Arrested for doing nothing: 'Waiting while Black'

By Dilip -

White fear and loathing of black bodies has struck again in the city of brotherly love. The viral video of Philadelphia police arresting two African-American men at Starbucks last week is yet another reminder that black lives in America are deemed to be disposable. Moreover, it’s a reminder that capitalism and gentrification and the systematic erasure of black flesh are at the core of this and other recent crimes against black men. It is time to address these issues alongside the plague of racist policing in America.

The responsibility for this incident lies with both the initial police call and the police officers who responded to the call. The store manager in this case was not only acting as the guardian of the Starbucks location, but of the whiteness of the space she managed. A black body at rest, not moving, not speaking loudly, asking to use the restroom, presented an existential threat. The “crime”? Not consuming. Ascribing malicious intent, the manager called the police, who promptly responded by arresting and jailing them ― stealing seven hours of their lives that they can never get back.

In the racialized space of capitalist gentrification, police are not only arbiters of the peace, they are the muscle of retail racism: You can only be in this space if you transcend your blackness by showing us some green dollars. Even then, there is no guarantee that green will transcend your black skin...
read more:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-butler-starbucks-arrests_us_5ad62d07e4b0edca2cbe75c9

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