"But #AliveWhileBlack also shows that in the eyes of some police officers, being black is crime enough."

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‘Criming While White’ and ‘Alive While Black’ Reveal America’s Racial Double Standard
By Liz Dwyer, December 4, 2014

Jaywalking in the middle of the street or allegedly selling individual cigarettes—in America, these are the kinds of activities that, as we have seen in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, can get a black man killed by police. Scrolling through tweets connected to the Twitter hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite suggests that if Brown and Garner had less melanin in their skin, they’d still be alive.

Jason Ross, a writer for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, kicked off the hashtag on Wednesday afternoon when he tweeted his own criminal past—a past that did not result in his being shot (as Michael Brown was) or choked to death (as Eric Garner was) by a police officer.

“Busted 4 larceny at 11. At 17, cited for booze + caught w gun @ school. No one called me a thug. Can’t recommend being white highly enough,” wrote Ross. He then asked other white people to share their stories of getting away with crime because of racial privilege.

Thousands of tweets later, the unverifiable stories paint a clear picture of just how differently law enforcement officers tend to treat white Americans who commit crimes.

In light of the deaths of Brown and Garner, those tweeted incidents, and the countless similar ones, should raise the eyebrows of any American who cares about justice. But the sad reality is that in America black folks don’t have to commit a crime to experience harassment, abuse, or death at the hands of police officers.

Just ask the 5 million mostly black and Latino and supposedly suspicious New York City residents who experienced stop-and-frisk treatment at the hands of the NYPD. Most were found with no weapon on their person. (Mayor Bill de Blasio made reforming the controversial practice a key part of his election campaign.)

Remind yourself of the 1999 Bronx killing of Amadou Diallo, who was simply holding his wallet on the stoop of his building when NYPD officers decided to fire 41 shots simply because the immigrant father fit a description. And yes, those officers were acquitted.

Or feel free to watch the gruesome video of footage of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, the black child who was shot and killed by police on Nov. 23 while playing with a toy gun in a park in Cleveland.

That’s why in response to #CrimingWhileWhite, Ebony editor Jamilah Lemieux started the hashtag #AliveWhileBlack on Thursday.

Lemieux then asked her African American Twitter followers to share stories of being harassed by police while just going about their daily lives. The stories of injustice began pouring in.

Some Americans may still be tempted to say that Garner and Brown were nothing but thugs and criminals, and if the two men had simply complied with the directions of police officers, they’d still be alive. But #AliveWhileBlack also shows that in the eyes of some police officers, being black is crime enough. As for the disturbing stories being shared through #CriminingWhileWhite, they reveal to us that no matter what’s going on, many white people who are doing things that are against the law tend to come through their interactions with police unscathed. If that’s not an unjust double standard worth rallying and protesting against, what is? 
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