In Minneapolis, “Mississippi” on March 30, “1936” the Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced at a press conference:
N***ers are violent and they ain’t [sh*t] and sometimes we have to kill one just to keep the others in place. Jamar Clark deserved what he got, besides he was a woman beater. He was a criminal and a dope fiend. So we decided he shouldn’t be taking up our air.
This n***er’s life wasn’t worth a cent, so we rid the world of just another worthless ni***r. And yeah, we know about a dozen others said he was handcuffed and unarmed and defenseless on the ground, but when are you gonna learn your word don’t mean nothing to us.
Evidence! We don’t care about no evidence. Our two boys said Clark was giving them trouble and said he was ready to die, so they obliged. We the law and that’s what the law has decided, so what you ni***ers gonna do about it?
No, Freeman didn’t say that, but he might as well have said it. In a show that added insult to injury, Freeman’s announcement was pure political theater. He could have easily gotten up and delivered his sack of lies, let the killer cops off and told us to kiss his (and the system’s) behind and sat down.
Personally, I would have had more respect for them had they done that. But the minstrel show was put on to reinforce the racist stereotypes that U.S. capitalism has woven into its culture — stereotypes that we have been exposed to since we were born.
One of the few true statements, (besides his name) that Freeman made yesterday was the fact that he put more weight on what the police had to say. Twelve Black people said Jamar Clark had on at least one handcuff, but according to the lying prosecutor it didn’t fit “their belief” that Clark was not handcuffed (look up the report).
In other words, he took the murderers’ version of the story and manipulated forensics and modern science to back up the lie.
Lie is the correct term. Freeman (and the system he represents) is a liar and an accessory to murder — that’s what they call folks who aide in the cover up of a murder.
Like I was previously quoted, Freeman’s story of what happened to Jamar Clark was a fairytale. And it was as if he took notes from the “How to get away with killing a Black person” playbook.
First smear all the Negroes — call them violent, shiftless and vengeful. Then blame the victim for his own death — if only he had taken his hands out of his pockets, and he wasn’t Black and breathing he wouldn’t have gotten shot.
Next attack the character of the victim — he had a criminal record, he had heroin, crack, cocaine and meth in his system and he was a woman beater. Distract the public. Say he beat up a woman (turns out he didn’t beat her at all). Take the cops word for what happened and insinuate that the Negroes who witnessed the crime aren’t credible.
Plant and make up contradictory evidence to support the cops story using forensics and modern science. (Question: why is Clark’s DNA on the gun but no fingerprints? Answer: because there were too many people around and the cops couldn’t place his dead hands on the gun). And if all else fails say the Negro hung himself (in this case, say he begged us to kill him.)
Last week’s decision served as a reminder that this is an unjust, racist, social economic political system whose cops are there not to serve and protect the public, but to serve the interests of the rich and powerful. The cops reinforce all of the negative stereotypes and prejudices of our society, while protecting private property and the interests of the business class against the interests of the working class.
But it’s important to understand that it was not just Freeman who delivered this message. And yes, it was as much of a message as it was a decision. The decision and message was crafted by the unseen hand, people we think are our friends, the local power structure — the mayor, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, heads of the local fortune 500 companies and the local old-monied families.
So if we send a message back and make it too costly for them to hold on to this outrageous miscarriage of justice, and if we continue to press for justice, they may just reconsider. If we don’t give up and keep fighting we just might win!
Mel Reeves welcomes reader response to mellaneous19@yahoo.com.
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If you fight, you can win! I remember those words are so true.