It’s a weird time to be a police officer.
We all remember 2020, because it’s really still with us.
The trial of Derek Chauvin–the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd–is now well under way. The United States Capitol Police have suffered yet another loss, since the January 6 raid on the House and Senate cast a somber shade on how America really views the Thin Blue Line. Seemingly, some of those who declared loyalty to police officers during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, have now turned against them, as representatives of what they view as a thieving government. Some of those are officers themselves.
In the midst of it all, our country has spent the last year on the steps of a great reckoning–of how we handle crime, service, protection, patriotism, and race. This retrospective from last fall, looking at the origins of America’s police forces and their perpetual friction with Black Americans, has been updated with a new angle: the point of view of Black officers.
-Maude
April 6, 2021