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We are hurting ourselves: Black lives seem to only matter when a cop takes them

<p>Jeremiah Graham</p>
Jeremiah Graham
JGraham headshot

Jeremiah Graham

Former Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong had strong words regarding the Black Lives Matter movement.

When he spoke at an officer’s funeral, Armstrong took the platform of “All Lives Matter.â€

“I’ll tell you why I said what I said,†he said. “I had started receiving emails from people basically saying I’m glad a white officer was killed, like an eye for an eye type of deal. I thought that was wrong, and I needed to say that.â€

Armstrong had a question for Black Lives Matter supporters.

“How are you going to sit there and wait until a life is taken by an officer before you get involved?†Armstrong said. “How are you going to let it get to this point before you become outraged?â€

Armstrong is right on the money with his view. It seems the only time Black Lives Matter supporters get riled up is when a white police officer kills an African American. The term Black Lives Matter implies that an African American’s life is valued in any situation, not just police brutality.

One example is Sandra Bland. Before she tragically was found dead in a Texas jail cell, she only needed $500 to post bail. She called numerous family and friends — the same people who were probably protesting after her death — and no one helped. Did her life really matter? When she needed someone to help her, nobody came to her rescue. Out of all the protestors, how many of them would have given her the money if she had called and asked for it?

Other examples are the cases of Eric Garner, Alton Sterling and Freddie Gray. Did their lives really matter? If they did, someone should have assisted them in finding gainful employment, that way they wouldn’t have had to sell CDs, cigarettes or drugs just to make a living. Would the people who were protesting their unfortunate deaths help those men in finding a job or hire them to keep them off the streets and lessen their chances of running into police?

Or how about Tyshawn Lee, the little boy who was gunned down in a Chicago alleyway? There was no national outrage to find his killer. There were no Ferguson-esque riots in Chicago from protesters. Did his life mean anything? Or does it mean more if a white police officer had killed him?

Police brutality is obviously a serious issue, but it seems as if Black Lives Matter is acting as if it is some kind of new phenomenon. Police brutality has been a problem for decades. It sparked the Los Angeles riots in 1992, as well as the Watts riots of 1965.  This is a problem that needs attention, but so does violence in cities like Compton, Memphis, Chicago and Detroit. People don’t seem to care as much when someone in gunned down in a drive-by. There may be a candlelight vigil, but you don’t see nearly as much national outrage when these occurrences happen.

For the African American community to prosper, solving problems like domestic violence, sexual assault, gun violence and raising children in a nurturing home must be addressed first. These issues are more prevalent than police brutality. Yes, the cops need to change, but so do the communities they’re patrolling. Until these problems are at the forefront, Black Lives Matter should change its name to “Black Lives Matter (But only when a white officer takes our life.)â€

To quote California rapper Vince Staples, “If my black life matters, stop killing. If my black life matters, start business. If my black life matters, then respect our women. If my black life matters, then don’t neglect our children.â€


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