Frosty's Flava Magazine 4th of July Edition _ June | July 2019 | Page 38

BLACK
I
F you have been tuned into the media
recently, you would think there has been
a sudden wave of vicious attacks on
African Americans. Every other
day, new reports of violence against
blacks permeate the media. The
advent of smart phones has
converted every passerby into
an amateur videographer.
Everyone has a smart phone;
everyone has a camera with
video recording capabilities
in the palm of their hand.
This accessibility to such
technology has enabled
the general public to
readily capture images
of situations as they
unfold; offering us a
front-row seat to the
action.
Before the
arrival of smart
phones, reports of
disproportionate use
of force and needless
violence perpetuated
towards unarmed
blacks were met with
skepticism by some.
If outcry erupted
as a result of such a
report, blacks were
accused of being
too “sensitive” and
needlessly “playing
the race card”. “Stand
your ground” was
an acceptable and
justifiable response to
a perceived threat. The