As the Gallup chart for this post shows, race relations in the United States have tanked in the last few years.  As a minister of a racially diverse church in a racially diverse neighborhood this concerns me a great deal.  This means that white people and black people – at least on the national level – are more distrusting and fearful of each other than they were a few years ago.  It means that people feel like the world is a worse place – at least as far as race relations – than it was a few years ago. It means we are headed in the wrong direction.

But why is this?  How did we get here?  Where did we go wrong?

There are a lot of things someone could point to, but I think a significant contributor to the problem is that we have stopped believing in our governmental processes – specifically things like due process, official investigations, and trial by jury – and have come to believe and rely on trial-by-media.  Whether it be the big corporate media groups or social media (and its myriad of echo chambers), we too-often act like we believe that these sources provide us with all of the information and insight we need to judge a situation – whether a crime or an injustice has occurred or not, whether someone is guilty or innocent, etc.

This is irrational and terribly presumptive, and in many cases both our society and our own peace of mind ends up paying the price.

Nowhere do we see this more clearly than the #BlackLivesMatter campaign against “killer cops” and vigilantes.  How many people have decided based on the trial-by-media that cops are regularly out there killing black people and getting away with it?  How many people believe that Trayvon Martin was killed for being black and wearing a hoodie, Michael Brown for having his hands up and begging for his life, Alton Sterling for selling CDs, Eric Garner for selling cigarettes, or India Beaty for walking down the street?  These are all gross oversimplifications and dangerously false narratives.  They fan flames of fear, anger, and hate; flames that leave people feeling afraid, depressed, and even violent.

How many people believe that cops are regularly out there killing black people for no other reason than they are black and getting away with it with no justice happening in the justice system – no investigations, no arrests, and no convictions of police officers?  These are overwhelmingly wrong and dangerous beliefs!

How many people have in whole or in part given up on the rule of law and put more trust in mob rule and trial-by-media?  How many people make up their minds about whether someone in the news is innocent or guilty before all the facts are in?  How many people believe they have a better handle on the facts of situation than the investigators and juries involved in the case?  Rule of law has its problems and it always will.  Trial-by-media and mob rule is a human catastrophe.

The consequences to this mentality have been enormous.  Thousands of people have been arrested for breaking the law during protests.  Hundreds of police officers have been assaulted and injured.  A growing number have been killed. Millions of dollars have been stripped from communities by the policing demands #BlackLivesMatter protests and riots place on municipalities.  A staggering number of people apparently feel that it is okay to vilify and dehumanize police officers and too many black people are living with an increasing fear that the world outside their door has become more dangerous for them.

So much of this is the fault of our trial-by-media mentality.  We don’t wait for the facts.  We seek justice while abandoning the quest for truth. We rush to judgment, to protest, and even to violent action, with little regard to due process, rule of law, or respect for civil servants and public officials.

As I look at the chart in this post, I can’t help but see that race relations in this country began tanking right after the Trayvon Martin situation.  That was a travesty in trial-by-media if there ever was one.  It was also the situation that #BlackLivesMatter was born out of.  To use the words of then Texas NAACP President, it was a situation that “race hustlers” used to “exploit racial passions.”

I want to challenge all of us to think about whether we would rather live in a world where we work within our democratic and legislative processes to make the rule of law as just as we can, or would we rather live in a world where the path of justice, right and wrong, is navigated by a trial-by-media.

Which courtroom would we rather stand in?  Which one is better for healing the race relations that have taken a nosedive over the past few years?

Below I have written up a short summary of many of the people #BlackLivesMatter and trial-by-media have made decisions about and held up as martyrs and saints.  I want to invite you to read over these, maybe even click on the links to learn more, and see if you think our justice system (flawed as it is) is wholesale giving cops a pass on murdering black people, see if these situations are as simplistic as you may have been led to believe.   See if you think the facts are worth waiting for, if truth still plays a crucial part in justice, and the rule of law is still worth believing in and working on.

I want to underscore that Every One of These is a Tragedy!  Anytime a life is lost or taken, it is a time to mourn.  Everyone of these is a sign that we still have not reached the Beloved Community or the Dream of God. 

Kathryn Johnston – A 92 year old black woman who was shot and killed by three police officers in 2006 during a botched no-knock warrant drug raid.  The officers lied and falsified evidence in an attempt to cover up their crime.  The three officers were arrested and tried for manslaughter along with a number of other charges.  All three went to jail.

Trayvon Martin (overwhelming amount of information here) – A 17 year old black male who was shot and killed by a mixed race Hispanic man named George Zimmerman in February of 2012.  Martin and Zimmerman got into an altercation where Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed Martin.  Zimmerman was treated for injuries to his head, questioned for five hours by police and then released when no evidence could be found to refute his claim of self-defense.  In the wake of misleading media coverage, protests erupted across the country and six weeks after the shooting, Zimmerman was arrested and charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Florida Governor, Rick Scott.  In July of 2013 a jury acquitted him.  In February of 2015 the Department of Justice announced that “there was not enough evidence for a federal hate crime prosecution.”  The FBI also conducted their own investigation.  Due to a media characterization that Martin was shot for wearing a hoodie, hoodies were, and are, used as a sign of protest against the investigation.  Many black leaders, like Texas NAACP President, criticized other black leaders and the media as “race hustlers” who were using this situation to “exploit racial passions.” During and after the investigation Zimmerman and his family received multiple death threats and the New Black Panthers placed a $10,000 price on his head.  Vandalism, brutal assaults, and other crimes were committed around the country, almost exclusively against white people (the media originally portrayed Zimmerman as white), as supposed revenge for the shooting of Martin (search “This is for Trayvon”).

Eric Garner – A black man who died in Staten Island New York in July of 2014 after a resisting arrest altercation with police.  He repeated “I can’t breathe” eleven times while being held down on the sidewalk.  The arrest was supervised by a black female police officer.  Officers called EMTs who did not perform CPR because Garner was breathing.  He died an hour after the altercation.  The medical examiner attributed his death to a combination of a compression of the neck (chokeholds are prohibited by NYPD policy and its use in this situation is debated), compression of the chest, and poor health.  A grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved.  The Department of Justice closely monitored the investigation and conducted an independent investigation.  The case was also reviewed by the FBI.  NY Police Commissioner William Batton “ordered an extensive review of the NYPD’s training procedures, specifically focusing on the appropriate amount of force that can be used while detaining a suspect.”  Protests have taken all over the country – some peaceful, some not.  “I Can’t Breathe” has become a common slogan in protests.

Michael Brown – An 18 year old black man who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson after he violently robbed a convenience store, assaulted the officer, punching him in the face and fighting him for his gun in August of 2014.  The case was investigated by a grand jury and the US Department of Justice (headed by a black Attorney General working for a black president) and no charges were filed against Wilson.  A series of protests and riots ensued.  “Hands Up Don’t Shoot,” based on the lie that Brown was shot while having his hands up begging the officer not to shoot him, is still a popular slogan in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.  Due to the trial by public opinion, Darren Wilson’s career as a police officer is effectively over.  Two New York Police officers were killed by a man named Ismaaiyl Brinsley who said he was doing it for Michael Brown and Eric Garner.  To understand how an unarmed man can be a lethal threat READ THIS.

Tamir Rice – A 12 year old boy who was tragically shot and killed by police officers in November of 2014.  The officers did not know he was twelve years old and were responding to a call “of a black male sitting on a swing and pointing a gun at people” in a city park.  The caller to 911 reported that the gun was probably a fake and that the male was probably a juvenile – neither piece of critical information was passed on to the officers.  When the officers arrived on the scene and told Rice (5’7” and 195 lbs) to put up his hands, he reached for the gun in his waistband, the officers shot him and he died the following day.  Rice’s gun was later found to be an Airsoft replica with the orange safety marker removed. The case was turned over to a grand jury which declined to indict the officers.

Meagan Hockaday – A 26 year old black woman who was shot and killed by a police officer in March of 2015 when she came at the police officer with a knife.  The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave and the investigation is ongoing. #BlackLivesMatter has led a number of protests regarding this situation.

Tony Robinson –  A 19 year old black man who in March of 2015, after endangering a number of people (including attempting to strangle a woman), attacked a police officer, knocking his head through a wall and pushing him down the stairs.  The officer ended the fight by shooting Robinson and then giving him CPR to try, unsuccessfully, to save his life.  #BlackLivesMatter protested the killing of an unarmed man.

Walter Scott – A fifty year old black man who was shot in the back and killed while running from a police officer after a traffic stop in April of 2015.  The officer involved, Michael Slager, was fired, arrested, and is currently being charged with murder and is being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office.

Freddie Gray – A 25 year old black man who died of injuries sustained either during his arrest or while in police custody in April of 2015.  He was a known drug dealer and possibly ingested the drugs to hide them as he ran from police.  He was high on both heroin and pot at the time of his arrest. He was arrested by three white officers and three black officers.  All six officers were arrested on charges ranging from manslaughter to assault to reckless endangerment.  Officer William Porter’s first trial was declared a mistrial and his retrial is scheduled for September 2016.  Officer Caesar Goodson was found not guilty of all charges by (black) Judge Barry Williams in June 2016.  Officer Brian Rice was found not guilty of all charges by Judge Barry Williams in June of 2016.  Officer Edward Nero was also found not guilty of all charges by Judge Barry Williams in May of 2016.  Officer Garrett Miller’s trial is set for the end of July 2016.  Sergeant Alicia White’s trial is set for October of 2016.  The Baltimore Police Department is approximately 52% minority (43.7% black, 7% Hispanic, 1% Asian) and 47.6% white (see HERE). Baltimore also has a majority black city council and a black mayor. Protests and riots have taken place.  Also see HERE and HERE

McKinney Pool Party Incident – In June of 2015, an officer, apparently reeling from traumatic events earlier in the day, used excessive force on a black teenage girl by holding her to the ground.  The officer resigned.

Sandra Bland – A 28 year old black woman who, according to a county coroner and an investigation by Texas authorities and the FBI, committed suicide in her jail cell in July of 2015.  #BlackLivesMatter protested her supposed wrongful death and still references her as an example of injustice.

Samuel DuBose – A 43 year old black man who was shot and killed by a police officer in July of 2015 during a traffic stop.  The officer was fired and is currently being tried for manslaughter and murder.

Corey Jones – A 31 year old black man who was shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens, FL police officer in October of 2015.  The officer who killed him was arrested and is currently being charged with manslaughter and attempted murder.

Jamar Clark – A 24 year old black man who was shot and killed in an altercation with police officers in Minneapolis in November of 2015 after he went for one of their guns.  He was unarmed at the time.  No charges have been filed against the officers, but the mayor of Minneapolis has requested an independent investigation from the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s office in the “interest of transparency and community trust.”  #BlackLivesMatter led series of protests – some peaceful, some not.

India Beaty – A 25 year old black woman who was shot and killed by police officers in March of 2016 after she had threatened a man with what looked like a gun and then threatened responding police officers with it.  She died on the scene after officers gave her first aid.  After the confrontation police found out the gun was a replica.  The investigation is still ongoing and no record of officers being charged in this situation could be found.

Alton Sterling – A 37 year old black man with a violent criminal record who was shot and killed by police at point blank range in July of 2016 after being wrestled to the ground.  Officers were called to the scene because Sterling was threatening people with a gun.  Sterling resisted arrest even after being tasered, and then apparently was going for the gun in his pocket when he was shot.  Both officers involved have a history of misconduct.  The case is currently under investigation. Protest erupted around Baton Rouge, some peaceful, some not.  In one case a officers teeth were knocked out. Over one hundred arrests have been made.  Click HERE to see a black Army vet explain how Sterling could still have been a lethal threat to the officers in this situation.

Philando Castile – A thirty-two year old black man who was shot and killed by police officers on July 6, 2016 during a traffic stop.  The case is being investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Protests have been underway – some peaceful, some not.

There are cops who take heroic risks for other people’s good and cops who betray the public’s trust.  It is difficult for anyone who hasn’t been in a deadly force situation to understand the position our society asks them to go into on our behalf.  I think it is an amazing blessing that we live in a society where so many people are so unfamiliar with deadly force situations that they would ask questions like, “Why don’t they just shoot people in the leg?” or “Why would they shoot someone who is only coming at them with a knife?” or “Why would they ever shoot someone when they have a taser? Why should cops have guns at all when we have tasers?” etc.

The point I believe that can be taken away from these examples is that our system doesn’t just let these people go when they do something wrong and certainly doesn’t give them a pat on the back.  These situations are investigated and dealt with.  Officers are fired, arrested, prosecuted, and jailed.

Our responsibility is to say something when we see something and if we feel like we are not being heard, we go up the ladder till we find someone who will listen.

If you live in Atlanta and notice a situation of possible police misconduct, please report it to the Citizens Review Board or the police department.  If those routs don’t get you the response you are looking for, contact your city council person, the GBI, the FBI, or the District Attorney’s office.  You can also seek the assistance of a number of different organizations like the NAACP or the ACLU to help you figure out who to talk to and what to say, but starting with your local police department or the Citizens Review Board is typically the best place to start.