Sunday, March 25, 2012

A code that could have saved a life

By JESSE WASHINGTON

I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him.

I turned off the radio and told my son about the rules he needs to follow to avoid becoming another Trayvon Martin — a black male who Zimmerman assumed was "suspicious" and "up to no good."

As I explained it, the Code goes like this:

Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an affluent neighborhood where black folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a criminal, some people might assume you are, especially if you are wearing certain clothes.

Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.

Please don't assume, son, that all white people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a black male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.

I was far from alone in laying out these instructions. Across the country this week, parents were talking to their children, especially their black sons, about the Code. It's a talk the black community has passed down for generations, an evolving oral tradition from the days when an errant remark could easily cost black people their job, their freedom, or sometimes their life.

After Trayvon Martin was killed, Al Dotson Jr., a lawyer in Miami and chairman of the 100 Black Men of America organization, told his 14-year-old son that he should always be aware of his surroundings, and of the fact that people might view him differently "because he's blessed to be an African-American."

"It requires a sixth sense that not everyone needs to have," Dotson said.

Dotson, 51, remembers receiving his own instructions as a youth, and hearing those instructions evolve over time.

His grandparents told Dotson that when dealing with authority figures, make it clear you are no threat at all — an attitude verging on submissive. Later, Dotson's parents told him to respond with respect and not be combative.

Today, Dotson tells his children that they should always be respectful, but should not tolerate being disrespected — which would have been recklessly bold in his grandparents' era.

More here




WI: Man shot by homeowner while hiding from police: "After first checking that the front door was locked, he went out through the kitchen to the rear porch, or three-season room. The kitchen door swung open into the porch toward the right. Morrison was also on the right side of the porch, crouching between a refrigerator and a dresser. Friends said he had gone there to hide from police, not to go farther into Kind's house. Kind said he did not notice anyone at first, but as he took a couple steps toward the door to the exterior he noticed someone stand up in the dark. Kind told police he thought he said something like "Who are you," or "What are you doing," and then fired a single shot after the person raised a hand and took a step forward. When police arrived, they found Morrison still crouched between the dresser and refrigerator, but found a bullet hole in the wall 49 inches from the floor. Morrison had been shot through the heart and lung. Bensen also concluded that the late hour, the darkness, the expectation that the intruder had broken in through a locked door, the close quarters of the porch, and the fact that his wife and children were in the home all supported the castle doctrine's presumption that Kind acted reasonably in using deadly force."


Mass.: Husband loses in shootout: "A local resident has been shot dead by his estranged wife, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire on Martha's Vineyard. Kenneth Bloomquist, 64, was killed, and his wife, Cynthia Bloomquist, 63, is hospitalized from gunshot wounds, police said, following the shootings on Friday morning at the couple's vacation home on the island. The violence erupted shortly before 8 a.m., when the man apparently broke into the West Tisbury home and shot his wife, police said. The wife called 911 and the island's police tactical response team found her in an upstairs bedroom with gunshot wounds to her torso, police said. Her husband was also found upstairs, but was already dead of apparent gunshot wounds, they said. Cynthia Bloomquist later underwent surgery at Martha's Vineyard Hospital, where she was in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. [The man's mother] said her son had moved out of the couple's home to a home she used to live in Rehoboth, but that he was hoping to reunite with his wife even though she had a new boyfriend that worsened their relationship.

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