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May 25, 2020
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mr. George Floyd, a black man, died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by an officer’s knee in an episode that was recorded on video by a bystander, inciting condemnation and protests.

In this video footage, George Floyd continually tells the police officer that he couldn't breathe.

I can't breathe, officer.

Held to the ground with on a knee on his neck for 9 minutes and 30 seconds, ultimately led to his death, upstirring various protests worldwide arguing against white supremacy.

This evidence ties into the 4th evidence in Task 1: covert white supremacy as it focuses on police brutality. This video has enraged the black community, while also bringing fear that their lives are at risk.

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How George Floyd Died, and What Happened Next

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Mr. Floyd, a Black man, died in May 2020 after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officers in an episode that was captured on video, touching off nationwide protests.

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July 2016
Cobb County, Georgia

Dashcam footage shows Abbott, a police officer in Georgia, standing outside a vehicle during a DUI traffic stop in July 2016. A female passenger can be heard telling the officer that she did not want to put her hands down to reach for her phone because,

I’ve just seen way too many videos of cops —.

Soon, the police officer responds by saying:

But you’re not black; remember, we only kill black people. Yeah, we only kill black people, right?”

This evidence ties into the 4th evidence in Task 1: overt white supremacy as it focuses on first-hand discrimination made consciously by the oppressor. This act largely victimizes the black race and serves as another piece of evidence that racial discrimination still pervades our society.

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A police officer in Cobb County, Georgia, stands to be fired after dashcam footage was released of him telling a passenger, "remember, we only kill black people" during a traffic stop.

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#1 A black Latino CNN reporter was arrested. A white CNN reporter was not.

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#1 A black Latino CNN reporter was arrested. A white CNN reporter was not.

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May 29, 2020
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Black CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested for reporting live on the protests in Minneapolis. Surprisingly, however, the white CNN reporter Josh Campbell, who was also reporting live besides Omar, was not arrested. The general public and different authorities question if this is due to the difference in color, exemplifying another situation of racial stratification and injustice in the United States.

Campbell said he was "treated much differently."
"I was treated much differently than [CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez] was. I'm sitting here talking to the National Guard, talking to the police. They're asking politely to move here and there. A couple times I've moved closer than they would like. They asked politely to move back. They didn't pull out the handcuffs. Lot different here than what Omar experienced."

This evidence ties into the 3rd evidence in Task 1: individual discrimination, which refers to actions that are intended to have a differential impact on minorities and women. This arresting of the black CNN reporter just because of his color was an act directly targeting a minority group.

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CNN's news feed this morning includes an article titled "A black latino CNN reporter was arrested. A white CNN reporter was not." Indeed, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested arguably for doing nothing other than having the audacity to do his job while also being a person of color. A credentialed member of the media, he was covering the riots that have erupted in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the aftermath of the brutal video showing a white officer pinning George Floyd's neck with his knee while Floyd exclaimed he couldn't breathe, onlookers plead for the officer to stop and other white officers did nothing. George Floyd died.

Surrounded by police officers in riot gear, Jimenez clearly identified himself as a CNN reporter and told officers that the crew would be happy to move. Holding his media credentials in his hand, he calmly says to the officers, "Put us back where you want us. We are getting out of your way. Just let us know. Wherever you'd want us, we will go. We were just getting out of your way when you were advancing through the intersection. So just let us know, and we got you."

The entire incident which played out in an eerily calm manner - Jimenez displaying the utmost professionalism as he is handcuffed followed by his producer and photojournalist. White CNN Journalist Josh Campbell reporting in the same area at the same time shared with John Berman how his experience differed from Jimenez's. "A couple times I've moved closer than they would like. They asked politely to move back. They didn't pull out the handcuffs. Lot different here than what Omar experienced."

This bizarre incident poured salt in the psychological wound of so many African Americans reeling not just from the horrific George Floyd incident, but from a deep and long history of racially charged incidents of what many consider police (or self-appointed law enforcement) brutality - Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Rodney King to name just a few.

When incidents like this happen, the same three questions tend to pop into my head (in this order):

1. How would this have played out differently if the person were white (male or female)?

2. What would have happened were there no video?

3. How is this playing out every day in the workplace and throughout society?

Perhaps CNN's Van Jones drew some of the most insightful analysis when he suggested that the problem for the average person of color isn't as much the overtly white supremacist type as it is the white liberal "Hilary Clinton supporter" type who might be our boss or coworker holding similarly racially motivated or bigoted views (consciously or subconsciously). He reminds us of Amy Cooper the white woman in Central Park who just days earlier threatened a black man by telling him, "I'm calling the cops. I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life." as a response to him asking her to leash her dog in a public park. In that case the released video unleashed a media firestorm which led to her termination by investment firm Franklin Templeton, but how many Amy Coopers are working in positions of authority throughout corporate America? At the mere suggestion that she actually abide by the law, her instinct was to weaponize bigotry and put him in his place. (She reportedly later apologized and said, "I'm not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way.")

Let's examine her response in that moment - not when she was being attacked or threatened (because she wasn't), but when she was asked to correct her own unlawful behavior while he backed away and politely asked her not to come close to him. Her visceral response seemed to be an attempt to intimidate him using the shameful history of racist police brutality against black males in this country. Where did that come from? I would argue that it's a deeply ingrained bigotry that molds our very instincts, beliefs and opinions. Some refer to it as unconscious bias, and it's indeed pervasive in so many workplaces. So while there's a sense of collective horror and shame at the George Floyd incident (after so many others like it), it's important to also acknowledge that that type of racist, bigoted, and/or biased thinking is not confined to the brains of police officers - it's everywhere. It's in the psychological DNA of too many in positions of authority in schools, courthouses, retail companies, hospitals, government agencies, airlines, restaurants, sports teams - everywhere.

The problem is that racism is such an ugly word in our society that we blindly tend to only recognize it in its extreme. Actually, it rarely shows up as a knee on someone's neck, hurling the n-word or worse. Yes, there will always be a handful of overt racists in the building who make blatantly offensive remarks and have a confederate flag displayed in the back of their pick up truck, but they're easy to detect and are more likely handled through formal disciplinary channels (we hope). The more widespread, arguably more dangerous problem are those in positions of authority who probably have "black friends", would certainly support the concept of equal rights and probably even give lip service to diversity initiatives, but their brains may be just as infected, their thoughts just as distorted and their actions just as harmful.

Ironically, the truth is that the biased thoughts and feelings themselves aren't really the problem. The problem is when the thoughts become action in the workplace - discounting someone's comments in a meeting because you "didn't appreciate their tone", not selecting a candidate for a call back after an interview because you "just didn't connect with them", or passing someone over for a promotion because "they don't seem to have widespread support." This is what happens all too often.

The simple truth is that many white men (and women) have a point of view largely informed by their background, their upbringing, their experience, and that experience includes growing up in a society that has historically valued whiteness (and maleness) and devalued blackness (and femaleness). We all have embedded biases - everyone. But the reality is that white men have disproportionately been in positions of power so that means that their biases have much more impact for people of color (and women) in the workplace.

In the case of the CNN reporter, CNN President Jeff Zucker reportedly called the Minnesota Governor who later apologized for the arrest, and the crew was released. But, the obvious point as we attempt to extrapolate this resolution to a broader context is that the average black person working in corporate America doesn't have the luxury of having microaggressions or regular injustices televised. They don't have a Jeff Zucker supported by corporate lawyers ready to place a call to the Governor in order to right the wrong. What happens to Lamar who just started working as a financial analyst, or Kamarah who just applied for a loan to start a new business, or Leon who is one of very few black professors hoping to get tenure within a corporate power structure that is comprised of mostly white men? Admittedly, those decisions are informed by many factors, but too often one of them is race.

I have no idea whether race was a factor in Omar Jimenez's arrest this morning. Some may assume that it wasn't since two members of his film crew were arrested as well. I do know that while watching it I was horrified and immediately asked myself....

1. How would this have played out differently if the person were white (male or female)?

2. What would have happened were there no video?

3. How is this playing out every day in the workplace and throughout society?

... Read More

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Was A CNN Reporter Arrested By Minnesota Patrol For 'Working While Black?'

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CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested while reporting on the riots erupting in the wake of the released George Floyd video. The imagery of his arrest is both shocking and disturbing. While we can't know if race was a factor, it's certainly a factor for many people of color in corporate America.