Introduction: A Special Issue of <em>Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men</em>

Abstract

A Special Issue of Spectrum:A Journal on Black Men Terrell L. Strayhorn With so much going on in the country, the need for this special issue of Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men is crystal clear and compelling. From the tragic killing of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin (5 feet 11 inches, 158 pounds) on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida, at the hands of George Zimmerman to the fatal choke-hold that killed unarmed 43-year-old Eric Garner (6 feet 3 inches, 350 pounds) on July 17, 2014 in Staten Island, New York, at the hands (and arms) of a gang of police officers, the message is loud and obvious that race [still] matters (West, 1993), manhood matters, and Black men—no matter how tall or short, thick or thin, educated or illiterate, rich or poor—face an uncertain future in this country. Without intervention, Black men in the United States are far more likely to be killed at the hands (or arms) of lawless White male avengers masquerading as “good cops” than to graduate high school, complete college, vote in an election, run for public office, or earn gainful employment. Contrary to this swelling tide of national tragedies and startling statistics that suggest otherwise, Black men matter in all sectors of society, especially education. The headlines and stories that provide clear evidence about the need for this special issue of Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men go beyond the tragic loss of Trayvon Martin in Florida and Eric Garner in New York. Many will recall the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown (6 feet 4 inches, 292 pounds) on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, that sparked enraged protests and a groundswell of political actions initiating the contemporary “#BlackLivesMatter” movement. Four days prior (August 5, 2014), 22-year-old John Crawford, III, was killed by Beavercreek Officer Sean Williams while holding a toy BB gun in a Walmart near Dayton, Ohio. Then, 12-year-old Tamir Elijah Rice (5 foot 7 inches, 195 pounds) was killed by Officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann on November 22, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio’s Cudell Recreation Center Park—both of these tragic incidents occured in the state of Ohio where I currently live and work. [End Page 1] Sadly, countless other incidents abound—and, of course, these are only the “reported” cases that make national headline news (so many more are never reported or given prime time). For instance, news broke again recently (November 2015) after a police dashcam video was released to the public showing the brutal murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, at the bloodied hands of Officer Jason Van Dyke. And thanks to Feidin Santana, who turned over his smartphone-recorded video footage, we now know the real truth (emphasis added) about the last living moments of 50-year-old Walter Scott, who was gunned down from the back by Officer Michael Slager on April 4, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Eight days later, 25-year-old Freddie Carlos Gray was arrested by six Baltimore officers, thrown around in the back of a police van, and died from spinal injuries on April 19, 2015. Tragic. Devastating. Exhausting. It would be easy to throw up one’s hands in surrender to the threatening message that these events issue—namely, that Black men’slives don’t matter and they can be killed for any reason at any time (and then blamed for their own victimization). But we at Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men firmly believe that Black men matter in all sectors of society and our country lives beneath its collective potential without them. The tragic stories don’t stop just because I have “put a period” (.) on my temporally ordered summary of these horrific episodes. In fact, each draft of this special issue introduction quickly becomes outdated as news breaks daily about the deplorable situation of Black men in the United States. What I offer here is nowhere close to an encyclopedic review of all #BlackLivesMatter cases or all shootings of Black men by uniformed law officials—that task goes way beyond the purpose...