- Jun 14, 2004
- 4,168
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- United States
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-declare-black-lives-matter_us_5808be36e4b0dd54ce385412
Certainly not a safe or easy letter for him to write given much of his audience likely does not share his experiences and perspectives on the current state of race relations in our country.
My mother, my relatives, and closest friends have risked their lives in the area of law enforcement and corrections, so I never have and never will say, “I HATE police.” I know that it’s a culture of its own with many nuances that the average person can’t grasp.
Still, I have had enough experience with and exposure to our policing system to know that it is extremely fractured and the infrastructure is far from fair and just. I’ve been pulled over before a show, spoken to like I was less than human, unlawfully searched for drugs, and left to put my destroyed car back together and make it to my show as the cops drove off.
I’ve had an officer place his knee on my throat as he told me to tell him where a gun (that I didn’t possess) was. My brother and fellow artist Trip Lee was outside of one of his own concerts and was pushed around and had guns drawn on him because he fit a description. These are just a few of some of the MANY infractions I can name.
Does this indict all officers? No. But does the consistency of infraction tell me the system (not just a few individuals) is flawed? Yes.
Certainly not a safe or easy letter for him to write given much of his audience likely does not share his experiences and perspectives on the current state of race relations in our country.