by Rania Khalek on April 15, 2013
Updated at the end of the post.
Every 28 hours a black woman, man or child in the United States is executed by a person employed or protected by the US government according to a year-long investigation by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), which has thus far been virtually ignored by the news media, progressive outlets included.
Following the murder of Trayvon Martin, the MXGM embarked on a year-long study to determine the prevalence of extrajudicial killings of black Americans. The organization initially recorded around 120 killings in the first half of 2012, which came out to one black person murdered every 36 hours. That number climbed to 313 by the end of last year, forcing the MXGM to update its findings to every 28 hours in their latest report, titled Operation Ghetto Storm. Thats almost one black American killed every day by law enforcement, security guards and/or vigilantes, which the MXGM believes is more accurate since their numbers reflect only those killings that are reported by police departments and the news media. As the organization points out in the report, there exists no national tracking of police-involved shootings, so its impossible to know the full extent of the crisis.
The Numbers
The largest portion of those killed in 2012 (40 percent) were between the ages of 22 to 31, followed by 18 to 21 year olds at 18 percent. Children made up 8 percent of extrajudicially executed black Americans.
Furthermore, 44 percent of those killed were unarmed while 27 percent were allegedly armed, meaning police claimed the victim was armed but no corroborating evidence existed to prove this was the case. Only 13 percent of those killed were said to have fired a weapon either before or during the officers arrival, according to the MXGM.
One of the reports most damning findings is the sheer lack of accountability for these killings. Thus far, less than 9 percent of those responsible for the deaths have faced charges, almost all of whom are security guards or vigilantees and all of which have yet to be determined. Despite the fact that an overwhelming number of the victims were definitively unarmed, only 3 percent of officers officers responsible for the deaths have been charged: 3 for vehicular crimes stemming from their crashes, 5 for manslaughterthe killers of Remarley Graham, Wendell Allen, Dane Garrett Scott Jr, Christopher Brown, and Bobby Moore Jr.
And the justifications are almost always the same: I felt threatened, he reached for his waistband to get what I thought was a gun, he was acting suspiciously, etc. All are based on personal perceptions that are no doubt influenced by racial stereotypes, given that every American is surrounded by a culture that conditions them to fear the criminal black man.
This isnt speculation. Study after study has confirmed the lethal consequences of the black-as-criminal stereotype.
A study recently published by the Journal of Social Issues examined the impact of racial bias on the decision to shoot at armed and unarmed suspects of different races (White, Black, Latino & Asian). The results were illuminating. Participants, which included college-age students and police officers, were more trigger happy when presented with black targets who were perceived as the most threatening, followed by Latinos, Whites and Asians (considered the least threatening, which the paper called a positive bias).
there's more..Every 28 Hours an African American is Extrajudicially Executed in the U.S. | Dispatches from the Underclass
Updated at the end of the post.
Every 28 hours a black woman, man or child in the United States is executed by a person employed or protected by the US government according to a year-long investigation by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), which has thus far been virtually ignored by the news media, progressive outlets included.
Following the murder of Trayvon Martin, the MXGM embarked on a year-long study to determine the prevalence of extrajudicial killings of black Americans. The organization initially recorded around 120 killings in the first half of 2012, which came out to one black person murdered every 36 hours. That number climbed to 313 by the end of last year, forcing the MXGM to update its findings to every 28 hours in their latest report, titled Operation Ghetto Storm. Thats almost one black American killed every day by law enforcement, security guards and/or vigilantes, which the MXGM believes is more accurate since their numbers reflect only those killings that are reported by police departments and the news media. As the organization points out in the report, there exists no national tracking of police-involved shootings, so its impossible to know the full extent of the crisis.
The Numbers
The largest portion of those killed in 2012 (40 percent) were between the ages of 22 to 31, followed by 18 to 21 year olds at 18 percent. Children made up 8 percent of extrajudicially executed black Americans.
Furthermore, 44 percent of those killed were unarmed while 27 percent were allegedly armed, meaning police claimed the victim was armed but no corroborating evidence existed to prove this was the case. Only 13 percent of those killed were said to have fired a weapon either before or during the officers arrival, according to the MXGM.
One of the reports most damning findings is the sheer lack of accountability for these killings. Thus far, less than 9 percent of those responsible for the deaths have faced charges, almost all of whom are security guards or vigilantees and all of which have yet to be determined. Despite the fact that an overwhelming number of the victims were definitively unarmed, only 3 percent of officers officers responsible for the deaths have been charged: 3 for vehicular crimes stemming from their crashes, 5 for manslaughterthe killers of Remarley Graham, Wendell Allen, Dane Garrett Scott Jr, Christopher Brown, and Bobby Moore Jr.
And the justifications are almost always the same: I felt threatened, he reached for his waistband to get what I thought was a gun, he was acting suspiciously, etc. All are based on personal perceptions that are no doubt influenced by racial stereotypes, given that every American is surrounded by a culture that conditions them to fear the criminal black man.
This isnt speculation. Study after study has confirmed the lethal consequences of the black-as-criminal stereotype.
A study recently published by the Journal of Social Issues examined the impact of racial bias on the decision to shoot at armed and unarmed suspects of different races (White, Black, Latino & Asian). The results were illuminating. Participants, which included college-age students and police officers, were more trigger happy when presented with black targets who were perceived as the most threatening, followed by Latinos, Whites and Asians (considered the least threatening, which the paper called a positive bias).
there's more..Every 28 Hours an African American is Extrajudicially Executed in the U.S. | Dispatches from the Underclass
