On Meet the Press the whole world witness what Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City really thought about the black communities when he was asked about the disproportionate ratio of white to black police officers in the many police departments of America.
Instead of addressing the issue, Giuliani began to blame the Black community for why so many white officers are present. As many racist usually do, Mr. Giuliani address the issue of Black on Black crime and because of Black on Black crime this is why so many White officers are in the Black community.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson responded to Giuliani by saying that Black people who kill Black people go to jail. But White Police Officers that kill Black people do not go to jail.
“What Giuliani tired to do was give justification of White police officers shooting and killing black people unjustly”, said Damon K. Jones, New York Representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America.
As a former Mayor and US Attorney, Mr. Giuliani is absent of the facts. The fact of the matter is, according to the FBI’s most recent homicide statistics, is that the United States 83 percent of white murder victims are killed by other whites.
Statistics show that white people in the United States murder each other at a higher rate than many other high-populated White countries. There are many countries full of white people — Norway, Iceland, France, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — where white people murder each other at a much lower rate than you see here in the United States.
In many cases in the communities of color, we see that poverty, lack good education, employment could lead to crime and violence in the black communities.
Unfortunately, you can’t use these factors in the rise of White on White crime. Per capita GDP is considerably higher here than in France — and the white population in America is considerably richer than the national average — and yet there are a higher murder rate.
“You do not find Black People going inside of movie theaters, schools or office buildings killing masses of people but they have never called it “White on White” crime; they call it a tragedy”, said Jones.
Guiliani’s comments on Meet The Press is indicative of the attitude or mindframe that has created the atmosphere to the frequent acts of police criminality in our communities in Westchester County and nationwide. While he isn’t in the minority in his thinking, as when he held the office of Mayor of NYC, he always has spoken freely, unapologetically without fear of much push back.
While BLEA’s Jones and a few others have been vocal on this matter, too many of our black law enforcement officers and officials as well as black elected officials and civic leaders remain silent. Whether out of fear or repercussions of retaliations for speak up, the silence from our leaders, allows the Guilianis of the world to do and say whatever they feel as far as policing and dealing with our communities.
“This shows that politics plays a big role in how our communities are policed,” said Jones, “any Mayor or elected official with a mindset like Giuliani spells disaster for police and community relations. And as Black people are concerned, that just what it was, a disaster, under the Guiliani administration.”
To read the entire Black In Law Enforcement In America response to Guiliani’s staement, click here
Black Westchester
Black Westchester - News With The Black Point Of View is an online news magazine for people of color for Westchester and the Tri- State area of New York at every economic level. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” through media.
