Via Verum Serum and Hot Air. For anyone who wants to see it, here’s the real face of post-racial America. Two black police officers on the Cambridge, MA force – Sgt. Leon Lashley and Officer Kelly King – stand up for their colleague, Sgt. “Jimmy” Crowley. Officer King goes so far as to opine that she will vote neither for Hope ‘n Change nor Deval Patrick again.
Welcome to Post-Racial America
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Kelly King comes from a Historic American Family that has worked for racial equity for generations. She is a direct descendant of Mary McCleod Bethune and niece of the late Singer/Humanitarian/Negro Spiritual Historian Joe Carter (http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/joecarter/). She is a brilliant woman and if she says that this wasn’t racial profiling, then it wasn’t racial profiling.
It is important to remember that these comments were taped before Obama took any steps to reconcile with Crowley or take responsiblity for his role in igniting racial tension at the expense of a police officer who spearheaded the efforts in Cambridge to create racial profiling prohibitions and policies. Officer King spoke in a very specific context and may have changed her mind about Obama since her comments. Either way that is her right as a Free American.
She carries on the good work of her family in racial reconciliation as a police officer- challenging America to judge a man by his actions and character rather than the color of his skin- and she applied these treasured American and family principles both to Crowley and Obama alike.
What is most disappointing is that the nation is focused on whether or not she will vote for Obama again- and we have lost sight of everything else Officer King spoke about which inspires all of us to the noble goals of racial reconciliation.
The attacks from the Black Community and Black Media that abound against her are misplaced This misplaced priority is shared with the White Media- namely the primary concern has been over her dissatisfaction with Obama and the possiblity that she may not vote for him again- while ignoring the true nature of her comments and motivation. Who she may vote for is the very least of what she communicated.
To ignore the great ideals of the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind she models for us and calls us to makes us a part of the problem, not the solution to racial tensions in America.