An “inflection point” is the point in a curve in which a change in direction occurs. Lately, the goal has been to “flatten the curve” of the exponential increase in coronavirus cases.
Yet, this time is also an opportunity for Americans to change directions in terms of our police force.
Apocalyptic novelist George Orwell is often credited with the idea that citizens are only able to sleep peacefully at night because there are men with big guns ready to wage violence on their behalf. In the 1950s, the police chief of the LAPD popularized the phrase “thin blue line,” referring to the police force as the only thing standing between order and chaos.
We take it for granted that peace must be maintained at the point of a gun. A candidate would not win a school board election, much less a national election, without claiming that the threat of violence maintains law and order.
But recent videos of police brutality tell another truth. The evidence is clear that people of color have been targeted and terrorized by police officers. Black men, in particular, suffer the most from police brutality, but this violence does not make our country safer for anyone. Think of it this way: The constant threat of violence does not make happy marriages, safe childhoods or dear friendships. Instead of making peace, it is abusive to use violence as a means of control.
There was a time in America when some people peacefully resisted state-sponsored violence. The Underground Railroad was not for trains, but runaway slaves. In antebellum America, a secret network of former slaves and their allies — known as abolitionists — aided and abetted escaped slaves fleeing to the free states in the North. These brave men and women, both black and white, risked their lives to oppose the violence of slave states.
The majority of abolitionists believed that peace — true peace — was created by the social uplift of their fellow human beings. In addition to helping slaves escape, abolitionists met the basic needs of runaways with things such as food, clothing and shelter. Once slaves had safely arrived in the North, abolitionists also provided apprenticeships in job trades so that the newly freed might make a life for themselves and become part of the fabric of society.
Here is a heartbreaking fact: For-profit prisons look at the percentage of Black boys in the third grade when deciding where to build a prison. Modern abolitionists work to break free of these corrupt economic, judicial and legislative systems in order to fund services such as employment training, healthcare and affordable housing. As a democratic society, we should put our money into our people. Investing in the people of lower-income neighborhoods is the best way to ensure safety in our society and to flourish. It is also our moral responsibility.
When I first learned about the Underground Railroad, I used to wonder if I would have had the courage to help runaway slaves. Now I know the real question is will I have the courage to help change modern society? Will I advocate for people of color, for justice for victims of terror and for equal rights for all?
Power over people creates violence that begets more violence. Instead, we can live into a value of empowering people. This represents an inflection point — a change in the values of our society. We must have the courage to change. True peace is not merely the absence of violence, but the presence of harmony, wholeness and unity.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and author of Gently Between the Words: Essays and Poems. He is currently working from home with his wife and three children.