Touré speaks out after a white woman called police on a Black family for grilling in a public park.
In an open letter featured on the Daily Beast, host, journalist and social activist Touré spoke out on the abuse of power in calling the cops.
“Dear White People, I’m scared of you. Almost all of you have a superpower that I’m in fear of. You have the power to call the police and be automatically believed,” he wrote.
The superpower Touré was speaking on: The ability for whites to use police as the physical embodiment of white privilege.
A video taken by a witness named Michelle Snider captured a white woman calling the police on a Black family grilling at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. The man behind the grill said two fire trucks passed him in the park and waved as they went by — which shows he and his family were doing nothing wrong. If there were an issue, many would believe the firemen would have stopped to address the situation.
Snider was shocked by the woman’s outburst over this group of people allegedly breaking a park the law by cooking with a charcoal grill instead of a non-charcoal grill in a designated barbecue and grilling area. Snider addressed the woman making the call and she quickly changed her demeanor, but it was clear that this woman was simply looking for a way to rid the premises of Black people. She even referred to the area as “her park.”
Oakland Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney commented on the incident to Huff Post, saying, “In a city that needs significant policing services, we can’t have those precious expensive resources squandered in a frivolous way.”
After another existing-while-Black situation, you know, Starbucks-ing while Black, Waffle Hous-ing while Black, Wal-mart-ing while Black, sitting in your own backyard while Black, Touré needed to speak out.
“Black interactions with police can too easily lead to trauma or death. In many situations, calling the police on a black person can be like tossing a grenade at them,” Touré wrote.
“But white fear is only part of the story. I think sometimes there’s something more pernicious at play. I think sometimes some white people call the police when they know that there isn’t a clear and present danger. I think in some cases people leap to call the police as an expression of dominance.”
In turbulent times such as these Blacks are reminded of the police abuse during the Civil Rights Era or the reality behind police crimes now that there is social media, cell phones and body cams to report the truth about interactions between Black people and police.
Social media responded to the incident by calling out the woman in question with the precise political satire that emulates and corresponds with Touré’s passionate and personal letter.
And as always the Internet is undefeated. Let the dragging begin…
And the most symbolic…
