he absolutely shares in my opinion), are the ostensibly justifiable cause for the unjust and hostile treatment of said communities by some officers. I expressed in no uncertain terms that not only were the negative perceptions that he articulated false, but I explained why acting on those perceptions by entities such as the police are extremely problematic. Assuming that entire communities are negative and policing them based off of this absolute fallacy without distinction between law abiding citizens and the criminal element that absolutely exists, has destroyed the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color and has consequently fostered a space where criminality can thrive.

The fact that the overwhelming majority of citizens within said communities are law abiding, hard working, tax paying, people of conscious is lost in this current system of aggressive policing. The underlying issues for the treatment of communities of color by too many police, goes much deeper than perception. The Genesis of policing is based in race and controlling communities of color. That foundation continues to influence this oppressive, unjust and dangerous relationship. The unbalanced narrative that is pushed by the media machine concerning our communities, vilification by politicians who then pass legislation that exacerbates disparate treatment and yes race are all key components to this systemic process of injustices. Next week our group will once again convene and we will undoubtedly pick up where we left off. It is my intention to help elucidate a different perspective for some who may not have the experience of what it means to be of color interacting with law enforcement.