Tyre Nichols is dead because systemic and institutional racism do not allow for Black people to be treated as human.
Darryl Tyree Williams is dead because systemic and institutional racism do not allow for Black people to be treated as human.
It’s exhausting to have to continue to speak that truth into existence over and over again. In this moment, however, we have the unique opportunity to take an esoteric, academic concept like systemic racism and present it in a way that the average person can see and recognize in real time.
Law Enforcement Officers beat Tyre Nichols to death. Hard stop. The race of the officers is of no real import, because systemic racism functions independent of the individual actor. That’s what makes it systemic. As a reminder, systemic racism is defined as systems and structures, like law enforcement and the carceral system as a whole, that have procedures and processes that disadvantage Black people. Law enforcement is a system developed to codify the oppression of Black people. What have we learned from this incident…diversity cannot change a racist system. A racist system cannot be cleansed. It can only be dismantled, reimagined, and restructured.
Black people, even Black people who are actors within inherently racist systems, are still victims of the bias and harm of the judicial system. Despite only making up 13% of the population, Black people compose 38% of the people in prison and jails. Black people disproportionately makeup and are impacted by a racist criminal justice system. The swiftness and severity with which the system responded to Black officers is absolutely the response we want when law enforcement abuses the people, BUT we also KNOW that if these officers were not Black, the law enforcement community would be wrapping the American flag around them and defending every kick and blow Tyre took as justified. What have we learned from this incident…being a Black actor in a racist system does not protect you from the racism of the system. Why? Because systemically racist systems produce racist outcomes, even when you are Black person who is a part of the racist system.
In conclusion, as we mourn the deaths of Tyre and Darryl and every Black person who is killed by state-sanctioned violence, we also take a moment to connect the dots. We must use this moment to recognize that systemic and institutional racism is a corrosive cancer that has to be removed to build a more healthy, fair, and just America.
Emancipate NC stands in solidarity with the people to use our resources, skills, and talents to dismantle, reimagine, and restructure systems that are historically harmful to Black people.
Join us at the Raleigh courthouse tomorrow Saturday January 28, 2023 at 1 pm
We pray for no arrests tomorrow; we certainly exhort Raleigh Police to let the people be, but just in case: