The best way to avoid uprisings (I know, I know, most prefer the pejorative term “riots”) is to address the systemic underlying causes that serve to create them. In military-speak it’s called being “preemptive.” In plain-speak it’s called addressing the issues before the shit hits the fan.
But the question we should be asking ourselves is “why does it take uprisings to get America to pay attention to the plight of the disenfranchised, usually voiceless, underclass?” In Cleveland, is the concern more for justice, or simply to assure the folks putting together the Republican National Convention that Fran Jackson can keep his natives quiet until they leave town?
One angst-ridden TV reporter — a young gentleman of color I might add — spoke passionately about the damage the young blacks were doing to their own community in Baltimore, and how many years it would take to repair. He truly was bewildered by the behavior of those engaging in the unruly uprising. But then, all uprisings are unruly and ugly, and, furthermore, he’s probably not at risk of dying at the hands of a white cop.
The community of Hough (where I reside) can offer some answers. My home is built on the site of a former gas station that was burned down during the 1966 Hough Uprising. True, it took decades for the rebuilding to occur, but nonetheless occur it did. The hundreds of upscale, middle class homes that dot my community would not be possible if the uprising had not occurred. Back then we called it “instant urban renewal.”
The response at the time from those outside inner city Cleveland was to wonder, “Why are you burning your own community down?” When the response came that many of the dwellings were little more than hovels anyway, and additionally, “After we finish burning them down, we’re going to come burn your houses down too,” the white power structure sat up and began to pay attention.
But it wasn’t until the cry of “Burn, Baby, Burn” emanated from that hotbed of black political activism, Oakland (the home of the Black Panthers), that the country really began to pay attention. Not to denigrate the efforts of Rosa Parks and Dr. King (they worked wonders in regards to changing laws), but the jackboot of physical violence, police brutality and outright oppression didn’t begin to lift off the necks of black folk until some brave blacks began threatening to fire back.
How is it that Nelson Mandela is a worldwide hero and Huey P. Newton — who advocated the exact same tactics — is not?
In a society supposedly as sane and civil as ours, it’s a real tragedy that angry young people have to resort to burning, looting and violence to have their voices heard. Protestors can beg, plead, lay down in the street and block traffic and still they are largely ignored; but loot one drug store and — oh my god! — the world is about to come to an end. Which just proves we value Pampers, pills and pain relievers over people … especially if those people happen to be black.
I’m not attempting to exhort angry and frustrated young people to violence (but we do know that throughout history it has always been this demographic that has brought about real, sustainable, change); what I’m attempting to do is convince those who hold the reins of power to make the changes to police departments that direly need to be made.
And perhaps people in power are beginning to listen. There’s an unconfirmed report that one police chief implored his troops thusly: “Can we go out there and not kill a black man today?” I suppose his logic (if indeed it did happen) was, “Too much paperwork, too many TV cameras, too much questioning of policy and procedures.” Better to let black folks run away from danger than to shoot them in the back I guess.
Are there some flat-out zip-fools among the protestors? You can bet your sweet ass there are. But even fools can serve a purpose … they push sane people to make the right decisions. And their ranks are perhaps swelled by the supposed band of professional agitators that are — allegedly — traveling from city to city igniting the sparks that lead to the explosions of civil unrest.
The term “outside agitators” is always bandied about, as if the folks living in the area in question are as happy as clams with the status quo. The problem with that term is that it was the same one used by white Southerners who claimed their “niggras” were just as happy until someone from up north put the damn fool notion in their heads that they were as good as white folks.
If an “agitator” is from another country, to me that’s an outsider; but if they’re coming from another city to aid in bringing about justice, these are Americans that should be welcomed with open arms. After all, this truly is a national problem.
On the other side of the equation are the black residents of Baltimore who took to the streets the day after the uprising with brooms and shovels to clean up the mess. It was a proud moment for the city and its residents that virtually went unnoticed by the cameras seeking out violence.
While I pray we won’t need such an effort here, perhaps one should be organized anyway … just in case.
[Photo: The National Guard]
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.