Barbarians

A year ago, the racial justice organization Detroit Will Breathe helped plan a march in suburban Shelby Township, protesting the police chief who sent out racist tweets calling Black Lives Matter marchers “barbarians” and “wild savages.” He wrote that real cops would put them in “body bags.” He got a 30-day suspension and was ordered to complete sensitivity training.

I joined the loud, peaceful march of about a hundred. We took the middle of the main street for about two blocks before turning into a residential neighborhood. After marching and chanting and inviting Shelby residents to join us, we walked the main drag again for less than a hundred yards. Police officers with clubs and riot gear tackled unarmed protestors with little warning.

It was an exhibition of just how vicious and violent our “justice” system is. A white police chief tweets racism and sits in the penalty box for a month. A Black-led beloved community confronts the racism creatively and nonviolently—and receives the full force of the law. Five of the protestors are currently on trial. Charged with felonies. They could serve time in prison.

In Shelby, I witnessed suburban residents, with fear in their eyes, rooting for the cops and cursing out the courage and beauty of Black leadership. I was born and raised in suburbia. I have moved in suburban spaces most my life. I, too, was trained to be scared of the wrong people. To rage at the wrong people. I reflect on this and wonder: who are the real barbarians?