Submitted by Jermaine Monk, Dec 5, 2006 18:26

As a Black and Master's level educated man in America I find your article to be completely disconnected with reality. The personal circumstances of Mr. Bell namely the number of children he has fathered or prior run-ins with the law is of no importance to his death. The external conditions does not negate the fact that race (though a social construct) manifests' itself in reality. Mr. Bell was murdered based upon a system that inherently places people of color in an inferior position to whites. I can not count the times I have been subjected to racial profiling by police officers in NY, NJ and Philadelphia. How do I know it was racial profiling you ask? Many of those encounters resulted in NO tickets or warnings. The remaining in fractures were subjective and hard to prove in court i.e. wearing a seatbelt. The only "real" infraction was that I was a Black male in predominately white area or soon to be gentrified urban city. The thought never entered into the officers mind that I could actually be student or graduate student at some of the most prestigious university's in the country. I would even go so far as to say they- white officers -did not even care.

Your analysis lacks any "real" understanding of the race dynamics of this country. White institutions whether it be the educational, criminal justice or even religious systems used by this country were made to exclude folks of color. What has happened, however in an integrated society a few have been able to not be "Black" but be color blind. Bypassing the conversation about what it means to be "Black," I find your work to be regressive and lack any real analysis of how race is manifested in American institutions (I would be more than glad to suggest some articles or books to bring you up to speed). The circumstances surrounding Mr. Bell's murder requires justice regardless of race. As you have clearly demonstrated to be Black is but a mindset which one can pick-up or lay down when convenient. Unfortunately, you aren't able to change how you look to coincide with how you think. Technology is constantly changing-maybe one day you can!

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