The "Illusion of Inclusion"

(Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The New York Women's Foundation)

The Black Lives Matter movement is making quite a ruckus in today’s “post-racial” America—and rightfully so—causing some to retort, “All Lives Matter,” which is true, but like the meme says, “We’re focused on the Black ones right now…because it is apparent that our judicial system doesn’t know that.” Ironically, however, the US government has been very concerned with Black lives, most specifically when drafting the US Constitution and its subsequent amendments. For example, Black lives mattered when deciding how to count slaves for the purposes of taxation and representation. Thus, the “Three-fifths-(3/5^ths) Compromise was born, reducing Blacks to 3/5^ths of a person. Black lives mattered when fighting the Civil War and when penning the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments: commonly referred to as either the Civil War or Reconstruction Amendments. Despite legislation, Blacks still live like second class citizens across the U.S.A. Therefore, it is time to look at the legislation specifically written to address the Black condition in America and ask ourselves, “If the 14^th Amendment guarantees EVERY citizen due process and equal protection under the law, why are Blacks still begging for and being denied due process and equal protection “under the law” in the 21^st Century?

We’re all aware that the 13^th Amendment freed the slaves: nothing more, nothing less; however, no provisions were made to protect the newly freed individuals. The questions one must ask, then, are, “Once freed, weren’t Blacks guaranteed the same rights as all other American citizens?” "Were not Blacks included in the words of the Preamble of the Constitution, 'We the People'"? Obviously not because after enacting the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments, further amendments, acts, and laws were enacted that specifically address Blacks: affecting and effecting Black lives in America. 

Noted comedian Paul Mooney once commented that, Blacks suffer from being "...under the  illusion of inclusion." Once freed, was it a stretch for Blacks to expect the same rights as any other citizen? The 14^th Amendment; the Amendment is said to be inclusive, meaning it was crafted to include all U.S. citizens--Section 1 says, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person ...equal protection of the laws.” Consequently, a cursory view of the lynching of Blacks in America quickly reveals that many Blacks were denied “life, liberty, and property,” and, unfortunately, the list of unarmed Blacks “deprived of life…without due process of law…” continues to grow today, despite the 14^th Amendment:

• Trayvon Martin-17yr. old: fatally shot and killed by Geo. Zimmerman while walking home, armed with skittles and iced-tea.
• Jordan Davis-17yr. old: fatally shot and killed by Michael Dunn for playing his music too loud.  
• Tony Robinson Jr.-19 yr. old: fatally shot and killed by Officer Matt Kenny during an altercation. 
• Tanisha Anderson-37 yr. old: died while in police custody in Cleveland, OH. "’Sudden death associated with physical restraint’ in a lying face-down position.” 
• Dontre Hamilton-31 yr. old: Mentally ill man shot 14 times and killed by Office Christopher Manney of Milwaukee, WI.  
• Eric Garner-43 yrs. old: Death due to chokehold applied by NYPD for selling loose cigarettes. 
• Mike Brown-18 yr. old: Shot and killed in Ferguson, MO by Officer Darren Wilson for walking in the street.
•  Jermaine McBean-33 yr. old: Shot and killed by Broward County Deputy Peter Peraza as McBean was returning home with a BB gun purchased from a Florida store. 
• Sam DuBose-43 yr. old: Fatally shot by Officer Ray Tensing of the University of Cincinnati on a routine traffic stop for failure to display front tags.  
• Kindra Chapman-18 yr. old: Found hung dead in her cell while in custody in Alabama after being arrested for allegedly stealing a cell phone.  
• Rekia Boyd-22 yr. old: Shot and killed on Chicago’s Westside by detective Dante Servin, costing city tax payers $4.5 million in a settlement with the family. 
• Rumain Brisbon-34 yr. old: Shot and killed by an unidentified officer in Phoenix, AZ who thought Brisbon had a gun.   
• John Crawford III-22 yr. old: Shot and killed by Officer Sean Williams at a Wal-Mart in Ohio while holding a BB gun, which was for sale at the store.  
• Akai Gurley-28 yr. old: Shot and killed by NYPD-Officer Peter Liang when his gun “accidentally” went off while on patrol in Brooklyn, NY. 
• Walter Scott-50 yr. old: Fatally shot by Officer Michael Slager in North Charleston, S.C. during a traffic stop for a faulty brake light.   
• Ezell Ford-25 yr. old: Mentally ill man, fatally wounded in South L.A. by  Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas
•  Ralkina Jones-37 yr. old: Found dead in a Cleveland Heights jail cell. Cause of death, undetermined.  
• Dante Parker-36 yr. old: Died while in police custody on an alleged burglary charge.  
• Jerame Reid-36 yr. old: Fatally wounded by Bridgeton officers Braheme Days and Roger Worley for allegedly running a stop sign. 
• Freddie Gray-25 yr. old: Died due to injuries sustained while in police custody after a foot chase ensued. Gray sustained his fatal injuries while being transported.    
• Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.-68 yr. old: 20 year Marine veteran fatally wounded after refusing to open his door to the police responding to an alert received from Chamberlain’s medical alert bracelet.  
• Tamir Rice-12 yr. old: Fatally wounded by Officer Timothy Loehmann while playing with a toy gun in a park near his home. 
• Sandra Bland-28 yr. old: Found hung in her TX jail cell when detained for allegedly failing to signal when changing lanes. 
• Pearlie Golden-93 yr. old: Fatally wounded by Officer Stephen Stem.  
• Sean Bell-23 yr. old: Fatally wounded by NYPD while sitting in his car in front of a strip club.  
• Ramarley Graham-18 yr. old: Fatally wounded by NYPD in the bathroom of his apartment when police entered without a warrant. Graham had a bag of marijuana when searched.

All died at the hands of law enforcement or under questionable circumstances while in police custody. Neither, however, received the due process guaranteed under the 14^th Amendment. Moreover, it doesn’t appear that these victims will receive the “equal protection” also guaranteed them, which is apparent as the Department of Justice (DOJ) remains relatively silent as civil rights violations go virtually unmentioned, unnoticed, and the perpetrators go unpunished.

             Ironically, Black lives matter when voting is the issue. Since the election of President Obama in 2008 and re-election in 2012, legislators from various states have attempted to enact laws designed to disenfranchise Blacks— and other minorities. Unquestionably, the right to vote was granted the Black man in the enactment of the 15^th Amendment; the language is very clear—Section 1 says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." — According to the DOJ’s website...

In 1870, the 15^th Amendment was ratified, which provided specifically that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the basis of race, color or previous condition of servitude. This superseded state laws that had directly prohibited black voting. Congress then enacted the Enforcement Act of 1870, which contained criminal penalties for interference with the right to vote, and the Force Act of 1871, which provided for federal election oversight.

The names of the Acts, alone, speaks volumes. In these Acts can be heard, “Due to the suppression of the Black vote, the Federal government will FORCE the ENFORCEMENT of the 15^th Amendment—which by the way was granted the Black man by virtue of the freedom given him in the 13^th Amendment and the equal protection provided him by the 14^th Amendment—in those states that refuse Blacks their right to vote.” There were even penalties provided for suppression, and although suppression occurred, no penalties were meted out. Some may say, “That was then,” but recent history proves that voter suppression continues now with discussion focused on the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 
           Since its inception, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been revisited and revised: from 1970 until 2013 when the SCOTUS assisted in suppressing the Black vote by gutting the  Act, deeming Section 4 unconstitutional. To mark the 50 anniversary of the Act, on August 6^th, Democrats are begging Congress to restore those provisions lost as a result of gutting. To show how interested Congress is in restoring the Act, on July 22, 2015, Rep. Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio was given a mere minute to speak on the House floor about restoring the Voting Rights Act. Looks like Congress has grown tired of living up to the words written in Sections of the U.S. Constitution that follow the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments: The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation, or Congress has grown tired of wielding the power granted under the Constitution. Either way, the rights of voters: poor, Black, and minority voters are being threatened by the very Congress granted the power and sworn to enforce the law... 

Moreover, throughout the history of Blacks in America, some Act or another has been crafted and drafted to control Black lives or the dominant culture's reaction to Black lives. For example, let's take the Civil Rights Act of 1964...Congress asserted its duty and power to guarantee equal protection: 14^th Amendment and to protect voting rights granted under the 15^th Amendment by enacting legislation prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The "landmark" legislation was signed into law by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson in July of 1964--Confused? Don't be-(...but I digress.) Coincidentally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not the first of its kind. The first Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1866. 
          Though vetoed by former Pres. Andrew Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, was enacted when Congress overturned the President's veto, offering males, most specifically Black males, citizenship, enjoying the same rights enjoyed by their white male counter-parts. But weren't these rights extended to Blacks in 1865 by virtue of being freed by the 13^th Amendment? Doesn't the 14^th Amendment (1868) guarantee due process and equal protection under the law to all U.S. citizens? Doesn't the 15^th Amendment (1870) guarantee all U.S. males the right to vote? Then, why is there so much legislation targeted toward ensuring that the citizenry of the U.S.A. understand that Blacks are inclusive of and entitled to full protections offered and provided under the U.S. Constitution: The Law of the Land?  
          Therein lies the battle of Blacks in America and the #BlackLivesMatter movement: dealing with a judicial system that does not view Blacks as inclusive: evidenced by its interpretation and application of the “Law of the Land”--most specifically in regards to the 14th Amendment, especially where Black lives are concerned. 

Officer Timothy Loehmann                                                              Tamir Rice

At the end of the day, Blacks continue to be denied 14^th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under the law. If Blacks were viewed as inclusive, there would have been no need for other legislation directed toward Blacks as a group. What’s most interesting is none of the legislation appeared until Blacks were freed by the 13^th Amendment. Before then, Black lives amounted to that of chattel property, and although Officer Timothy Loehmann will enjoy the “due process” and “equal protection” denied 12 yr. old Tamir Rice--when Loehmann, in a split second, decided to expand his duties as officer to include judge, jury, and executioner: fatally wounding Rice as he played with a toy gun, in a park near his home--Rice and countless others will not enjoy the same privileges as their white male counter-part, and as states enact laws in efforts to deny Blacks voting rights guaranteed under the 15^th Amendment, it’s important to remind the country, again, that #BlackLivesMatter—150 years of reminders are not enough—for if Black lives do not matter, why all the legislation at tax-payers’ expense?  

It’s time to recognize the Constitution for what it is purported to be: “The Law of the Land.” All US citizens are guaranteed due process and equal protection. When will Blacks receive equal consideration, equal rights, equal protection? Until such questions are answered, the country will be reminded that #BlackLivesMatter?