blackandwhite

Forgive me for VENTING (and bad spelling)!!! I lived and worked in Atlanta, Ga. for over 15 years. One of my jobs there during/after college was a law clerk position in the Atlanta City traffic court. I clerked for Chief Judge Ed Baety. That traffic court division brought in over 2 million dollars a month to the city. I never would’ve imagined that traffic related issues was such ‘big business’ for city governments and municipalities, but it really is …

Here in North Alabama, traffic related issues are ‘big business’ too, except the courtrooms aren’t nearly as DIVERSE in staff OR ‘community cross-sectioned’ in social make-up (back in Atlanta, I worked highly visible in FTA court as a bailiff also … seemingly unheard of for black people in North Alabama). There is still the common belief here among non-blacks that, if “black people are in court, they must be defendants … “. I know for a fact that it’s true with the local newspaper (the Hartselle Enquirer) that when you see a black face in print, it’s because they’ve been arrested for something. Before Nov., 4th, 2008 this statement was especially true. I know so because I read it. One of my friends called me when I got featured in an article locally. My buddy called sounding all EXCITED sayin’ … “I heard you were in the paper, is everything okay?”, “Will you be at work tomorrow?”, “Do you need anything?”, … I didn’t realize how much trivia would surround the news article until it was printed … AND the article was a review about a new rap music CD that I’d recorded. Nonetheless, blacks are not known here for being in print for good deeds or happenings. Not even do old black women that knit blankets for church members get good newsprint here. From living and working in the “Ole’ Boy” system, I know “EQUAL” when I see it … blacks here still aren’t regarded as such.

Huntsville, Al. had a population of nearly 400,000 in 2008. It’s 1/3 black by population, but over 50% of the traffic tickets in Huntsville go to black people. I remember when it was >100,000 population (in the 1970’s during my childhood). It is more progressive there now, but it still has it’s small town mind-frame. Most small towns have citizens that the majority refer to as “undesirables”. Here in North Alabama, you guessed it, it’s black folks (again). I don’t work in the legal profession here. I couldn’t find a job paralegaling (I wasn’t suprised though). Even when I pass a court house now I get a funny feeling (like most blacks do in small towns).

The reason that I am ‘venting’ and going on ‘tangents’ is b/c it hit the news that Huntsville, Al. “has racial disparity in traffic ticket numbers” and local Reverend TC Johnson, pastor of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, filed an open records request for the information. [SEE story “City has racial disparity in traffic ticket numbers”; timesdaily.com - Sat., 7/11/09] Blacks have always known it, it’s just easier for the non-blacks to act ignorant to it (as though it doesn’t happen). We live approx. 30 minutes from Huntsville, so the police think the same … or atleast they act the same here as they do in H’ville. I have some compelling stories about the police here in Hartselle, Al. (Officer Petit [being one of the many]), but, I’ll stick with the H’ville saga since it made the news.

Deputy Police Chief Mark Hudson (HPD) discussed the numbers with City council. He opened by saying, “That’s disproportionate. We’ll say that upfront”. He further says that the numbers were “the result of a crackdown to reduce traffic deaths”. Call me crazy, but don’t police always claim some kind of “crackdown” when questioned about their overzealous acts against citizens while on the job? HPD continued, “We’re not targeting people, we’re targeting areas where people die in car crashes …”.

Instead of going on and on … (follow me with this one) … there has been eight fatal crashes in 2009 (it’s July so far) … so the year is halfway over. If the number doubles, it’ll be 16 by the years’ end. 16 deaths is a lot less than the 43 in 2005, but those numbers have nothing to do with the ticket disparities in 2009. Hudson said the “department took a ‘rifle-sight’ approach, using crash data compiled by the state to select areas that needed additional traffic enforcement”. According to his numbers, 80% of all 2009 deaths occurred in the north and west precincts, which are predominantly black neighborhoods. If you do the math according to what the police reported, that means that 6.4 people (out of eight) got killed in car crashes in (black neighborhoods) so far this year out of a total population of about 400,000. It’s not coincidence that they still end up concentrating their police efforts in the black areas of town ya’ll, it’s Alabama. Nevermind the rapes, robberies, drug store thefts, high speed chases, and other hoopla that goes on daily outside of the black neighborhoods in Huntsville … These good ole’ Huntsville, Alabama cops opt to hang-out in their “AREAS OF INTEREST” (um, black neighborhoods) and tell the public (if asked) that they’re watching the neighborhood because of “deaths from car crashes” …

Now, the IRONY (and the laughter) starts when you think about who is IN black neighborhoods … A few families that are working on moving up, a bigger group of people that want to grow their families but don’t have access to resources or don’t have inside scoops on finding solid employment (non-blacks gain good paying jobs here due to that “inside scoop” [i.e. family member, friend of one’s Father]), and a bigger group of people ‘with all hope being destroyed’ due to immense poverty & joblessness …

There aren’t many cars in black neighborhoods to ‘watch’ or ‘patrol’ in Huntsville due to poverty, homelessness, low esteem, poor morale, cars being unaffordable to maintain, blacks not getting hired for work (even those that are “qualified” by standard), and a host of other factors.

Police gave the people an excuse for being “Big Brother” in the neighborhood with the everpresent “EYES” and the “handcuffs” … I hope the venting doesn’t make me sound anti-American. It just gets to me knowing that cops in 2009 still think that blacks are stupid to their malicious intentions.

Well, their actions didn’t get passed the local news source, timesdaily.com, nor did they get passed Rev. TC Johnson. I have to ‘laugh’ to keep from ‘crying’ when thinking about the police here, especially when talking about it to my wife (who’s also non-black).

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