Keith L Scott shot by police, as Charlotte burns

America, physically and metaphorically is burning again. First of all, I must make clear that no reasonable person can condone any violence, much less the levels we’ve seen in North Carolina this week.

Yet, at the same time, any rational person must also understand the source of this violence, and appreciate the gravity of the problem which underpins it.

A black man, Keith Lamont Scott, was shot dead on the streets of Charlotte in a manner which has become all-too-predictable for the black community. Indeed, many black people see these killings as executions by the State.

At the heart of this very serious problem is the way a signicant section of America’s law enforcement officers , and in a wider context America’s institutions, views black people. Of course not every police officer has a pejorative view of the black community, but we have to ask why so many black people, particularly black men, are being shot dead by police. One of those victims, Tamir Rice, was just 12 years old when he was gunned down, playing with a toy gun in the park. When the police saw him, they didn’t see a child, they saw a 'Black beast', who could potentially harm them.

There are myriad of anecdotes to illustrate the spread and scale of this prejudice. In Tulsa, for example, an officer relayed to a colleague, whilst investigating the situation: “...he must be a bad dude. He must be on something”. What was his reasoning other than the guy was big and Black? That big Black innocent unarmed Black man - Terence Crutcher - whose car had broken down on the highway, was not helped the local state public servants, but rather shot dead by a police officer. When you engage in a mindset that’s stereotypical, fearful and distrustful of a person for no good reason other than the colour of their skin, terrible accidents and or executions occur. But equally we shouldn’t be too surprised if there is a firestorm backlash.

These injustices are unfolding on live TV, right in front of all our eyes; it’s not as if we’re talking about a new, hitherto undiscovered problem. I was in Washington DC last week and heard President Obama talk about the injustice of mass black incarceration. Just this week a Judge Mark Ciavarella, was jailed for receiving payments for jailing more Black youths. The judge was paid a million dollars by a Juvenille detention centre to fill it up. And Black youths were his prime target. Further down the State food chain, we’re still seeing police not following due process, shooting first and asking questions never.

But If you think this is a general problem with American society, a trigger-happy lunacy that punishes Black people disproportionately, think again. Last year, a Guardian study revealed young black men were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by police.

As I said, I abhor and reject violent, illegal protest. But I wholeheartedly support legal protests against the endemic racism that killed Keith Lamont Scott, Terence Crutcher, Tamir Rise and many others. I would sooner people protest, and our society wakes up to thess shocking injustices and inequalities, than people sit back and do nothing.

And yes, when I say our society, I mean it. This affects Britain as well as the US. The levels of violence are not comparable, and we have made huge strides, but there is an all-too-common mindset which leads police officers to view black people in a negative way. David Cameron launched an anti-discrimination drive just eight months ago, and Theresa May has said police stop-and-search powers are used unfairly towards young, black men.

When I was a Commissoner with responsibility for race, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission I was charged with looking at stop-and-search numbers, and I found that a third were illegal, which meant that racial profiling was endemic. And some enduring the type of encounter we have  seen only this week when a crazed policeman endangered the wellbeing of Leon Fontana, as he violently smashed his windscreen forcing him to leave the car.

During my visit to Washington I met with Black Lives Matter leaders and we spoke about shared experiences and the support we’d give to each other. My response over the last couple of days has been to show solidarity and tell them they have the support of Operation Black Vote in this period of great distress, painm and worry . I don’t always agree with their actions, but I very much support their right to protest, and put the agenda front and centre of the US and the UK.

Some have argued that by supporting protests, such as Blacklivesmatter that we are somehow driving a wedge between white and Black America. Yet the reality is that America is already deeply divided; the legacy of Sarah Palin, and the vitriol of Donald Trump, have seen to that. The demand by Blackslivesmatters, is simply that Black people's lives should be no less valued that white lives.

The real goal is to highlight uncomfortable truths and find ways to both heal our societies and offer hope that things can change.

Locking out talent, demonising generations, needless murders that occur during innocuous interactions with the police, burn the soul and trust of a nation.

I’m convinced on both sides of the Atlantic - we’re bigger and better than that.

Simon Woolley

The origanl op-ed piece on talkRADIO:

http://talkradio.co.uk/opinion/bloodshed-charlotte-abhorrent-we-have-ensure-keith-lamont-scott-didnt-die-vain-1609224491

http://bit.ly/2d3YmKP