Sterling Brown and the tasing of the black American dream
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Milwaukee police didn’t just assault a basketball player,
they damaged the hopes young people of color have of a better life
A nother day, another black man violently assaulted by five rogue police officers for the ever-increasing crime of BWB (breathing while black). This time it was NBA player Sterling Brown . In January, the Bucks rookie was confronted by Milwaukee police at Walgreens for a parking infraction, which resulted in a compliant Brown being wrestled to the ground, handcuffed, tased, arrested – and given a parking ticket. The recently released police body-cam footage was called “disturbing” by Milwaukee’s mayor. Particularly in a city that Bucks president Peter Feigin once called “the most segregated, racist place I’ve ever experienced in my life”. The officers involved have since been disciplined. Now what? Bygones?
It’s hardly news that people of color are continually harassed, but what’s been making the news lately is the frequency with which upwardly mobile, middle-class people of color are being targeted. From the two black men waiting for a friend at a Philadelphia Starbucks , to a black Yale graduate student napping in her dorm’s common room, to three black women facing down seven cop cars and a helicopter as they checked out out of an Airbnb house they were renting, the victims’ faces on the news are not just the hoodied street thugs that white America expects and can then dismiss. And, while we can be thankful that none of them were killed, there is an overlooked long-lasting collateral damage to the black community’s faith in the promise of the American dream and the sinister effect on their children that is much worse than that single assault.
The American dream pledges that every person in America, regardless of their ethnic, religious, or economic background, will have an equal opportunity to achieve success. There may be obstacles, but they won’t be deliberately aimed at anyone based on the circumstances of birth or belief. That ideal is America’s moral core as well as its most famous public relations branding abroad: a better life awaits all. People in this country – whether natural born or immigrants – work hard to achieve that dream, for themselves and for their families. Once you’re successful, the expectation is financial security, a certain respect, and an elevated degree of personal safety. And that’s exactly what you get – if you’re white. But if you’re a person of color, your skin color is still seen by some as a gang color, the shade a reflection of the darkness in your soul.
Sterling Brown is a professional basketball player with the NBA. Only 1.2% of college players make it that far. He’s an American dream success story, having overcome great odds through hard work, sacrifice, and discipline. He’s a role model for other black kids, not just those who want to be a professional athlete, but those who see that hard work can be rewarded. Yet, there is plenty of evidence that the American dream is blocked by a velvet rope wrapped in razor wire. A study led by researchers at Stanford, Harvard, and the US Census Bureau concluded that even when black boys and white boys grow up in the same neighborhoods, the blacks earn less as adults than whites, even though there is no difference in cognitive abilities. Another study cites the high extent of anxiety, depression, stress, thoughts of suicide, diabetes, and hair loss among black college students competing at predominantly white schools where they feel the burden of not only personal success, but racial success. This phenomenon is referred to as “John Henryism”, after the legendary slave-turned-railroad worker who literally worked himself to death to prove his worth.Clearly, this is not just a Milwaukee issue. During my six years in Milwaukee playing for the Bucks , I experienced only support from the fans and the team. Except for a minor incident in which a white grocer refused to sell me a bottle of local beer I was buying for a friend, I enjoyed my time as a Milwaukeean. The Brown arrest is only a single thread in a larger tapestry that is spread across America. The Milwaukee police who confronted Sterling Brown weren’t just assaulting the man, they were damaging the dreams of young people of color who imagine a more accepting world on the other side of the finish line. But the loneliness of these long-distance runners just got lonelier, harder and a little more hopeless.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a Guardian US columnist and the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1969-1975
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It's been covered a fair bit here in WI since the video was released a few days ago, and it's pretty much a guarantee that a white person in the same circumstances would have been treated with respect and just asked to move the vehicle or at worst given a ticket. I hope this time something changes and not just in the Milwaukee PD.
On a side note it's still amazing to me that Milwaukee is considered the most segregated city in the country and has been for quite some time. Not that I dispute that fact or that I'm surprised that it's a city in the north. What I do know is that the western suburbs are blindingly white and irrationally conservative, especially towns like New Berlin and Waukesha.
I found it interesting to get the thoughts of a great basketball player. Lucid and articulate.
I don't know if your familiar with the ''Walleye Wars'' of the 1980's in Wisconsin, but it bares the hate towards Native Americans in Wisconsin.
I wouldn't be surprised if Milwaukee is functionally more segregated today than it was when he played for the Bucks, primarily because so much manufacturing and industry has left the city. Plus all the high tech stuff is in the western suburbs.
To his larger point I think the real shame is that the only time the cops or the city or the public pay attention to unjustified use of force (or even murder by cops) is when a black person is either famous, successful, rich, or completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Very little attention is paid to excessive force or murder when the victim has a criminal record even when it's not relevant to the arrest and the use of excessive force.
And if a black person ever exerts their civil rights in the same way as a white person might when they're questioned by the cops that's when things really seem to go south quickly.
One big difference from the current topic is that when the cops showed up they were *generally* trying to prevent violence and protect the native fishing rights, so with only one or two exceptions the cops did what cops are really supposed to do.
But I think those incidents underline the lack of understanding or awareness many whites here have for the issue of native sovereignty even when those rights were negotiated through treaties and long upheld by the courts. I think some of the underlying tension is understandable when you have two people who grow up at the same time in the same town and attend the same schools but have slightly different rights due to their citizenship (like with the Menominee in the Shawano area where I have more familiarity with the issues). But even with the Ojibwe spearfishing issue most of the protesters were not actually from the area and there was an organized effort to have all kinds of racists at the protests. Tommy Thompson was even elected governor based in part on this kind of Trumpian xenophobia. I don't think anyone was actually killed because of it but it got close to a lynch-mob atmosphere and there were a number of assaults, property damage, intentional capsizings, etc. Pretty much a guarantee that all those protesters are Trump voters today.
I suspect it's a bit different for tribes in the SW where the land area of the rez is bigger and the demarcation from state or county or private land is clearer. Also some of the tribes here have had to reestablish tribal rights or even restore tribal recognition like the Menominee did, so we're still settling some of those issues. I suspect that's generally true of tribes east of the Mississippi, and maybe slightly less true for tribes west of that.
From a first hand account, there was plenty of ''action''. Being Ojibwe from MN I was there for much of it and was a friend who was a tribal cop from the Menominee tribe. At times it got quite confrontational and dangerous...
I still have some photos of whites with signs that read...''Save a fish, spear a squaw''...Of course there were a lot of those types of signs...Hickory ax handles were the weapon of choice when traveling between areas.
This later spilled over to MN in 1990/91 with the same results.
Interesting to see people that I knew for years call me a ''timber nigger'', and to go back to where I came from...Seems that beneath that bland exterior laid the heart of a racist...Actually there are still very hard feeling in the area from that time period.
I'm not surprised to hear that although I'm sorry to hear that you personally experienced it. Given how much time I spent up north from the early 1970s through the 1990s (running whitewater, camping, Birkie, etc) I'm not sure how I missed running in to a protest but I was definitely aware of the news coverage about them, and I have friends who were affected by them here. But I did see some signs and bumper stickers which were obviously racist.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is, in addition to being a great basketball player, a outstanding author and has written a number of books. All well worth reading. He ventured onto an Indian reservation and was a basketball coach there for over a year. His recalling and awaking of that time in his life is most interesting to say the least.
As much as the majority of American people want to believe that racism is a thing of the past, it isn't and each and every day we see the ugly results of it. Mr. Jabbar captures it well.
Walking/driving/breathing while black also applies to being Red. Sadly in many way's America hasn't come that far.
That is exactly right and well stated. What happened to Mr. Brown should never have happened and would not have happened if he had been white. It's that simple.
Of his many books I would highly recommend the following...Brothers in Arms, The story of the 761st Tank Destroyer Battalion.
On the Shoulders of Giants, the Harlem Resistence
A Season on the Reservation. My Soujour with the White Mountain Apache.
To say that I'm a fan of Mr. Jabbar is an understatement.
Kareem is also a very good dancer, as he proved this month on Dancing With The Stars, and made it to the Semi Finals. He may be tall and lanky, but, he can certainly get his groove thing on in a great way.
LOL, I had no idea. I don't watch DWS or much TV but I'm surprised that Red didn't let me know.
I don't own a TV, but, I can watch the episodes on the computer the day after the original dance day so I can keep up. DWTS is one of my few indulgences with TV stuff. Watching Kareem dance with his Pro partner, who was not even half his size was really something to see. But, his grace and timing was really great to see. Even though his partner was so much shorter than he is was a feat in itself, but, they managed to carry it off nicely. The choreography was a bit difficult for the two of them, but, neither one let that deter them. And the age difference between them didn't work against them either. Kareem was quick on his feet and it was amazing to see how graceful he was on the dance floor compared to being on the basketball court. (grin)
He's 7 feet 2 inches....amazing.
And his Pro partner, Lindsey Arnold is only 5' 6". So you can see issue they had in dancing in the in-hold routines like the waltz and quick-step. But, he had the lifts and flips down pat. (Hee hee)
They were really amazing and fun to watch.
It works both ways. If a black teenager in Baltimore had not run over and killed a white female cop in a stolen car while his three biddies broke into homes, she would still be alive. Her mistake...should have never told him to step out of the car!
I don't see any connection between the two incidents. The roles and responsibilities of the persons involved are completely different.
well i am not surprised a person decided to try to FLIP the script and yet under the same profile name it is once again you.
why is it so hard to look at one very well documented account of white police officers getting out of control over such a simple matter of a parking ticket with a black citizen.
we as citizens pay cops to be disciplined at all times. your example is YOUR need to do the tit for tat, blame it on the black guy crap. When its clear a black suspect has free will, COPS DON'T they have procedure and protocol and legal regulations that dictate there action or responses.
it is sad to see you really needed to comment on something where the body cams dont lie, they weren't edited and the facts point to a very real day to day reality for some CITIZENS that have to jump through hoops to stay alive when the police decide to not maintain a sense of professionalism.
I have to add one more thing...When Jabbar played for the Lakers I had season tickets. For 14 years if I remember correctly I rarely missed a Laker game...His ''Sky Hook'' was a thing of beauty...
Unless you happened to be a Celtics fan
While there are many examples of police doing a difficult job well, this is an example of doing nothing well. The most disturbing thing that I took away from this was that the backup officers did nothing to defuse the situation, seemed more that they added to the fray.
This will be a tough one to talk their way out of. Compliments to Mr. Brown for keeping his cool, not so sure I would have under the same circumstances.
well again this is an example of where this black man has the power, money, ability and status to make a lot of noise and that is the only reason this went national.
and it is sad that a black man has to have all these as a combination to expose bad acting cops in real time. On the positive side i am glad he has this ability to expose these bad acting cops that proved this unnamed phenomenon of what i call "scared of black man"
This officer should have been fired because his need to prove that writing a citation was too hard to do vs proving it is easier to get into a verbal altercation over a parked car was his choice.
i also find it interesting that the cop that complained about his hands in his pocket was not the original officer. meaning they had already been there standing around for minutes. Again that was the IN they thought they would use to justify there actions when it was clear this guy could have walked away from this after the back up call was placed.
sadly this video also doesn't help sway those of us who try to give the police the benefit of the doubt when once we do another video like this pops up. And yet this is one that made it, there are others and that is really whats sad, because some blacks DO act the way this guy did. Calm , poised, unintimidated and end up in cuffs just to fill the egotistical void of power and control.
if we could just weed out these guys before they hit the streets, life would be better for a lot of my fellow citizens of color.