MY PRAYER AS WE MARCH FOR JUSTICE TO END POLICE BRUTALITY IN AMERICA

There is no excuse big enough nor any flag large enough to cover up this shame in the United States of America—the 21st Century lynching of Black and Brown Americans by extra judicial killings.

Black Child, 12 years old, shot dead in playground; Brown Child, shot dead, walking home eating Skittles; Black Child, shot dead for walking on the wrong side of the street; Brown Child, shot dead for playing with toy sword; and the list goes on. It does not matter the occasion or the reason, our innocent and unarmed offspring are shot to death by cops. The hunt for their Fathers also continues unabated: Beat down and shot dead Driving While Black; beat down and shot dead in Walmart while shopping for a toy gun sold by Walmart; beat down and shot dead in their own homes while calling police for help; beat down and shot dead with 41 bullets after a meal walking home; beat down and shot dead one day before his wedding vows; beat down and choked to death playing a game of football; beat down and choked to death for the mere suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes—a kind, beautiful, married Father of six. It does not matter the occasion or the reason, our unarmed and innocent Fathers and Brothers are shot and choked to death by law enforcement in America with impunity.

But, America has managed to maneuver as a paragon of human rights on the world stage, while pointing fingers at countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe as “bad guys”. Pretending that there is no “Racism Issue,” but rather a “Black Attitude” problem in America. Then the world suddenly took notice and reacted through an unfiltered lens of videotaped brutality that magnified America's covert racism and injustice, as the fury of Ferguson and New York, spilled over into the streets of Berkeley, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philly, Cairo, China, London, Moscow, Palestine, Paris, the United Nations, the African Union, and the list goes on—all finally taking a stand for Black Men in America and questioning the wretched state of American jurisprudence.

The fact of the matter is that in America, prosecutors can indict and prosecute cases without a grand jury indictment. Prosecutors in police brutality cases deliberately present cases to grand juries as a buffer insulating them from sworn prosecutorial duty and responsibility, because they work closely with the police and do not want to appear unsupportive. Grand juries are an inherent conflict of interest in the American legal system when it is the police who commit the crimes. The grand jury process in police brutality cases, is part of the condoned benevolent shepherding dirty-cops, with the clean-hands of prosecutors. And, when grand juries don't indict as planned, prosecutors cannot be blamed. For that reason, egregious police brutality cases should require automatic federal reviews and “Color of Law” prosecutions, as was the Anthony Baez case in New York. Furthermore, when an expert medical examiner rules a death a homicide, then, it is a homicide—we don't need a grand jury's approval for justice to be served.

What is even more hurtful is the disdain that spews out of elected officials like Representative Peter King of New York, who have made callous and bigoted remarks in support of the police who murdered Eric Garner. Congressman Peter King said, “If he [Eric Garner] had not had asthma, and a heart condition and was so obese, almost definitely he would not have died from this [the choking by New York cops]." That response from Rep. Pete King is dehumanizing and reprehensible, because any elected official of conscience who believes that an unarmed Eric Garner is a human being, would have said, “My heart and prayers go out to Eric Garner's wife, children and family, and this is a tragedy that is sadly repeated over and over again in our great country. Six children lost their father and his wife is heartbroken.” President Barak Obama, former President George W. Bush, House Speaker John Boehner and Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi, were all gracious and called the deaths of unarmed Black men and boys serious tragedies and America deserves answers, because our lives matter. Yes, our answer should be legislation beginning with a symbolic Congressional Resolution against extra judicial killings in the United States.

It is unacceptable that any person would rationalize and defend the extra judicial killings of unarmed beautiful men and children: Anthony Baez, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Shawn Bell, Eric Garner, and the list of gruesome murders and brutalities go on. We observe New York mobsters, bankers, and politicians, arrested for multimillion dollar fraud schemes and racketeering, and they live to defend themselves in court. We observed a mass murderer from Aurora Colorado kill 12 people in a movie theater and injure scores more with automatic weapons, and he was carefully arrested without harm. We have observed a serial bomber in from Lincoln, Montana murder dozens, and he was carefully arrested without harm. And, we have observed a mass murderer who bombed a federal Oklahoma City building killing 168 people, even he was carefully arrested unharmed while driving without license plates in a car with loaded firearms. They have the privilege of being white or affluent in America.

“I Can't Breathe, I Can't Breathe…” could not have been said any clearer or louder—11 times—while the life was being choked out of Eric Garner. It has been 400 years of violence against the souls of Black men who were first bought and sold as slaves in 1619 in America. Beautiful, courageous Black men who only seek to claim their dignity and claim a safe space for our short human existence here on this earth. “One Nation under God” does not annihilate Black men who forthrightly question America's ungodly acts of cruelty against their wives, daughters and sons. Black men who against all odds, and against all inhumane abuses in America, still remain glowing symbols of God's light of love and consciousness, and still remain revered examples of forgiveness, goodness, hope and leadership the world over. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible teaches us that we are made in God's image, we are God's precious creation, and with our compassion and meekness in the face of unspeakable cruelty and injustice in America, we shall survive beyond these wretched ephemeral moments in time, and we shall inherit God's good earth (Mathew 5:5). That I believe truly and faithfully.

In the face of our overwhelming grief, our faith in God and in the goodness of the American people should not wane. As I have marched and protested, all Americans are on streets protesting for our justice, sometimes a sea of White faces in some cities, and Americans sacrifice their lives fighting for human rights to free oppressed people the world over. Therefore, Congressman Peter King's callous and heartless remarks are certainly antithetical to the American creed that “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We know God the Almighty is kind, empathetic and especially merciful to the most vulnerable who are oppressed and ridiculed as “obese” with “heart-conditions” and with “asthma”—we don't have to die in choke-holds because government officials think our lives do not matter in this “one nation under God.”

So here we are, heartbroken, in tears, beat down, choked, shot dead and ridiculed by government officials, and we ask ourselves what we should do? Should we hate those who kill our Sons? Should we loot stores and burn buildings for the loss of our Fathers? Should we hunt down and kill those wicked cops in revenge and to bring this hate to an end? These are questions we have asked ourselves and each other as we suffer, some of us silently thinking about an “Eye for an Eye?” Yes, as Christians an “Eye for an Eye” should be a just and equitable demand for justice and punishment, and for our salvation, an Eye for an Eye should not be wanton or deliberate destruction of another life and livelihood—there has to be due process of law.

Black people in America, have crossed many rivers and seas that are buried deep with the souls of our ancestors—their violent tragedy, gives us spiritual insight into the sacredness of life. Therefore, we should not imitate the deeds of the wicked to alleviate our suffering, and we have to pray for love in the face of hate, pray for peace in the face of violence, and pray for the strength to forgive in the face of our death. Please understand that we suffer and we are persecuted, because we are a pure reflection of beauty in God's image—we are attacked, scorned and killed, because we shed a bright light of truth on the evil comforts and delusions of man and his wicked ways.

In the purest reflection of His image stood Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an incandescent light of God who spoke with brilliant courage, preaching enduring peace, praying for enlightened love and humanity, and who sacrificed his own beautiful life for the lives of Black people in America to be recognized as full human beings—not “three-fifths” human. With powerful searing words of truth as his immortal diet, Rev. King took us on a pilgrimage of faith in the face of unspeakable cruelty and violence in America that is indelibly etched in our consciousness. And, in the choking mayhem of burning hate, Rev. Martin Luther King pleaded for us to forgive and prayed as he said:

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

The Lord was Rev. Martin Luther King's light and salvation and he spoke and marched for our dignity without fear (Psalm 27). Rev. King's prayer is my prayer for all today. It my prayer that we peacefully march for justice; it is my prayer that we peacefully petition elected officials for justice; and it is my prayer that in our righteous anger and bitterness, we remember the Lord's Prayer, so we have the strength to “forgive those who trespass against us;” and it is my prayer to always seek justice that is merciful for reconciliation to be possible. The cops who kill us in cold-blood and the elected officials who ridicule us and support murderers, will ultimately be judged by God for those mortal sins—I have absolutely no doubt about that.

About the Author
Kwame Fosu, is an attorney, journalist, scholar, and a tireless human rights defender for women. He is a health and foreign policy expert on Africa, advising African officials, U.S. government officials, NGOs, and is Director of International Affairs and Policy Director at the Rebecca Project for Justice. Kwame Fosu received his B.A. in Criminal Justice, from the John Jay College-CUNY, M.B.A. from Pace University, and Juris Doctorate from Georgetown Law School.