A History Repeated: American Tragedy of Racial Discrimination

The most recent tragedy involving the death of a Black man in America has once more shown the terrible reality of racial discrimination still afflicting the law enforcement agency of the nation. On Friday, New York Attorney General Leticia James posted a video showing the horrific scene in which Black prisoner Robert Brooks was pummeled by several white police officers while semi-conscious and in custody.

Dead a day following the horrific attack at Wing Hospital, Brooks has become the most recent emblem of the systematic neglect to defend human rights, particularly for the Black population. Four years have passed since George Floyd's death, a case sparking worldwide demonstrations against racial injustice and police violence. Still, identical events keep happening with minimal significant change.

The killing of Brooks has spurred a lot of criticism of American law enforcement practices, especially with relation to white police treatment of persons of color. Black community groups and human rights organizations have demanded extensive changes in police training, law enforcement institution monitoring, and tougher legislation to stop such brutality going forward.

Plans for mass demonstrations in New York to demand justice for Brooks' passing abound. Activists underline that this instance reflects a strongly ingrained culture of violence inside American law enforcement institutions, not a single occurrence.

Long history of police violence directed at Black people exposes an alarming trend. One of many sad events in a cycle that keeps returning itself is the 2014 Ferguson incident, in which white cop Darren Wilson shot and murdered Black teenager Michael Brown, eighteen years old. Cases like this and many more like ones show the ongoing institutional racism that not only endures but also helps to propagate injustice.