Foster-Foreman Lectures by Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize-winner from The Washington Post.
As one of the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers, Wesley Lowery, was invited to have speech in Penn State. He shared a piece of his work and then participated in the conversation sessions. In the speech, he mostly talked about the broad themes of his reporting, including the situation of police brutality, black activism, and problems of the national database in the United States.
Police abuse remains one of the most severe human rights violations in the United States. “This idea of police brutality was very much on people’s minds in 1963, following on the years, decades really, of police abuse of power and then centuries of oppression of African-Americans.” (Nodjimbadem, K) As technology developed, the equipment of law enforcement grew as well. The military-grade equipment at the Police departments has become common in the cities.
According to the Washington Post database, there are about 990 people shot and killed by the police in 2015 in the United States. And the majority of those killed by police were armed with guns or had attacked or threatened officers or civilians. About 25% of them are black people. Reporters collected the names of officers who are responsible for most of the shootings. The names of officers within nearly 600 shots were revealed by police departments in news reports.
“In a country devastated by the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people, many of them unarmed, at the hands of police officers, drastic changes are needed in our approach to public safety.” (Growth of Our Navy) Such excessive force by police is expressly disturbing given its disproportionate influence on people of color.
Police brutality has been an issue for many years, and it remains a significant concern for those of the minority community. Police Brutality is harassment over law enforcement, “where a police officer feels that because he/ she has a badge and a gun, therefore it puts them above the law and they can use unnecessary force against another individual.” (Barney, K., Scharf, P., & Binder, A.)
Nowadays, police use the excessive weapon that leads to inexcusable assaults, beatings, and shootings. “The resolution to the problem lies not only in improving these unbalanced police-community relationships but, more importantly, in eradicating the social inequalities that perpetuate these relationships that sustain distrust and frustration on both sides.” (Frantz, C. M., & Seburn, M.) Although there has been some progress and education, training and integration with of the law enforcement population, there are still incidents of racial profiling and police brutality which are inevitable. With continued efforts and corrections of racial injustices, this type of abuse and punishment will lessen when the law moves more towards the justice for minorities.
Reference
Nodjimbadem, K. (2017, July 27). The Long, Painful History of Police Brutality in the U.S. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-painful-history-police-brutality-in-the-us-180964098/
Growth of Our Navy. (1866). Scientific American, 15(1), 2-2. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican06301866-2c
Barney, K., Scharf, P., & Binder, A. (1984). The Badge and the Bullet: Police Use of Deadly Force. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 75(3), 1041. doi:10.2307/1143660
Frantz, C. M., & Seburn, M. (2003). Are Argumentative People Better or Worse at Seeing Both Sides? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 20(4), 565-573. doi:10.1177/02654075030204007