Police violence toward and murdering of people of color–most disproportionately of Black and Indigenous people–is part of life in Salt Lake City, Utah, as it is elsewhere in the US. In 2014, after Michael Brown was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, a young man in Utah was also killed by police. A group of people from across campus and the SLC community met for a dialogue and crafted a letter to the editor, which we we sent to the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, City Weekly, and the Daily Utah Chronicle (campus paper). None of the papers printed the letter, and only one (City Weekly) responded that they appreciated the letter, but did not publish such columns in their paper. I’ve shared the letter below, if you ever have use for such language. I’m certain you’d have comments and revisions that could have made the letter sharper and better, but this is what we could put together at the time.
We described the facilitated dialogue for Social Work Helper, a blog/social media site.
Enough is Enough: End Police Shootings of Young Black Men Now
Dear Editors:
We are a group of students, faculty, staff, and community members who have gathered at the University of Utah in grief and outrage about police shootings of young men of color, including those close to home.
We have noticed the editorials in your pages that have emphasized the need for greater multicultural understanding among law enforcement, for greater diversity among police officers (“Editorial: Police officers have to be multi-cultural,” Sept. 9, 2014), and for body cameras in addition to professionalism and public trust (“Editorial: Police body cams useful, but no substitute for professionalism,” Sept. 4, 2014).
We join you and many of your readers in saying: Enough is enough. We must hold law enforcement accountable for the overzealous use of deadly force in situations that strip young men and their families of dignity, and belie police officers’ abandonment of basic human decency.
Unfortunately, given our nation’s history, we, people of color and White allies, have learned that young people of color—particularly young Black men and women—may be killed by vigilantes with skewed senses of moral authority (from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin to nameless and countless victims of lynchings). We also know, historically, that young Black men may be killed by police officers without penalty (from Amadou Diallo to Oscar Grant to now Michael Brown and, in our own state, Darrien Hunt). We know police harass young Black men and women without concern for the effects of such harassment on the humanity of their targets (one famous example happened last week, when actress Daniele Watts was detained by police who believed she was a prostitute when she kissed her White boyfriend on the sidewalk). These are unspoken issues in our own Utah communities as well as in towns and cities all over the U.S. The shooting and death of Darrien Hunt highlights this truth.
From Ferguson, Missouri, to Saratoga Springs, Utah, police shootings, harassment, and profiling of unarmed young men of color – especially young Black men – must end. Enough is enough.
Sincerely,
Nicole Wobbe-Espinoza, Women’s Resource Center, University of Utah
Fariña Coulam, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Gustin Stoker, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Karl Jennings, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Christa Spielman, College of Education, University of Utah
Naomi Silvestre, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Emily Miranda, University Counseling Center, University of Utah
Tara Bravo, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Pat Washington
Simran Kaur, Chemistry, University of Utah
Kristy Barley, Women’s Resource Center, University of Utah
Jania Sommers, College of Social Work and Jewish Family Service, University of Utah
Irene Maya Ota, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Irene H. Yoon, College of Education, University of Utah
Debra Daniels, University of Utah
Charles Alires, Sociology, University of Utah
Jenny Netto, Women’s Resource Center, University of Utah
Brian Jones, US Army
Terrance Beasley, US Army
Carlos Rivera, College of Social Work and University Counseling Center, University of Utah
Lindsay Gezinski, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Brian Gelsinger, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Kevin Shaw, Sociology, University of Utah
Trinh Mai, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Brian Tease, College of Social Work, University of Utah
McCall Izatt, College of Social Work, University of Utah
Nandi Mayadla, College of Education, University of Utah
Ashley R Ramey, Atmospheric Science, University of Utah
Ethan Hardman, Sociology, University of Utah
Morgan Jones, Sociology, University of Utah
Richard Scharine, Theatre, University of Utah
Kiman Kaur, Gender Studies and Environmental Science, University of Utah