Amadou Diallo and Police Brutality

¶ … Son

How has systemic oppression and discrimination impacted each of the three cases in this documentary?

Every Mother's Son depicts the challenges which face young black men when they are confronted by law enforcement officials who perceive all African-American males as a threat solely as a result of their skin color. In the case of Amadou Diallo, he was profiled as a potential suspect purely on his rough resemblance to a man accused of rape. Anthony Baez (who was training to be a police officer) was placed in a chokehold that killed him after an enraged officer was livid because Baez accidentally bounced a football off of his car; Baez was seen as disrespectful because of this accident even though he meant no harm. Gary (Gidone) Busch was killed because he was carrying a small ceremonial hammer used on Orthodox Jewish prayer; officers had no idea of its symbolic significance and immediately viewed it as a weapon. Cultural ignorance, rage, and profiling were factors in all three cases to varying degrees.

Q2. Identify 3 micro, 3 mezzo, and 3 macro (9 total) factors that affected one or more of the three cases in this documentary. Explain how each factor influenced the incident(s) that occurred and/or the outcome of the incidents.

In the case of Amadou Diallo, on a micro level, Diallo believed he had no reason to fear the police: he had done nothing wrong and was not armed. His personality, which was relatively non-confrontational assumed he would have no conflict with the police. He had not been acculturated to believe the police were a threat; nor had he been acculturated as a West African immigrant to believe he would be perceived as one.

On a mezzo social level, the NYPD had been engaging in aggressive policing of the community and were poised to view any apparently aggressive act by an individual as potentially harmful. The police as an organization are inclined to view all unexpected behavior as threatening because their very lives depend upon it. Diallo came from a society which was far more homogenous than New York, in which all individuals were relatively of the same culture, and which had a much less aggressive attitude towards policing.

On a macro social level, the incident is highly revelatory of the state of racial relations in America. Historically speaking, African-American males have often been perceived as threats and/or profiled by the police. New York was currently attempting to 'clean up' its image by emphasizing law and order in policing. Diallo was not aware of this history or that he might be perceived of as a threat purely because of his appearance; he based his actions on his own cultural understanding of what was 'correct' (which was to reach in his pocket to display ID).

Q3. Describe at least 3 strengths of the mothers in this documentary that could be utilized as strengths in community advocacy