Inching Closer to the 2015 Cincinnati #BlackLivesMatter Riots

Stuff Black People Don’t Like
July 29, 2015

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“You grew up way too fast. And now there’s nothing to believe. And reruns all become our history.” — Goo Goo Dolls, Name

Will this be it?

The energy of the #BlackLivesMatter movement keeps growing, reminding one of exactly the synergy Nat Turner felt on the morning he awoke to lead his historic rebellion.

  • What John Brown felt when he prepared to march upon Harper’s Ferry.
  • What Trayvon Martin felt when he tried to kill George Zimmerman; what Michael Brown felt as he prepared to charge at Darren Wilson.
  • What Nkosi Thandiwe felt as he prepared to open fire on three white women in Atlanta, ultimately murdering Brittney Watts for daring to possess unearned “white privilege.”

Perhaps we are far nearer to this energy being released than anyone wants to admit. [Mayor: ‘We’re prepared’ for police shooting decision, Cincinnati.com, July 28, 2015]:

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said he’s confident police are ready for whatever happens this week after prosecutors release video of a fatal shooting by a University of Cincinnati police officer.

Cranley said city officials are preparing for the video’s release, as well as the conclusion of a grand jury investigation, in two ways: They are making sure police have the resources they need to respond to any protests or unrest, and they are reaching out to community leaders to prevent trouble from getting started.

“I think we’re prepared,” Cranley said Tuesday. “Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate lawlessness.”

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters has said he expects the grand jury investigating the shooting to complete its work this week, at which time he will announce whether UC Police Officer Ray Tensing will be charged with a crime and also will release video of the incident from the officer’s body camera.

Tensing shot and killed Samuel DuBose, 43, during a traffic stop on July 19. The officer stopped DuBose at Rice and Valencia streets in Mount Auburn for having a missing front license plate.

Many questions remain unanswered. The police incident report said Tensing was “dragged,” but there was no mention of the dragging in the police dispatch call. Deters has refused to release video of the incident until the grand jury’s work is done, saying it is part of the investigation.

Cranley and other city officials say they have not seen the video, but City Manager Harry Black said Monday he has been briefed on what it shows.

“My reaction is that it is not a good situation,” Black said. “Someone has died that did not necessarily need to die.”

Cranley said he’s optimistic the response to the video and grand jury decision will be civil. He said the city has changed since 2001, when the streets erupted in days of violence after a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed an African-American man in Over-the-Rhine.

He said the relationship between police and the community they serve is far better today than in 2001 and City Hall has open lines of communication with activists, ministers and others whose opinions carry weight in the city’s neighborhoods.

“These are personal friends of mine,” Cranley said. “We’re staying in constant communication.”
He said he’s also scheduled a private meeting with DuBose’s family members, who buried him Tuesday. “I want to express my condolences,” Cranley said.

The mayor said another significant difference between this shooting and the one in 2001 is that this one didn’t involve a Cincinnati police officer. That shooting led to sweeping police reforms and a “collaborative agreement” between community leaders and the city about the future of policing in Cincinnati.

Cue up the Goo Goo Dolls, signing a song detailing the false premise of so-called “white privilege” far greater than you could imagine:

 And scars are souvenirs you never lose

The past is never far

Did you lose yourself somewhere out there?

Did you get to be a star?

And don’t it make you sad to know that life

Is more than who we are

One day, sons and daughters of Europe will understand we are far more than individuals and realize our future will be predicated largely upon present actions of which we have literally no control; but it’s how we collectively decide to respond to these actions that determine the future.

Life might be more than who we individually are, but when we collectively decide life is about who we will become (and must overcome), well… “collaborative agreements” from the past will no longer burden our future.

So few understand where the #BlackLivesMatter is inevitably leading, but it will ultimately birth a movement of far, far greater importance: that White Lives Matter.

And when this moment occurs, reruns will no longer be part of our history.