August 17, 2016
Page 7
O PINION
Your Carpet
Best Cleaning
Choice
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) :
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
My Mother, Stopped for Driving While Black
Mistreatment
isn’t new, nor is
it surprising
m ilen m ehari
When the po-
lice pulled their
guns on my moth-
er, I reached for
my phone and told
her to be calm and
do as they say.
My parents and
I had just been swarmed by police
cars, sirens blaring, as we drove
on I-64 through Virginia. Shock
and fear consumed my family as
we came to a stop and were or-
dered out of the vehicle at gun
point. A third car even showed up
to stop traffic.
The officers then arrested my
mother without any explanation. I
felt helpless.
As I questioned the police about
why they stopped a family of three
just driving along and minding our
own business, a passing white mo-
torist stopped his car. He gave the
by
police officers a thumbs-up and
told them, “We support the great
job you’re doing.”
I was stunned.
My parents sought asylum in
the United States from Eritrea
many years ago. We work hard
and obey the rules. But that’s
not enough. In a sad twist of
fate, our family has stumbled
into institutional injustice in a
new form.
Eventually the arresting of-
ficer accused my mother both
of going too slow and eluding
his siren for 10 miles. Three po-
lice cars, guns, and handcuffs for
my middle-aged mom, apparently
for going too slow on a highway.
Being too cautious seems to be
yet another thing that can get you
stopped for driving while black.
Two weeks later, police in Min-
nesota stopped Philando Castile
for an alleged broken taillight.
When Castile reached for his
identification, he carefully told the
cop his every move. To avoid any
wrong assumptions, he explained
that he had a license to carry a
concealed weapon, which he had
in the car.
Castile was then shot sever-
al times and killed. What was
his crime? Is a broken taillight a
reason to be shot? Is driving too
slow a reason to be handcuffed at
gunpoint, surrounded by three cop
cars?
The mistreatment of black peo-
ple by police officers isn’t new,
nor is it surprising. According
to the Justice Department, black
people are almost four times more
likely than whites to experience
the use of force during police en-
counters.
Before Castile’s slaying by the
St. Anthony Police Department,
he’d been stopped by police over
50 times and acquired thousands
of dollars in fines and fees. Cas-
tile’s mother had encouraged her
son to complain about the police’s
racial profiling. But like many
black people, Castile chose not to.
Why bother reporting police
harassment, they reason, to the
very people who commit the as-
sault?
During our eight-hour drive
to Alleghany County Court, I
remember being so confident
that the judge would be on my
mother’s side. The police had no
evidence at all, and they’d plain-
ly exposed my family to unnec-
essary emotional and financial
hardship. Surely, the judge would
see that.
I was wrong. Not only was
my mother found guilty of both
counts, they also revoked her driv-
er’s license. Our lawyer refused to
press our case, demurring, “I’m
not in the business of suing police
officers.”
We are but one of thousands of
black families in America who are
targeted, profiled, fined, incarcer-
ated, and — as we saw with Cas-
tile — sometimes killed by un-
accountable police officers and a
justice system that supports them.
The American dream can’t be a
reality if the very color of our skin
makes us criminals in the eyes of
the law.
Milen Mehari is a Next Leader
at the Institute for Policy Studies,
where she researches the crim-
inalization of race and poverty.
Distributed by OtherWords.org.
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
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SERVICES
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