The Future of Race Relations: Safety is in OUR hands now!

 In my last class of the term we studied relations in the US. We started with race relations, diving into what systemic racism is, microaggressions, and general inequities. After race was gender where we describe feminism as a concept and who it benefits, sexualization, and again general inequities. Finally and most recently we talked about class. Class defines who we can be and how hard it is to get there, but also demonstrates the real implications of having or not having wealth, power, or fame. Throughout this course we had to switch topics from race to class or gender to race and so on because they are all connected thus you cannot talk about one without discussing the others in their entirety. For this AP however, we were asked to imagine some large event that goes on in the future within these relations in the world. How far in the future you ask? One hundred years into the future, 2122, from anywhere in the world. I decided on an event to start the abolishment of the police, driven from the heinous acts of police blatantly colluding with the KKK and a large group of white supremacists  after the start of a tangible reparations bill was first put into effect. Framed as a news segment, here is my video on the topic: 

Safety is in OUR hands now!:

~Start of Script~

Only after the major events of December 23, 2120, finally, two years later we see the first major change in police action. As many may know, the event to spark this was the torturous murder of five black men by police officers. It was soon after a new reparations bill had been passed stating that anyone “from decendents of slaves” would receive an extra $400 in their paycheck for every family member in their household. This is the first step in one hundred years since the advance of the HR-40 in 2021 to study black history and look for options for reparations. The HR-40 was the main reason this new bill was passed but this has also angered many white supremacists who would call it an inequality to give extra money to someone based on their race. Ironic considering the statistics behind the race-wage gap. In retaliation many have resorted back to heinous acts with this one being the most nationally impactful. As one man recorded, a whole room of white men laughed as they beat and mutilated the five. Each of the men had white hoods over their faces, seven of the men were in uniform of the KKK and four men wore CPD uniforms. Through the video the badge numbers were made out and the officers have since been arrested. While in custody only one has made a confession and the others have stayed silent.

Though the video surfaced and several of the men have been arrested, only 2 of the victims have been found, both in separate parts of the Chicago river. Currently authorities are searching the river for the other three. As for the perpetrators, 28 of the potential 50+ suspects have been identified. This has been a major scare for families across the country and support has been rallied to both find the suspects and victims. In terms of national action, the state of IL is abolishing the police entirely and instead, the public is given the option for subsidized private security. The idea behind the “Recognition Of Authority Driven Afro-American Oppression Act”  is to take away the lack of choice in who protects you as trust is important in security thus citizens may choose who secures them. The funds used for the police previously will be funneled into local  communities and cities. The city of Chicago will be funding revised low income housing, reconstruction of public property, renewing public services, new services such as mental health centers and helping youth escape poverty, and subsidizing healthcare. These specific services were implemented with the intention to create a lack of need for police. The ideology is that if there is no chance for an altercation, there wont be one. This will all be overseen by several groups of elected community leaders to “provide the most equitable and honest” spread of the wealth.

Interview: Yayden Jamon, Student class of 2124.

“Do you think this was the right course of action? Was abolishing the police the right thing to do?” 

“I think that abolishing the police completely isn't necessarily the best course of action even if they are being replaced by private security. Police have terrorized black and brown communities for centuries and this is a good step in the right direction towards making a difference. It seems perfect in that, the funding from the police is going into private security to protect our communities without the harassment.”

“What do you think will happen next? Do you think we could go to a civil war yet again or will a silent majority weigh heavily on one side?”

“I think the silent majority will weigh more heavily on one side, I don't think we will go into another civil war. Because the country seems to finally repent, those who oppose the new standard will have to do so silently.”

“Do you think the city will be able to be truthful with the allocation of assets?”

“I think institutionally the city of Chicago will stay honest with the new standard. Chicago’s always been a connected and community-related city but some people will be dissatisfied with the honesty that Chicago will uphold.”

“That is all, we appreciate your answers and thank you for your time.” 

Reportedly the way the money will be spread was framed this way because of the large-scale corruption in the city of Chicago that has been prevalent for almost 200 years. The only reason to bring up corruption is with the huge amount of money being transferred from law enforcement to elsewhere, accountability is important; making sure no one pockets some extra cash. From before Capone walked the streets to the 2000s reports to now it remains corrupt but many newer political figures hope to change that. At the moment there are many Blue leaning states like California and Minnesota pushing for similar motions. That's it for now, CDH signing off.

 ~End of Script~

Overall this class and this term have been very informative as one of my main goals for the class was to learn everything I could but I really appreciated the conversations we had as a class with many being very vocal about their experiences. I think these are topics that should be discussed in all schools as it helps address issues and inform about topics many are ignorant about. Thank you for reading, have a good day, night, or whatever time you read this.

-CDH

Works Cited:

“Chicago Ranks No. 1 - Again - in Corruption: Report.” WTTW News, https://news.wttw.com/2021/02/22/chicago-ranks-no-1-again-corruption-report. 

“H.R. 40, Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.” Congressional Budget Office, 17 May 2021, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57224.

“Gender Pay Gap.” Payscale, 11 Feb. 2022, https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/gender-pay-gap/.