Working on different projects at the moment, mainly doing research for the next projected exhibit entitled Back And Forth in commemoration of Black History Month...Pssst...Don't tell anybody the name....LOL
This research has led me some very interesting reads, especially a great book I just finished reading entitled The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. This book had my mind spinning, for I can see clearly the points the author makes about the Prison Industrial Complex, but even moreso the backlash that affects a disproportionate number of African Americans AFTER they leave the prison, which she calls "legalized discrimination" from public and private housing, welfare, employment, you name it, and mentions the pretext of the War on Drugs...which is a joke to begin with, especially when alcohol has done more damage that crack, heroin, and methamphetamines COMBINED!!!! But anyway...I'll hip you up more on that later. But the book for the most part has some very strong points, and the profiling that comes from the discrimination and prejudices against African American men, suspecting them of drugs and gang involvement.
I experienced this last week walking in my area looking for pictures to take and use in any CWATIC future exhibits I hope to undertake. I noticed a helicopter hovering over the area extensively(which is starting to become more prevalent here). As I continued to walk I saw a transit bus, surrounded by anywhere between 10-15 police cars, along with an ambulance and corporate media(OH OOOH!). Also there were additional cars hovering around the immediate area. As I continued to watch I noticed many of the policemen wore "GANG UNIT" on the back of their uniforms...You probably start thinking, oh ohhh, two helicopters, up to 20 cops at or around a bus , and a gang unit, must've been a gang fight on the bus right?
Then I found out through a newspaper that the incident involving two men who one shot the other in the leg while on the bus, and then left the bus and ran out of the bus and into the nearby neighborhood...First question...What prompted police to think this was gang related? And up to 20 police cars and a gang unit to find one individual? What does that spell for the neighborhood, who continues to see the quality of life disappearing, but an increase in police presence! And coming from my experiences of being profiled yet have NO CRIMINAL RECORD AT ALL, I know exactly what is happening...
Other books I'm looking into is American Apartheid and Nixon's Piano...Looks like good reads...I'll keep you abreast on this exhibit...Take care all! PEACE!!!
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