Dear Mayor and Councilors,
“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief.”
― Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks
Fanon went on to say, “When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.”
I am now saying that we can no longer breathe under chokeholds. We can no longer breathe under police brutality and the systemic and institutional racism that pervades our daily lives.
We love those members of the police who protect and save people. We salute their great work and we want them to also be protected. While I recognize the necessity of a police force, too many of us citizens have been profiled, brutalized, or simply denied minimum human rights by the very police who are charged with protecting us.
As a citizen of Lake Oswego, and a friend to most of you, I am urging you to take under serious consideration the following measures that Senator Jeff Merkley is currently proposing for national reform of police departments:
Prohibit police use of chokeholds and other physical tactics that restrict oxygen or blood flow;
Require mechanisms for civilian oversight and review of local police departments’ policies and actions;
End the use of no-knock warrants, such as the one that led to the horrific death of Breonna Taylor;
End the use of qualified immunity to shield rogue police officers from legal accountability;
Outlaw racial profiling in policing;
Require police to intervene if other officers are using excessive force;
End the transfer of battlefield-grade weapons from the U.S. Armed Forces to police departments.
As Fanon said, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”
I hope you will fulfill your mission. Long live our community. Long live Lake Oswego.
Sincerely,
Massene Mboup