For Officer T, Officer L, Officer F
…may your feet be shod with the gospel of peace…
What do you do when you are both Black and Blue?
Black Lives Matter.
Do blue lives matter
When they are Black?
War-scarred flesh, not torn but swollen
Cells battered by unimaginable abuse
Bruised by flogging
Inside and out.
How do we-they protect and serve in our community when we are asked to protect our enemies? Within. Without.
Inside and out. The forces battling…
Internal
External
Eternal
Review.
Are our enemies protecting our right to serve…our community?
What does a Black officer do when she stands between two, three, four, more…systems?
Racism
Sexism
Classism
Ablesim
Structural
Institutional
Blind justice does not exist when you see.
Thoughts and prayers
Taps and serenades
Are not enough for those of us who are blue and Black: civilian, officer–be civil, officer…please.
Blue. Confused. Angry. Sad. Frustrated. Overwhelmed. Depressed.
Black. Skin. In the Game. Music. Love. Matters.
Yes. We need more PEACE officers in the communities being over-policed.
Servants prepared to stand in solidarity with what is right, dismissing their own fears in the face of significant hurt. We are not feral. We are not rabid. We are scared…so we run. You have run, so you know the sensation of panic Black Boy. Be BIGGER
Thomas.
Doubting…
Change will come.
Hoping…
Change will come.
Gun violence is married to police violence. Inextricably linked in fact in a way that fear and faith are two sides of the same coin.
What do you do when they come for you? We are not bad. We are scared. We want to live…today, tomorrow, next year…so we can see change. Fatal force at the hands of those who did not serve us well.
Laquan McDonald, Chicago, 16 times
Stephon Clark, Sacramento, 20 times
Today’s shootings are yesterday’s lynchings.
Make no mistake.
What do you do when you are both Black and Blue?
Joy Barnes-Johnson, Ph.D. 