If
you haven’t been moved by the protests and demonstrations that have swept
American and foreign cities the past couple of weeks, you’re not paying
attention. The earnest outrage over senseless deaths of African-Americans by
police is understandable and righteous.
The
vandalism and looting that accompanied some peaceful protests were disgusting
and disgraceful. Reports indicate that anarchists and criminals stole the
spotlight from peaceful protests and proceeded to pilfer and destroy whatever
they wanted. Shop owners, black and white, barely holding on during the
pandemic, found windows smashed, inventory stolen and other damage. These
criminals should be prosecuted. The peaceful protesters should be heard. Their
message is honorable and justifiable.
Last
week, I called for a review of police training and tactics. That should be
obvious. Police in body armor wielding armored vehicles, shields, explosives and
chemical weapons make them more military combatants than protectors of the
people. The Obama administration has provided a 40-page guide to reforming
policing, but, as with all things from Obama, the Trump administration has
exiled the needed reforms and turned to more weaponry, more violence, more
force, more fatalities. Reform can be done, improving criminal justice and
reducing police violence while keeping Americans safer in their own homes and
communities. Increased violence and force is not the answer. Making police
“helpers,” with better training and screening, instead of herders is the answer.
Some
are calling for defunding or dismantling police departments. That is not the
answer, especially for minority communities with high crime rates. The
militarization of police, developed in the Nixon “Law and Order” era, however,
should be ended. Lethal tactics intended for foreign enemies should not be used
against our own citizens.
Criminal
justice reform should accompany police reforms. As William J. Stuntz showed in “The Collapse of
American Criminal Justice,” few criminal charges go before a jury as
prosecutors force defendants to wait in jail until they accept a plea bargain,
which avoids a trial and closes the case in the state’s favor.
The
rest of us also need reform. White Americans’ fear of black dominance has
justified slavery, lynching, segregated schools and other atrocities. Some have
advocated reparations for slavery and its aftermath. As New York Times
columnist David Brooks has written, determination of who is eligible for
reparations (documenting slave ancestors, adjusting for non-African ancestors,
etc.) would be a nightmare. It would be better, he says, to help fund
institutions that can bring prosperity to black families and black
neighborhoods. Brooks acknowledges that this was tried before with Community
Action Agencies under Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society with poor results, but it
can be done successfully, he says.
Substandard
housing could best be addressed by following the formula of Habitat for
Humanity, which focuses on home ownership at discount prices. New owners make
payments to Habitat and must live in their homes for 10 or more years. The
owner may sell the home before paying off a zero-interest first mortgage, but a
second mortgage comes due if the owner tries to “flip” the home for a quick
profit. Federal housing projects that push the poor into rentals do little for
the poor. Home ownership creates wealth, in which African-Americans sadly lag.
Discounted
home ownership could compensate for generations of red-lining, loan rejections,
and other unfair treatment while building up minority communities. Incentives could be added to promote
desegregation of neighborhoods.
In
this pivotal moment, America should be bold enough to address police violence
and the inequality of opportunity for minorities, an inequality that harms both
minorities and white Americans.
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