Not all African Americans are dope dealers, thieves, and hoodlums. Some may be, but they are still human beings, not target practicing boards. When a black man is shot at close range, and is he unarmed, a red flag goes up in my mind. The death of Thomas Leisure in Cincinnati causes a red flag to go up in my mind.

Cincinnati police officer Stephen Roach was acquitted a week or so ago of the murder of Thomas Leisure. When is enough going to be enough? When are African Americans going to get out of our comfort zones and stand up for right, in unity, across the whole nation? This genocide of African American Males has got to stop!

Since 1995, the Cincinnati police have shortened 16 African Americans male lives. Mr. Roach told conflicting stories in of what happened the day he killed unarmed Leisure. It is no secrets that African Americans are targeted, social profiled, stereotyped, discriminated against, victimized, abused, framed, and murdered by a certain police officers. And this has been occurring for centuries, and it continues.

Angela Leisure asked a powerful question, "Why is it that officers are not responsible for their act when other citizens are?" The real question should be why do White officers get away with killing so many unarmed Black Americans? Why are Black Americans feared? It is no wonder the census bureau shows a decline in African Americans--thanks to the murders and incarceration of Black Americans. Now, with Prop.21, Eurocentric America has the right to take youths and give them 25 years to life. Seemingly, the laws are designed to keep Blacks and minorities oppressed.

Let's not be fooled by acts of remorse after murder, as displayed by Officer Roach, much like the officer who cried on the stand after the bullet bath given Amadou Diallo. Is it so that a Black man's death is just another less Black man America has to deal with? A White man's death calls for national mourning, holidays, and a week of news media coverage on every television station. The only time a Black man gets that much exposure is when he is a powerful figure founded cheating on his wife, or and O. J. Simpson.

African Americans are more than 80 % of the jails and prisons inmates across the fifty states-more than are in community colleges or universities. Because of that incarceration, many African American children are raised in single parent homes, many African Americans are living in poverty, are unemployed, are overworked, and are living in three generational households.

Many of our young males who end up in jail or prison are uneducated, illiterate, and have fallen through the cracks of the America social system because of its unequaled policies that often promote poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and crime.

Stephen Roach was acquitted of murder charges. The way I see it, African Americans cannot continue to sleep-walk, intoxicated by titles, materialistic gains, fancy cars, money, etc. We need to slow our process, reach out to a youth, and teach that youth; we need to take a strong stance, rebuking this racist system that is killing and incarcerating the African American population at a genocidal rate. []
10/8/01