Black Man’s Value
Good Morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.
Tom, as you may remember, a couple weeks ago, I did a commentary on the Johannes Mehserle case –the cop who killed an unarmed Oscar Grant in Oakland in 2009 – just days before his controversial verdict of “involuntary manslaughter” was announced …
I also wrote a piece this weekend for NewsOne called, “How Much is One Black Man Worth?”
The article juxtaposed the Mehserle verdict with the almost simultaneous announcement of LeBron James move to Miami, and shades of that were, of course, echoed by Jeff on Tuesday…
…except I didn’t go after Rev. Jackson… That part is between Jeff and Jesse, and I love them both…
My article discussed the irony of how our American society had pretty much determined that one young man’s life –that of Grant– was apparently worth very little, while another young brother who dribbles an orange ball up and down a court –‘King James’– was apparently worth about 100 million…
The article became the most popular piece and went viral on the site not long after I wrote it and generated a whole lot of discussion . . .
I think it struck a chord because folks were troubled by the verdict and the ironic timing of the announcements…
…also because, as a community, we are sick and tired of seeing unarmed black men being killed or brutalized at the hands of those who are supposed “to protect and serve…”
It raises the question: How much is one black man (one black man’s life) actually worth…?
I bring this up again today, Sybil, because of the recent report on Black America Web about another unfortunate young brother –an 18 year-old from Stafford County, VA who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism affecting his ability to communicate and interact. That young man, Reginald Latson was incarcerated after an incident in which police approached him while walking down the street to a friend’s house.
Reginald was waiting for a local library to open when he decided to take a walk to visit a friend… Police say someone called in to report a quote-unquote “suspicious man” in the area who “was possibly carrying a gun…”
Police approached the autistic teenager, who possessed no weapon, and, according to police, a confrontation ensued in which the teen attacked an officer for no reason…
Reginald reported that the officers came at him with abusive language and racial slurs…
Now, Jay, I obviously wasn’t there and I don’t know what actually went down…
That said, there are still some very troubling things about this case …
First, it’s hard to figure out the “possibly carrying a gun” thing… That’s pretty vague… and “convenient”
And while Reginald was initially placed in a hospital for evaluation after the incident, the judge in the case –who could have granted an extension after the thirty days– recently decided to instead send Reginald to jail where the autistic teen is in an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous environment…
It’s reported that Reginald had made great strides in dealing with his condition, holding a job at a car wash and attending school…
He’s not used to being away from his mother and he’s terrified in jail. In fact, doctors had recommended to the court that because of his condition, Reginald be allowed to stay at the hospital until his July 30th preliminary hearing.
But let me be clear: I can’t say if law enforcement did anything wrong in this case, but I can say that jailing this young man who obviously needs support for his condition may destroy his life…
Tom, maybe somehow we can help this living black man before his life is destroyed because of his unfortunate encounter with law enforcement…
And while we await the results of the recently-opened federal probe into the Grant shooting, and the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, let’s use our energies to ensure our young men are being valued and not dying or languishing needlessly at the hands of our less-than-blind system of justice…
You can go to the “Justice for Reginald Latson” page on Facebook for updates and to see what can be done…
I leave you with this quote from an ancient philosopher that still holds true today: “Justice will not come until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are.”
Until Next Time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.
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