Jordan Davis: Again. And Again. And Probably Again. by What Now and Why?

Regardless of the trial’s outcome, Jordan Davis is still dead. Regardless of how much time Michael Dunn receives for having been found guilty on three attempted murder charges, Jordan Davis is still dead. Regardless of our inability to understand how one can be found guilty of attempted murder but jurors be unable to determine if he intended to murder, Jordan Davis is dead. Dead. Gone, shot, murdered, for listening to music too loud for another human’s liking.

Another boy.

Another black boy.

Dead.

And it will continue to happen because our collective respect for human life continues to deteriorate. But more than that, the fear of black boys and men, the assumption that every black boy and man is dangerous, up to no good, a villain, has to stop. And yet, how? How do we do that? How do we make that perception go away? Historically, this is how it goes. This is how irrational, unjustifiable fear persists. Intrinsic to the continuation of death by being black is the unblack man’s indisputable belief of his superiority. That is ever present. Until we change that, nothing else will change.

ABOUT ARNEBYA: Arnebya is a writer, blogger, and speaker. In 2006 she was a recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Larry Neal Writers’ Award (Adult Fiction) and in 2012 and 2013 was named a BlogHer Voice of the Year (Op-Ed). Her work is featured in The Washington City Paper’s 2013 fiction issue and she is a featured a guest writer on multiple parenting and lifestyle blogs. Her blog tagline reads, “I write to keep from killing.”

Find Arnebya’s blog at What Now and Why. You can also find her being lazy on Twitter and not obnoxious enough on Facebook.

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