On Aug. 20, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson called a town hall meeting at the historic Guild Theater. Much of the conversation centered on preventing what was repeatedly called “the Ferguson incident.” The proposed preventions included greater community interaction with law enforcement, higher involvement in community groups dedicated to providing guidance to youth, and unsurprisingly, registering to vote, because, as the panel unanimously agreed, only through elected representatives can people begin to effect change in their communities.
What was repeatedly called a dialogue between law enforcement and the community was in reality a monologue by the establishment. Three preachers and the head of an NGO that also works for Wal-Mart were flanked by the heads of the Police department, Sheriff’s department, and CHP. However, it was the age and not just the affiliation of the panel that many in the audience were confused about. Despite the fact that the issue at hand was the murder of 18-year-old Mike Brown by Ferguson police and the latter’s use of heavy handed tactics in dealing with the subsequent demonstrations, neither of these issues were in fact addressed. Indeed, the name Mike Brown was not once directly mentioned.
Throughout each of the talks given by panelists, young Black men themselves were repeatedly presented as in need of reform, although none of the underlying causes that have placed them in their current situation were addressed. Mass incarceration and the accompanying school to prison pipeline as well as police brutality and the prevalence of white supremacy were just a few of the systemic obstacles ignored by the “community” panel. The lack of recognition of the problems that young people face could be seen as a result of the age gap between those given the ability to talk, and those being talked about.
This divide between old and young; organized and spontaneous, was eerily reminiscent of the situation on the ground in Ferguson. There, throughout the day churches and community groups called for justice as well as peace as the police stood watch. As nightfall came, the demands of protestors did not change, and while many of the community groups left, the police did not. Indeed, now confronted with a mass of youth, the police went from watching to attacking. Why is this? Is it simply because it was night instead of day? Or because the danger to businesses of looting? The real reason was that it is the youth who hold the most revolutionary potential; the potential to not just question authority, but also to overturn it and replace it with something new. They are the ones not only unwilling, but also unable to accept the so-called peace that prevailed before the killing of Mike Brown.
With this in mind, it is no wonder that groups who seek to make change within the system would be threatened by the youth who have been so alienated by the current system that they have no choice but to enter into struggle against it. To their elders they are out of control rebels, while to their peers they are engaging in righteous self-defense, a struggle to preserve their very existence.
From Ferguson to Sacramento, the terror inflicted by the police is a daily reality for young Black men. If this is ever to change, it requires an honest discussion not just about, but also with, those directly effected.
