Rudy CAN Fail

Another quick Op-Ed piece running in today's New York Times. This one for a piece on Rudy Giuliani's recent comments regarding crime and violence in the Black community. They serve mainly to deflect attention away from the spate of high profile police shootings of African American men, and the continued racial bias in policing.

 Many Black men have commented on their experiences with police, and the feeling of being under constant surveillance, and the threat of harassment. Statistics bear out this truth, that African Americans are far more likely to be stopped by police, yet less likely to be carrying drugs or weapons than Whites. A police hat hanging overhead like a black cloud worked out as a simple way to show this omnipresent feeling.

Also in today's paper is a new report showing data that suggests police are bias against African Americans in the use of force, but not in shootings. Some people are using this report to further obfuscate the truth behind police racial bias (despite the fact that it still shows police are more likely to use force of all kinds against African Americans). This new report only takes into account data from 10 major cities, only 4% of the U.S. population, and relies solely on police testimony. It also stands at odds with other sources, like The Washington Post and The Guardian, which show just how disproportionately Black men are killed by police compared to White men. In 2015, based on all reported police killings in the U.S., Black males from age 15 to 34 were killed by police at rates five times higher than White males age 15-34.

Thank you to my AD, Sarah!

Cop a feel

This cover of mine for the Village Voice is out now. It follows the story of Cecily McMillan, an Occupy Wall Street protestor who allegedly elbowed a police officer- what she maintains was a reaction to being forcefully groped from behind. Following the trial, she was found guilty of assaulting an officer and faces up to seven years in prison at her sentencing on May 19.

I'd encourage you to read the full article. It always amazes me (although by now it shouldn't), the things people are put in prison for, while police officers that beat, or kick, or sometimes shoot people to death are often given little more than paid suspension. Thank you to Tom Carlson, the AD on this. To give credit where credit is due, Tom's the one that came up with the idea of Lady Justice being felt up, I just fleshed it out.