A Response to Three of the Baltimore Police Officers Charged in the death of Freddie Gray

Martin Luther King I believe, once spoke of "The Paralysis of Analysis." Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, suggests, "...spontaneous decisions are often as good as, or better than, carefully planned and considered thinking."

Last night and this morning, I have looked again and again at the pictures of the six Baltimore police officers who have been charged with contributing to the death of Freddie Gray. One of them is a woman and three appear to be black.

Remembering what Malcolm Gladwell suggests in Blink, "spontaneous" and not pretending to be "planned and considered", I offer the following responses to the three police persons who are black:

1. We have met the enemy and sometimes (he/she/it) is us.

2. There are times when 'wearing the blue' trumps what it means to be black.

3. The way to get along is to go along.

4. Racial passing is most times shaped by who one appears to be on the outside, but it also can be shaped by who one is on the inside.

5. Ultimately it is not persons who are racist, but history and systems that are racist, that influence what we think and what we do, no matter who we are.

6. Baltimore City Prosecutor Marilyn J. Mosby demonstrated that one of the ways to demonstrate that “Black Lives Matter” is to be colorblind in the prosecution of those whose actions suggest that “Black Lives" do not matter.

7. It is now time for an understanding that “Black Lives Matter” be embraced, not only in Police Stations, but in the words that black gang members tattoo on their arms, that Supreme Court Justices place on their walls, Congress members include in their legislation, and Presidents have on their desks in the Oval Office.

I suggest that we are in a moment when a deeper awareness of the reality that "Black Lives Matter," can push us toward the more profound; "ALL LIVES MATTER!"