Comments on: Out in the Streets, They Call It Murder

By: Lesley-Ann Brown

Lesley-Ann Brown — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:24:14 +0000

Girl, there is so much to say here, but most importantly, thanks for your blog. I’m originally from Brooklyn & Trinidad but have now made my home in Copenhagen, Denmark for about 9 years now. I have lived in Trinidad, Brooklyn, Hawaii and now here. I have read tons of books, and been in many different cultural settings and experienced many different things. My verdict: The world (generally) does not care about Black people. We can not expect justice from a system that criminalize our very existence (has done so from the very beginning)– however, we are not alone. There are many people the world over, who live, as we do: as foreigners and second class citizens in their own countries. The question, the very important question is: what next? How can we use this experience to ensure that the next person gunned down by the police is not you, me or god forbid, our children? My thoughts are with the Bell family, and the many, many, families, the world over who lose their lives, or have lost a loved one, at the hands of others who clearly, do not value LIFE.
All the best,
the lab

By: Long Form Links - 2008-05-02 - Feminism, the IMF, Sean Bell at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:08:06 +0000

[...] Afrobella – Out in the Streets, They Call it Murder [...]

By: gigi

gigi — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:58:28 +0000

Let me start off by saying that I do feel bad for the family of the victim. Also let me state that I am on the fence on this one. As a wife of an officer in California, I want my husband to be safe. Are the officers quilty of firing their weapon too much? Hell yes!!!! but at the same time, when you are coming upon someone who reaches into their pocket and you legitamly fear for your life, you shoot. But these officers are quilty of firing their weapon in excess. I am not dumb, I know that their are dirty cops out there, but they give everyone else a bad name. Lets not make this a racial thing, because this happens all over the states with black cops, white victims, white cops with black and white victims. Lets just try to keep the peace and hope that the law enforcement everywhere learns from this and new procedures are brought on by this very sad event. I pray for the families of the victims, along with the families of these officers.

By: Fatima

Fatima — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:19:46 +0000

I live in NYC and like most people that have posted their comment here on your site, I too, was not surprised at the “verdict”. Unfortuantely, this is the reality that exist not Just in NYC, but in America. Mos Def said it best on Bill Maher’s show on HBO (I forgot the name) when speaking about terrorism in America. The real people out trying to kill Americans are called NYPD not neccessarily Iraqi Jihadist or Muslim extremist! It is so sad that we as a people dont trust and believe in the system/ cops that are here to serve and protect us against crime and wrong doings. As result, we become more inclined to take matters into our own hands.

Also, i have a hard time understanding how trained “professionals” (i.e. police) need 50 shots (in some cases more) to kill or even injure a group of unarmed men. The thugs on the streets who tote around guns, have never been formally trained to use guns, yet, would never require 50 bullets. They dont even reload their guns when shotting, yet they alwasy seem to get their targets without any problems. What does that say about the competence of our police dept.? Hmmmmm…

By: emmy kay

emmy kay — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:57:11 +0000

I reside in Brooklyn, grew up in Jamaica queens, work and school in manhattan. I am outraged as the next woman! Having a conversation about this with a security guard at my job, who happens to be a cop, I asked him when was the last time that he had heard of an unarmed white male being gunned down by the police. He with his years of police experience in NYC could not come up with one instance. This is NYC bella. As fab as it seems from a skyline shot on a postcard, it is expensive, and slowly becoming a gentrified, and steril police state for working class people of color. I don’t love having my purse searched by the police, when i am tired from work, ready to ride the subway. Which by the way a monthly metrocard’s price went up from $76 to $80 a month! There is no more Harlem. It is now SOHA! Though it should backfire , because there is just not that much wealth going around to keep the facade. that is a whole other post. But yeah, this is NYC and these are our police, and our justice system. A system that will not protect you if you are young and black. An undesireable in a changing FAB NY.

By: Ana

Ana — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:03:40 +0000

While i would like to say that the verdict shocked me it did not,i live in the Bronx and have noticed on many occassions where my younger brothers and cousins have been stopped by police because they looked like someone who fit the description. Being a young black boy or man in this country already makes you a suspect and too many of these crooked cops are getting away with their racist profiling and unjustified brutality and then they wonder why no one talks to the police

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:40:22 +0000

We need to learn the laws, waiting and hoping for white people to treat us better is never going to happen, Sean Bell was treated as a second class citizen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-class_citizen

By: Nikki

Nikki — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:29:40 +0000

It’s time to get angry black people! I know you can’t fight fire with fire but that’s the way I feel. I was disgusted with the verdict and that just further let’s me know how the police feel about black people like my life is not worth a damn!!! My life, your life, everbody life is worth something but in the eyes of the law your worth more dead than alive and that bothers me. If you got the complexion for the protection then you’ll live to see another day, if your black shoot now ask questions later. That s—- doesn’t sit well with me!!

By: Jenene

Jenene — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:43:50 +0000

When I heard about the verdict, I was deeply saddened but not surprised. As a lifelong resident of Queens NY, the names of Sean Bell, Eleanor Bumpers, Ousemane Zongo, Michael Stewart, Anthony Baez, and Amadou Diallo will never be forgotten. My father is Black man is this city, my cousins are Black men in the city, I love a Black man that lives in this city, and one day I hope to raise a Black man in this city. I see Nicole Paultre Bell’s pain and I can’t help but think, there but for the grace of God go I.

Since when is feeling threatened adequate justification for shooting unarmed men. Police officers are given much authority and in turn should be held to a higher standard of competence.

I overheard several white co-workers (I work at a law firm) saying the prosecution put up a horrible case. The prosecution pretty much put on the defense’s case for them. They also think because 2 of the officers were of color this is not a race issue. It is very much a race issue. Why is it always people of color that are being gunned down my the police? It is racial profiling at its most destructive. And officers of color are not immune to that any more than their white counterparts.

By: LeAnne

LeAnne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:33:38 +0000

Sean Bell's case is so sad. For goodness sake, i wish these cops would be men and just admit that they killed the guy unfairly. Seeing her stare at that dress is so depressing. hairsmystory.com