There have been any number of passionate and resonating responses to the lack of indictments in both the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. There is “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot:”
There is #BlackLivesMatter:
And now there is “This Stops Today.”
Camden, like many cities, towns and even countries, is standing up. Today (Thursday, the 11th) Camden United is hosting a march and rally:
And tomorrow, at 9:45am, Camden Churches Organized for People will be hosting a “die in:”
Camden Die In:
Faith Leaders Call for Systemic Changes to Urban Policing Nationwide
Join Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP)
Friday, December 12th, 9:30 – 10:30 am
at St Paul’s Episcopal (422 Market St, Camden)
For a non-violent, peaceful, community action to disrupt daily activities the way death disrupts families forever. We will lift our voices in solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the country calling for system-wide reforms in the wake of non-indictments in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Prepare:
Dress warmly and comfortably because most of the event will be held outside, will include walking and lying in the street.
Bring signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” “No Justice, No Peace,” “We can’t breathe,” etc.
Why here, why now? For those who aren’t in Camden, the activity in Camden may seem strange. Hasn’t the media been explaining how Camden is a positive example of community policing?
The experience on the ground has been much more controversial. According to numbers provided by the County NAACP, and backed up by OPRA requests, there has been a significant drop in diversity in the new Metro force (from a 71% minority force, to now 43%), and with new recruits (pictures below) being added, it’s only getting worse.
And that community policing is being paired with “broken windows” strategies that are heavy on enforcement of minorities for minor citations, in the hopes of catching criminals for major crimes. In other words, the exact tactics now being criticized nationally in light of Ferguson and the Eric Garner case. In particular, the 99 cases of citations for not having a bell on a bicycle in Camden are receiving attention. What we’re going to see is more and more cases of young, minorities (particularly men) disenfranchised by a policing strategy that accentuates rather than minimizes the biases and misconceptions of police who are not from, and do not know, Camden.
I’ll let a Camden resident tell his story (nsfw), and ask one last question:
What is the cost of treating Camden residents as criminals before we even know them?
Share it!
