I Can't Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street by Matt Taibbi

The timing of reading this so close to the time I finished The New Jim Crow was perfect, this is more proof for the points made in it.

I hope reminding you who Eric Garner was isn't necessary but just in case, he was a man, a father, a friend, a fixture in his community, and he was Black. He was a human who was killed by a police officer who, not surprisingly, has a history of bad acts, and also not surprising, that were covered up by, ignored by, or not a bother to the NYPD.

Was he an angel or innocent of anything ever? No. But that is besides the point. He didn't ever do anything to make killing him a valid option, yet he cried out that he couldn't breathe as the life was choked out him for...doing nothing...but accused of selling untaxed contraband cigarettes. Not a crime anyone would ever get a death penalty sentence for.

Matt Taibbi set out to write about the case, the lengths went to by the NYPD and the NY criminal justice system went to in order to protect not the victims but the perpetrator who was not black or brown and lived behind a blue wall.

Look, I know there are many many great and honorable police officers serving all over the country. But I also know that pointing out the problems with a systematic racism and the police officers who are mistreating or worse, killing unarmed people of color does not even for a second mean all police are doing it or take away from the fact that there are good police officers trying to clean up the mess from inside. But we can't ignore the problem because it isn't 100% of the officers or justice system employees.

The more I educate myself the more I am painfully aware of the privilege my skin affords me and the more I desire to be part of enacting change.

Read this book as part of your self-education and then share it and speak out....be willing to give up the protection of your skin color, ask questions (respectfully) of people of color about their experiences and truly listen to the answers. It is the start of how you can help be the change we need.

(Finished January 19, 2018)