BLM and Bernie.
Two phenomena have been growing side by side. The Summer of Sanders has burst onto the national scene, with Bernie having the biggest crowds and the most donors. Black Lives Matter has burgeoned from the innocent African Americans killed by police and white terrorists. Many churches have been burned in the south. Our president has lead us through several poignant national moments. There is no end in sight to the white terrorism and police homicides. People are outraged and raw.
On Saturday, July 18 at Netroots in Phoenix, BLM won a small victory. They got some national press and from the stage a young sister demanded specificity on what the candidates would do about social justice. BLM has gotten a mixed reaction but I applaud their strident idealism. That sort of passion has been necessary to effect progressive social change throughout our nation’s history and it is necessary now.
Bernie is clear and credible on the issue of what he will do. His DOJ will hold police and police departments accountable for wrongful deaths. He will make police departments look more like the people they are meant to protect. He will emphasize community policing across the country to change the status of the police from an oppressive, outside force. He will demilitarize the police. Body cameras, better pay and training for police are other points he has raised. These are all ways to address a criminal justice system which is out of control. Perhaps I have missed some.
All black lives matter. Doing these things for social justice is not enough, because we must also address economic justice to save even greater numbers of black lives.
When I consider an innocent young woman, happy because of a new job, ending up dead under mysterious circumstances in a jail cell, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a black man working multiple jobs to keep his family together, until he dies of a heart attack, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a black mother without adequate healthcare or nutrition, trying to keep her kids off those corners, and then dying of complications from diabetes and hypertension, I believe that life matters.
When I consider an African American child killed by random gunfire while trying to take cover in the bathtub, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a black soldier, who needed veteran benefits for his dream of college, but dying in an unnecessary war, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a black child who dies from asthma complications due to living next to an oil refinery, I believe that life matters.
When I consider an old woman who dies from hunger, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a man who dies of cancer because he has no health care, I believe that life matters.
When I consider a youth who is killed while trying to surrender to police, I believe that life matters.
President Obama has been working on justice issues, but it is not easy. Our next president must seize the structural issues of social and economic justice and go much, much farther.
#BlackLivesMatter
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