About 1 in 1,000 black men can expect to die at the hands of police, making them 2.5xs more likely than white men to die during a police encounter. The sixth leading cause of death for black men is death by cop, SIXTH.  Since 2015, 1,252 black men have been shot and killed by police, and that doesn’t even include those who’ve died while in police custody or were killed using other methods. Racism is at the forefront of these murders and the government absolutely has to step in so that no more unarmed black men and women lose their lives because of the color of their skin. 

I am calling on the government to implement a better screening process than the typical psychological evaluation for anyone applying for a law enforcement job as well as the men and women already in a law enforcement position. Now, I am not naive and I understand that people could easily just say they are not racists, which is why we need to get psychologists well-versed in racism and the thoughts of racist individuals to work closely with sociologists and groups that represent people of color to formulate a questionnaire that would potentially filter out applicants and officers who have a prejudice against people of color. Questions that do not obviously pose as “we’re trying to find out if you’re racist” but the way the person answers will clearly determine if they have racist views. AND THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HIRED/BE TERMINATED OF THEIR POSITION IMMEDIATELY.

I also understand that some people may feel this is a violation of their rights to believe in whatever they want, but when what you believe is hindering the people in the black community’s right to LIVE, something needs to be done! 

Fighting to prosecute racist officers who commit murder is important, but why not start at the beginning of the problem and nip it in the bud. Unfortunately we can’t change everyone who has racist views but it’s important that we make sure the men and women who are supposed to protect and serve won’t be given the opportunity to make fatal decisions based on their own prejudices. Let’s build a police force that ALL communities can depend upon without fear! Please join this petition and let’s see if we can evoke real change! 

#BLACKLIVESMATTER