Written by: Haasini Kellampalli
Edited by: Pranav Jatin Goud
‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ This statement was first uttered by chief Walter Headley, the head officer of the Miami police department in 1967. The utterance of this quote occurred during a time in which armed robberies and unrest gripped the black community. The reason for this unrest? The amount of unlawful police action present against people of colour.
Almost 53 years have passed since this incident, and sadly, it seems that the public perception of African-Americans has failed to change. Hatred towards this community has remained incessant. However, the current circumstances hold much greater magnitude, for this time, it is the president of the United States that has taken part in the usage of this inflammatory statement.
It is important to understand the context of this situation. To give a brief summary of the events of the past few weeks, a man named George Floyd was killed by a white police officer, for seemingly no reason other than the colour of his skin.
The death of yet another black man at the hands of racist police caused an uprising not just in the USA, but across the world. The streets of most large cities were swarming with Black Lives Matter protesters, chanting slogans and demanding justice. On the other hand, shops and retail markets were broken into by protesters in a few cities, and the property was set ablaze, which led to an increase of violence from both sides- the police, and the activists.
In this article, I will endeavour to answer the following question: are the actions of violent Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists justified? Is it an act of outrage, or something they do merely in self-interest?
I will start by presenting the case for these protesters- yes, their actions are justified to a great extent.
Are we worthy of respect, when as a society, we have failed to provide the African-American community with a basic form of dignity?
To empathize with these protesters, it is important to understand the systematic racism the black community has experienced for centuries. Almost every authority of society has turned their back to them at some point. Many people of the black community don’t feel that they are accepted in their own neighbourhoods, for they are seen as criminals, and unworthy of proper treatment. They are deprived of a sense of home in most cities and are targeted in every way possible, from law enforcement to public health, to elected officials, to the labour market – for example, the unemployment rate for black people is twice the rate of the unemployment rate for white counterparts, who have an equal degree of education (6.4% and 3.1% for African-American, and Caucasians respectively). This is a major reason why looting seems like the only way for black protesters. They are lashing out against the system that has stripped them of their happiness and well-being. Often, the places which are looted are big retail companies that function off of black prison labour, or local businesses which discriminate against black people.
An example of this is the looting of the headquarters of Target in Minneapolis. This branch of Target has worked closely with the Minneapolis Police Department and has surveillance targeting poor people, and people of colour. It has also overtly funded the Police Department, giving 300,000 dollars in financial aid to install a network of CCTV cameras in downtown Minneapolis, which openly discriminates against racial minorities. By looting this particular area, protesters are sending a political message that shows their condemnation of the actions of Target. If society fails to uphold its responsibility towards black people, why should they be expected to hold their end any longer?
What does the other side have to say?
Is violence a just way to advocate change?
It could be argued that these violent acts simply play into the picture that racists have of African-Americans: vulgar, aggressive people. Since the BLM movement works to eradicate discriminatory beliefs, these acts are counterproductive to the cause and can decrease the rate of change. Additionally, right-wing media companies, which have a far outreach, alienate peaceful protesters and display images of buildings ablaze, and glass windows being shattered, portraying the entire movement as a collection of criminals, giving the public yet another excuse to exercise racist beliefs.
Trump’s decision to coin ANTIFA as a terrorist organization portrays the concept mentioned above. This happened during the wake of an increased amount of violence in protests and clearly shows how right-wing politicians and media view the movement as a whole. Due to this decision, the president has been able to garner the support of a vast majority of the conservatives in the United States, which leads to a decrease in solidarity for the movement. Additionally, this could lead to an increased amount of force used by the police and military that can be justified as acts of ‘counter-terrorism’, which is detrimental to protesters but also gives law enforcement yet another excuse for police brutality.
Moreover, in various scenarios, the shops were broken into were owned by Africa-Americans, or BLM supporters, people who relied solely on their businesses for their income, and had to bear the brunt for damages caused. This means that a fraction of protesters-however small this fraction is- are looting and damaging property merely in self-interest, using the veil of this honourable cause to commit damaging acts of self-interest.
An example that clearly portrays this is the arson of Abdishakur Elmi’s restaurant in East LA. He owned a Hamdi restaurant that celebrated his Somalian culture and cuisine. Elmi himself was a BLM supporter and pasted messages of solidarity on the windows of his shop. Regardless of all of this, his entity, which he spent years building, was up in flames, due to violent protesters.
The suffering of the black community is in no way an issue that should be taken lightly, and the outrage is understandable and necessary. However, these acts of violence play into and perpetuate racist stereotypes- ruining the agenda this movement has set out to achieve.
In conclusion, the question that must be asked is whether one should characterize the entire movement on the basis of a few isolated situations. Both sides have compelling points, and various parties are hurt in both scenarios. Personally, I feel that African-Americans have been told to wait long enough for change. If anyone of us were to step into their shoes- being promised liberation, being told to stay patient for centuries, yet still being discriminated against, and killed- we would need to lash out as well. How can we as a society believe we have progressed in the midst of people being murdered just because of the colour of their skin?
The consequences of lashing out result in greater harm, but it was bound to happen at some point. I hope that in these trying times, we don’t turn our backs to the black community, but are empathetic to their current state, and stand as allies.
References -
Rosenwald, M. (2020). ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’: Trump quotes Miami police chief’s notorious 1967 warning. The Washington Post, [online]. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/05/29/when-the-looting-starts-the-shooting-starts-trump-walter-headley/#comments-wrapper [Accessed 14 June. 2020]
(George Floyd death: Violence erupts on sixth day of protests 2020). BBC News, [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52872401[Accessed 15 June. 2020]
Williams, J. and Wilson, V. (2019) Black workers endure persistent racial disparities in employment outcomes. [online]. Economic Policy Institute. Available at: https://www.epi.org/publication/labor-day-2019-racial-disparities-in-employment/ [Accessed 26 June. 2020]
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Claytor, C. (2019). 'Shopping while black': yes, bias against black customers is real. [online]. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/shopping-while-black-yes-bias-against-black-customers-is-real [Accessed 16 June 2020]
Heilweil, R (2020). Target’s history of working with the police is not a good look right now. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/6/1/21277192/target-looting-police-george-floyd-protests [Accessed 26 June 2020]
The Advocate, (2020). Black Activists and Allies help peaceful protests the media ignored. [online] Available at: https://www.advocate.com/news/2020/6/01/watch-peaceful-demonstrations-black-lives-media-ignored [Accessed 17 June 2020]
Wang, C (2020). Damaged Asian businesses show solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters. [online] NBC news. Available at:https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/damaged-asian-businesses-show-solidarity-black-lives-matter-protesters-n1224766 [Accessed 15 June 2020]
Fiske, M (2020). ‘We don’t have law and order’: Black and Latino business owners face destruction in Minneapolis. [online] LA Times. Available at:https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-05-29/minneapolis-minority-business-owners-awake-to-destruction [Accessed 25 June 2020]
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