Real Talk

By Kevin Powell
April 25, 2008

I am sick to my stomach and I really do not know what to say right this second. My cell and office phones have been blowing up all day, and people have been emailing me nonstop, to let me know that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper, the three New York City police officers accused of shooting 50 times and murdering Sean Bell, were found not guilty on all counts: Oliver, who fired 31 times and reloaded once, and Isnora, who fired 11 times, had been charged with manslaughter, felony assault and reckless endangerment. They faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Cooper, who fired four times, faced up to a year in jail if convicted of reckless endangerment.

But I knew this verdict was coming. I have lived in New York City for nearly two decades and, before that, worked as a news reporter for several publications throughout the city’s five boroughs, and I cannot begin to tell you how many cases of police brutality and police misconduct I covered or witnessed, more often than not a person of color on the receiving end: Eleanor Bumpurs…Michael Stewart…Amadou Diallo…Sean Bell.

This is not to suggest that all police officers are trigger-happy and inhumane, because I do not believe that. They have a difficult and important job, and many of them do that job well, and maintain outstanding relationships with our communities. I know officers like that. But what I am saying is that New York, America, this society as a whole, still views the lives of Black people, of Latino people, of people of color, of women, of poor or working-class people, as less than valuable. It does not matter that two of the three officers charged in the Sean Bell case were officers of color and one White. What matters is the mindset of racism that permeates the New York Police Department, and far too many police departments across America. Shooting in self-defense is one thing, but it is never okay to shoot first and ask questions later, not even if a police officer feels threatened, not even if the source of that feeling is a Black or Latino person.

That is a twisted logic deeply rooted in the America social fabric, dating back to the founding fathers and their crazy calculations about slaves being three-fifths of a human being. And in spite of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and other successful Black individuals, by and large the masses of Black people, and Latino people, are perpetually viewed through this lens of not being quite human. William Kristol of the New York Times wrote what I felt was an incredibly ignorant and myopic March 24th column implying, strongly, that we should not have conversations about race in America, that such talk was dated. This piece was in response to Barack Obama’s now famous meditation on race. But Kristol, like many in denial, had this to say: The last thing we need now is a heated national conversation about race: Racial progress has in fact continued in America. A new national conversation about race isn’t necessary to end what Obama calls the racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years, because we’re not stuck in such a stalemate… This is all for the best. With respect to having a national conversation on race, my recommendation is: Let’s not, and say we did. Well, Mr. Kristol, what, precisely, do you think Black New Yorkers are feeling this very moment as we absorb the Sean Bell verdict? Or do our thoughts, our feelings, our wounds, not matter?

Black male lives are meaningless in America, a female friend just texted me, and what can I say to that? Who’s going to help Nicole Paultre Bell, Sean Bell’s grieving fiance, explain to their two young daughters that the men who killed their daddy are not going to be punished?

I remember that November 2006 day so vividly, when word spread of the Sean Bell killing. And I remember the hastily assembled meetings by New York City’s de facto Black leadership-the ministers, the elected officials, the grassroots activists-at Local 1199 in midtown Manhattan where it was stated, with great earnestness and finality, that after all these years, we were going to put together a comprehensive response to police brutality and misconduct. There were to be three levels of response: governmentally (local, state, and federal bills were going to be proposed, and task forces recommended); systemically within the police department (comprehensive proposals were called for to challenge police practices or to enforce ones already in place); and via the United States Justice Department, since any form of police brutality or misconduct is a violation of basic American civil rights. We met for a few months after the Sean Bell murder, divided into committees, then the entire thing died-again. There was a lot of research done, many hearings that were transcribed, much talk of a united front, then nothing, not even an email to say the plan was no longer being planned.

Anyhow, in the interim I spent a great deal of time, more time than I’ve spent in my entire New York life, in Queens, mainly in Jamaica, Queens, getting to know Sean Bell’s family. I was particularly struck by Sean Bell’s mother, Valerie Bell, and his father, William Bell. Two very decent and well-intentioned working-class New Yorkers, who had raised their children the best they could, who were now, suddenly, activists thrust into a spotlight they had never sought. The parents are what we the Black community calls “God-fearing, church-going folk.” Indeed, what was so incredible was how much Mr. and Mrs. Bell believed in and referenced God. But that is our sojourn in America: when everything else fails us, we still have the Lord. And there they were, holding a 50-day vigil directly across from the 103rd precinct, on 168th Street, right off Jamaica Avenue and 91st Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, in the dead-cold winter air. They and their family members and close friends taking turns monitoring the makeshift altar of candles, cards, and photos. And I remember how we had to shame local leaders a few times into supporting Mr. and Mrs. Bell with donations of money, food, or other material needs. While much of the media and support flocked to Nicole Paultre Bell, Sean Bell’s fiance, and the sexiness of her being represented by the Reverend Al Sharpton and his lawyer pals Sanford Rubenstein and Michael Hardy, the media did not pay much attention to Sean Bell’s parents and their kinfolk at all.

What was especially striking was the fact that Mrs. Bell got up every single morning, made her way to the vigil area, then to work in a local hospital all day, then to her church every single evening. She reminded me so much of my own mother, of any Black mother in America who has had to be the backbone of the family, often sacrificing her own health, her own wants and needs, her own hurt and pain, to be there for others in their time of need.

Mrs. Bell always told me that she truly believed justice would be done in this case. She really did. I never had the heart to tell her that it is rare for a police officer to be found guilty of murdering a civilian, no matter how glaring the evidence. Nor did I have the heart to tell Mrs. Bell that the media and the defense would seek to destroy her son’s image and reputation, that Sean Bell would be reduced to a thug, as an unsavory character, to somehow justify the police shooting. Nor did I have the heart to tell Mrs. Bell that this pain of losing her son would be with her the remainder of her life. I did not share my suspicion that the parade of Black leaders, Black protests, media hype -all of it- was all part of someone’s carefully concocted script, brushed off and brought to the parade every single time a case like this occurred. I have seen it before, and as long as we live in a city, a nation, that does not value all people as human, there will be more Sean Bells.

“I am Sean Bell”, many of us chanted in the days and weeks immediately following his death. Yet very few of us showed up to the hearings after, and even fewer had the courage to question the vision, or lack thereof, of our own Black leadership who accomplished, ultimately, little to nothing at all. And very few of us realized that the powers-that-be in New York City have come to anticipate our reactions to matters like the Sean Bell tragedy: we get upset and become very emotional; we scream “No Justice! No Peace!”; we march, rally, and protest; we call the police and mayor all kinds of names and demand their resignations; we vow that this killing will be the last; and we will wait until the next tragedy hits, then this whole horrible cycle begins anew.

Plain and simple, racism creates abusive relationships. It does not matter if the perpetrator is a White sister or brother, or a person of color, because the most vulnerable in our society feel the heat of it. Real talk: this tragedy would have never gone down on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan or in Brooklyn Heights. I am not just speaking about the judge’s decision, but the police officer’s actions. Those shots would have never been fired at unarmed White people sitting in a car. Until we understand that racism is not just about who pulled the trigger in a police misconduct case, but is also about the geography of racism, and the psychology of racism, we are forever stuck having the same endless dialogue with no solution in sight.

And until America recognizes the civil and human rights of all its citizens, systemic racism and police misconduct, joined at the hip, will never end. That is, until White sisters and brothers realize they, too, are Sean Bell, this will never end. Save for a few committed souls, most White folks sit on the sidelines (as many did when we marched down Fifth Avenue in protest of Sean Bell’s murder in December 2006), feel empathy, but fail to grasp that our struggle for justice is their struggle for justice. They, alas, are Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo, and all those anonymous Black and Brown heads and bodies who’ve been victimized, whether they want to accept that reality or not. And the reality is that until police officers are forced to live in the communities they police, forced to learn the language, the culture, the mores of the communities they police, forced to change how they handle undercover assignments, this systemic racism, this police misconduct, will never end. And until Black and Latino people, the two communities most likely to suffer at the hands of police brutality and misconduct, refuse to accept the half-baked leadership we’ve been given for nearly forty years now, and start to question what is really going on behind the scenes with the handshakes, the eyewinks, the head nods, and the backroom deals at the expense of our lives, this systemic racism, this police misconduct, these kinds of miscarriages of justice, will never end.

Our current leadership needs us to believe all we can ever be are victims, doomed to one recurring tragedy or another. It keeps these leaders gainfully employed, and it keeps us feeling completely helpless and powerless. Well, I am not helpless nor powerless, and neither are you. To prevent Sean Bell’s memory from fading like dust into the air, the question is put to you, now: What are you going to do to change this picture once and for all? Mayor Bloomberg said this in a statement:

“There are no winners in a trial like this. An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. No verdict could ever end the grief that those who knew and loved Sean Bell suffer.”

No, the grief will never end, not for Sean Bell’s parents and family, for his fiance and children. But Mayor Bloomberg, you, me, we the people, can step up our games, make a commitment to real social justice in our city, in our nation, and, for once, penalize people, including police officers, who just randomly blow away lives. Sean Bell is never coming back, but we are here, and the biggest tragedy will be if we keep going about our lives, as if this never happened in the first place.

And a long as we have leadership, White leadership and Black leadership, mainstream leadership and grassroots leadership, that can do nothing more than exacerbate folks very natural emotions in a tragedy like this, we will never progress as a human race. Instead a true leader needs to harness those emotions and turn them into action, as Dr. King did, as Gandhi did. In the absence of such action, so many of us, especially us Black and Latino males, will continue to have a very nervous relationship with the police, even the police of color, for fear that any of one of us could be the next Sean Bell.

Kevin Powell is a Brooklyn, New York-based writer, community activist, and author of 8 books. He can be reached at

Justice is a collective term that can be divided into two broad categories: just behavior, the treatment of others with genuine respect and in an equitable manner, and the administration of law, in which a judge or panel of judges, a magistrate, or a jury enforce legislation, with the objectives of protecting victims and lawfully punishing perpetrators.
Now that we all know the definition of the word JUSTICE, can someone please explain what happened yesterday with the Sean Bell case? So letting off 50 rounds injuring and killing our unarmed youth was out of genuine respect? NAH! I get it now…They got off because their shooting was done in an equitable manner right?
This system is a damn joke and we have to do something. We as a people have to do something. We have to stop talking about it and start being about it! Enough is enough. This is an ongoing thing, that no matter how obvious it may be JUSTICE does not prevail! We should all be angry, but most of all I think we should be scared.
The day has come where OBVIOUS evidence does nothing when it comes to justice being served for our people. We have to stop allowing them to take advantage of us. It is only going to continue to get worse.
This scenario reminds me of that SHAGGY song..It wasn’t me! I now we all remember that song where Shaggy’s girlfriend was like she saw him on camera, caught him in the shower, heard him on the phone and he still denied it saying “it wasn’t me”…
The judge had all the evidence and decided that it was not them. It was not their fault Sean Bell and friends were ALL unarmed. It was not their fault the cops did not identify themselves. It was not their fault that the cops were trigger happy! It was not their fault that Sean Bell died.
New York…We need to protest. We need to Protest. We need to keep our money out of their system. Our tax money is what pays the cops salaries. Why are we paying them to kill us? Why? We need to hit them where it hurts. Let’s pull our money out of the system and hit these streets. They know that we are angry, but we have to show them that we are angry. We have to show them that we are not going to tolerate this behavior. Next time you mother fuckin cops want to test your aim, take it to a shooting range! African Americans were not put on this Earth for target practice! This is sad and it hurts.

Below I am placing links to all the other Hip-Hop sites that have posted articles about the Sean Bell Case. We have to UNITE! I Thank You All.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/default.aspx

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.6812/title.breaking-police-cleared-in-sean-bell-shooting

http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/14803

MD

I couldn’t sleep this morning. I was tossing and turning then I finally woke up at 11:30am. When I opened my eyes I turned my head in the direction of the television and I saw the breaking news signal flashed across the television screen. I perked up to see what was transpiring but in my gut I already knew what the deal was, not guilty. Damn this is how my day is going to start of with this bullshit. I would be lying if I said that I thought that there was a possibility that the Judge was going to convict the Police of murdering Sean Bell. I hoped for that result but I knew better. Once they requested that he render the decision I knew they were going to walk. Juries are swayed by public opinion and make decisions based on emotion so they would have convicted the police. Damn not guilty but how and why. The evidence supported that this was murder how the prosecution and the Judge could not see this I don’t understand. I guess I can truly say that justice is truly blind because only a blind person would allow this travesty of justice to happen. Anger makes me want to throw a trash can threw a window like Mookie in Do the Right Thing but the more rational side of me overcomes my impulsive side. Even though I knew this was a strong possibility I still am in shock this can’t be going down. This is the United States of America in the year 2008 justice should be given to those who deserve it. But then where is the justice for Sean Bell’s daughters, his mother, his sister, and his fianc?e. There is none. They placed their hope and belief’s in a criminal justice system that should have provided them with some type of satisfaction in having Sean Bell’s killers brought to justice but they were denied.

I grew up reading Black Panther books and other Black Power books. I formalized my current ideologue by age 25. I believe as Malcolm X believed that if a man violates and puts his hands on you that you make certain that he doesn’t place his hands on anyone else. Violence should always be met with violence. It seems that that’s all America understands, violence and bloodshed. If you stand up and fight for your freedom they label you a terrorist. We are living in chaos right now and it is time to bring out the black steel. Not the black steel as in the guns but the black steel as in will power and discipline. One of the most powerful scenes in a movie is when Malcolm X has the Muslim march in a single file to the hospital to check on one of his fellow Muslims. The power and strength that they displayed had the Police in fear and bystanders in awe. The discipline that they showed while angry was powerful. The ability of Malcolm X to give them a hand gesture to get them to move at his discretion had the Police afraid and they made the infamous comment that that’s too much power for a black man to have. That is what’s needed now, decisive action through discipline, will power, determination, and courage. We need to steel our minds to fight back and take respect from those that don’t want to give it. If violence is necessary then so be it. We are a power by ourselves. We make up over $581 billion of spending each year. If they don’t respect us as a people they will respect our money and the power that it brings. If we were to boycott businesses, stores, and individuals (politician’s) that donot support us or defend us then we would have the respect of people. It is only through becoming that Black Steel during this Hour of Chaos will we have the success that is necessary. So it’s time that we get together across the nation and bring it to them on a level they respect financially and physically

Nomad

Damn this is some bullshit. I say as I stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I knew this shit was going to happen I say out loud as I splash some water across my face. My son looks up at me and says”Daddy that’s a bad word you shouldn’t say that”. As I gather my thoughts and remember that I have a son who is always listening to my conversations. As I look in the mirror and look into my eyes I hear a voice deep within me speak

Nomad: I told you this shit was going to happen. What you gonna do now Big Man? Are you going to man up or are you going to keep quiet and complain from the sidelines

Damon: Now is not the time for this shit. I am angry and frustrated. I don’t have time for your bull crap.

Nomad: So tell me Big Man when is going to be the time. You see they out here killing us for sport. Shit when is it going to be the time. They gonna have to kill somebody close to you and then what you gonna do then speak up. Nah we got to do something about this shit now

Damon: And what do you think we should do go out there and torch our neighborhoods like they did ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Newark and Watts when they killed Dr. King. Riot like they did in LA when they acquitted the cops in the Rodney King case. All that stuff does is destroy our already impoverished neighborhoods. You see that gentrification is already moving us out why help them.

Nomad: Man fuck that shit you talking about. If shit has to burn so be it. Let that shit burn. Rioting and destroying shit is just a part of the years of frustration that we are feeling. Sometimes they need to know we are tired and that shit has to stop.

Damon: But we are going to destroy where we live. There is no benefit in that. Countless jobs, homes, and lives will be affected by that. It is meaningless and pointless. There are other avenues in which you can express your frustration. We can picket and protest that has worked in the past.

Nomad: See that’s why I don’t fuck with your punk ass. This is 2008 that we shall overcome shit is played out my nigga. You ain’t Dr. King and I’m not Jesse Jackson. I ain’t marching no motherfucking more. You see all that marching we did for the Jena 6 and homeboy still ended up going to jail. We got to tear shit up to let these motherfuckers know we mean business. No Justice no Peace

Damon: I don’t see the benefit in destroying you own neighborhood. That is counterproductive if you ask me. You are hustling backwards.

Nomad: See here you go with that college bullshit. Ever since you graduated you got soft. It’s like they brainwashed your ass. Where is the militant motherfucker that I use to know? Did they castrate your ass when you were in school? Did they take your motherfucking heart? We are at war out this bitch. Either you are going to do something progressive and force change or we run you the fuck over when we start taking what we want.

Damon: You can never question my heart. I am all about change but it has to be positive and beneficial to everyone. Your way too many people will get hurt unnecessarily.

Nomad: Now you see you don’t understand revolution. Without struggle there is no progress. There always has to be martyr’s in a revolution. You act like you forget that. Maybe your ass needs to be a martyr. Talking like a pussy I don’t see any other purpose you could serve than to be a martyr.

Damon: You are talking nonsense. I serve a purpose everybody doesn’t have to be a soldier. There are other roles people can play during war. And you talk as if this war is upon us. I don’t see any signs of any damn war you are bugging out again.

Nomad: Hmm that sounds just like something a pussy would say. Nigga man up and be a man. Grab you black fatigues, your black hoodie, your black combat boots, and black skully and get outside and take action.

Damon: I am past that stage in my life. I have too much to lose now. I have a family. I can’t do that wild stuff anymore. I’m a grown man. I have sons to live for.

Nomad: Hasn’t this verdict shown you that your sons are at risk. If you don’t stand up for them now it maybe too late later. If you love them like you say you’ll provide a safe environment for them now by letting society know that Men of Color aren’t going to stand by and let you take them out.

Damon: That is nonsense. The only thing violence brings is more violence. I stand up for my kid’s everyday. I teach them that in order for you to be anything in life you first have to be a man. I am a man because I take responsibility for my actions. By doing that stuff that you are talking about I’m giving power to another person and holding them responsible for my actions and what I do. Nah my dude that’s not going to happen I’ll take the more positive route and protest through marching and petition’s.

Nomad: Hmm yeah college definitely made your ass soft. No matter how much money you got and degree’s you get if the don’t respect you and what you represent they will take advantage of you. The only thing these oppressor’s respect is force. You have to fight fire with fire. You are just a nigger in their eyes an educated nigger in a suit.

Damon: Fighting fire with fire will only get you burned. You have the thinking and ideals of a terrorist. You are dangerous in your thinking. I can’t allow you to try to trick me or convince me to live in fear of something that isn’t happening. Fall back playboy get your mind right

Nomad: Yeah whatever nigger. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

As I shook my head to clear my head I looked down at my son and when he smiled at me I knew that I had made the right decision.

Nomad

On April 25, 2008 my city should explode with outrage, anger, and hostility. People of color should be standing up and taking back there respect and making the nation take notice. Disrespect and bad treatment is going to stop out this mofo. Shit is about to change around this bitch and it is going to be because of Lady Justice. When they say that justice is blind they didn’t lie. April 25th is the day of the Sean Bell verdict. A verdict that I have a funny suspicion will comeback as an acquittal for the police. An acquittal for murder and stealing from two young daughters who will never see their daddy again. Whenever a verdict does not come back favorably for people of color we always shout and cry about how unfair the justice system is. How blacks aren’t given a fair shake. Let me be the first to say that shit is not going to happen this time around. The time for peaceful demonstrations has passed. They aren’t respecting that shit anymore. So Rev. Al Sharpton I ain’t marching no more. That shit is tired and played. That shit isn’t doing anything but making me a mother freaking target for harassment by the Feds and the Pigs. I need and I am going to get my respect because I’m going to take it. The only way to do that is to bring the fight to the enemy. So if I have to crack some heads and stomp a few motherfuckers out so be it but they are going to take notice of me and my people. They are going to know that if they put their hands on me I’m going to put my hands back on them. If they put their hands on any of my young brothers and sisters I’m going to put my hands on them. So in following the blueprint of Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver, Huey Newton, H. Rap Brown, and Mutulu Shakur I’m ready to tear this motherfucker up. This time around the revolution will be televised. It will be on CNN, NY1, ABC, NBC, CBS, UPN, CW and the internet. It will be on MySpace, YouTube, and countless other websites. This right here is the countdown to Armageddon

Nomad