In a Letter to the Editor of the Intermountain Jewish News published on February 26, Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Regional Director Scott L. Levin responded to an earlier column by the paper’s editor criticizing the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Levin wrote:
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg’s Feb. 19 “View From Denver,” criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement, asks, “Am I missing something?” As the regional director of an organization that not only combats anti-Semitism, but also seeks justice and fair treatment to all, I can unequivocally say the answer is, “Yes!”
At its heart, the column misses a fundamental understanding of the movement, which seeks to draw attention to the systemic ways that racism plays out in institutions, including criminal justice. The focus on criminal justice does not mean that people are ignoring other ways that systemic discrimination plays out. As others have pointed out, criticizing Black Lives Matter for having a focus on criminal justice is like criticizing an organization focused on finding a cure for breast cancer because “there are other cancers, too.”
The column’s focus on black-on-black crime rings hollow. Such arguments are often wrongly used as justification for claims that African Americans do not deserve the same basic treatment from law enforcement as others. It fails to recognize that all crime is predominantly intragroup, yet we never talk about white-on-white crime. While FBI statistics for 2014 reveal that 90% of murdered Blacks have been killed by other Blacks, it is telling that 82% of murdered whites have been killed by other whites.
Moreover, by using such statistics, the column focuses on only one part of the story and misses the important question: “Why?” Such statistics about violence are used to redirect consideration away from the underlying causes of that violence, such as poverty and under-resourced communities related to systemic racism. They are also used to support assertions that “they need to change” and “they need to take personal responsibility,” which have been the foundation for years of systemic racism as Black people have been told they can avoid all these issues if they simply stopped getting in trouble. It is a circular argument that never acknowledges even the possibility of bias in the system.
Numerous studies have shown that crime rates do not account for racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Rather, laws that punish particular behaviors more than others, as well as policies and practices that disproportionately impact communities of color, all contribute. For example, studies confirm that Whites are just as likely to use drugs as African Americans — and are as likely or even more likely to deal drugs — but police are twice as likely to arrest African Americans for drug crimes as they are to arrest whites. The racial disparities in drug-related arrests, prosecutions and sentences go well beyond the much reported disparities in crack and cocaine laws. Studies confirm that African Americans and whites use marijuana at roughly the same rates, but nationwide African Americans are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.
There are few jobs in America that deserve more respect than the job of a law enforcement officer. Police put their lives at risk everyday so that we can all live a safer and more secure life. The column misses the point that such respect does not diminish the fact that law enforcement is in a unique position and given unique powers that requires them to be held to a high standard when dispensing those powers. Black Lives Matter is not saying that police actions are never justified, but it is highlighting the fact that there are clear discrepancies in how force is used and who is shot.
The column also misses the fact that exceptionalism is a tool commonly used to ignore pervasive bias that exists in our society. Just as the presence of Jews on the Supreme Court and in highly elected positions does not negate the existence of anti-Semitism in society, the elections of an African American president and two Denver mayors does not erase racism. It is also wrong to set up competing narratives of whose forbearers had to overcome greater odds, as no one can deny the singular experience of being dragged to this country in chains.
It is important to note that Black Lives Matter is not a claim that “Black lives matter more” or “only Black lives matter.” Recognizing that the lives of Black individuals have historically been devalued by society or have otherwise been discounted does not mean that all lives do not matter. Of course they do, but because of historic differences and discrimination, it is important and necessary to highlight that Black Lives Matter, too.