#SupportKelliMurray: Stop the Bullying of the Baltimore Co. FOP Lodge | LBS Baltimore.

Kelli Murray is currently an employee of the Baltimore County Government who works as a dispatcher. She is a wife and mother.  After the non-indictment of Daniel Pantaleo in New York City (the officer who killed Eric Garner), she posted a Facebook status that expressed her fear of her children interacting with law enforcement.  This is a fear that has been expressed by many people in light of the increased coverage of issues of police brutality.  She went out of her way to express that she appreciates the job that good police officers do, but that in light of the current events her fears persist.  This was the text of her actual post:

“UPDATE: 12/29: Since this article has been published, Kelli has been continued to be bullied online and in the media. She will likely have to move and find new employment. Kelli is a wife and mother of six who needs support. Please click here to donate to her family and support them during this time.  Kelli has also released a video public statement about her comments (at the bottom of this article).

Unfortunately most people who are talking about racism in the mainstream political discourse are not sufficiently literate in the dynamics of racism to properly apply it to the events that have dominated the mainstream news media.  Racism is about the power that white dominated and controlled institutions have over the livelihood of Black people and other people of color.  In the context of police brutality what we are seeing is racism as it exist in our society.

Racism does not exist in a form that requires ill intent of a white person against Black people.  We are not seeing evil white people conspiring to kill young Black people.  What we are seeing is police officers operationalizing their feelings of Black criminality and worthlessness that our society has been saturated with.  They are acting on impulses that all of us are socialized to have.  Black criminality and worthlessness are notions that have been with us since America’s inception.  From the 3/5’s compromise, to the system of Jim Crow, American civil society has been structured on popular narratives that justify our dehumanization.  It’s latest iteration has been embodied in the war on drugs that has decimated Black communities.”

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“Instead of society admitting that there is a deep seeded problem of racism in our country beyond the rudimentary discourse of unfair treatment, our conversation about police brutality has been muddled.  Admitting that law enforcement (like all of the major institutions of society) is an institutions that perpetuates institutional racism doesn’t mean that you are anti-cop.  All it means is that you acknowledge that the criminalization of Black people has caused law enforcement officials to engage in behaviors that dehumanized Black people.  And if you are serious about effectively serving the people that you are designated to protect then you would take the time to take seriously the ways that internalized racism effects how you interact with Black people.”