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This is a reflective piece on the impact of the police presence in a community on a young African American child after the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A discussion of social control and race are presented. Recommendations for social justice efforts are offered.
Keywords: African American men, policing, social justice, criminal justice
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination was the most visible attempt to dismantle the organizational efforts of the civil rights movement through the eradication of its leader. The assassination publicly revealed the vulnerability of African American men in a society that professes to the world the right to express beliefs and ideals through freedom of speech. I spent my young years in West Garfield Park, an area on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. I loved my childhood. There were children in every gray stone on the block. We played together on our street riding bikes, jumping rope, competing in hopscotch, and playing strike out. We visited each other's homes and eagerly awaited for the musical sounds of the ice cream truck. There was a feeling of connectedness among us. We watched out for each other as if we were blood related. I came and went without fear. No one would have foreseen that the peaceful calm of my neighborhood that kept me close and protected would be changed forever in one day.
It was April 4, 1968. The day Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. I can still feel the uneasiness, the fear, and the chaos. I can sometimes remember the smells and the racing heartbeats of my parents in their protective silence. The events of that day will always be etched in my memory. The day began as any other. I awoke, washed my face, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and ate breakfast. My sister and I ran to the television, locked our hands around the knob and together turned to whatever station was the clearest. After a while, we went outside to play. Everyone was outside. We knew each others names and families. We walked throughout the neighborhood with ease. We talked to each other. We visited each others homes. It was a community. As the street lights signaled the end of...