The National Black Church Initiative Calls State Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun’s Ruling in Brooklyn a Stone Cold Racist And Void of Any Humanity for Akai Gurley or For Black People
His Analysis is faulty and based upon ethnicity
Washington, DC – The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans strongly decries the decision that Judge Chun made in the case. Jurors of his peers rightfully found Peter Liang guilty. He acted recklessly and without regard for human life. He wants the public to accept that his actions constitutes a sincere expression of balanced police work but this was not the case because a jury of his peers found that he acted with malice. Even though motivated through his fear and bravado constitutes in the eyes of the jury a reckless display of unethical behavior in violation of police procedures.
This is another reason why the Black Church cannot urge its members to view justice administered by this country as color-blind. In 2016, as a black male, we can be shot for any reason and the police (given the benefit of the doubt) will try to plant evidence, correct their unethical mistakes, and falsify reports to justify their actions —- even though we are innocent.
Rev. Anthony Evans, the President of the National Black Church Initiative continues to decry, “Akai Gurley is just the latest example of this society who believes that the only black person that they would ever respect is a dead black person. As a Christian clergy I must apologize for the raw and the binding language of this press release. But I have, as an individual, reached my limit for the continuous injustice mediated by the so-called Justice Department. And even though we advocate no violence, we will not limit ourselves to sweet cotton candy words, to glaze over the brutal murderous attack against the black community—Even by law enforcement and the courts.”
Akai Gurley was minding his own business when confronted by an unconscious racist who violated police protocol of calling for backup and shot Gurley to death because of his racial fears. The jury convicted him of manslaughter only to be set free by a stone racist judge who shared his cultural ethnicity. They want us to believe that Judge Chun is a serious jurist who, considered only the facts and applied the law equally regardless of his own prejudice or the prejudice of the Asian culture. The New York Times says that he was diligent and thoughtful. Given this analysis, the Black Church must be compelled to accept this as an honest expression of his sincere professionalism.
However, the black community nor the Black Church cannot accept this and will not accept this due to the fact that Judge Chun has never demonstrated in his life as a jurist or as a human being to have any measure of sympathy or respect for the African American culture. Judge Chun has sat, in every legal capacity as a judge, from family court to prosecuting those who perpetuate human trafficking—which is the worse assault on all humanity. The judge should be commended for making sure that these individuals never see the light of day as they attempt to destroy the soul and the light of our children. This is why we are so baffled as to his legal conclusion in the murderous Peter Liang’s case.
He seems heartless. His heart cold legal (sterile) analysis, based upon the facts of the case, reflects the reason why he has decided to err on his ethnicity as opposed to his humanity. He completely rejected the findings of the jury and decided that he will save his fellow Asian comrade. So his ruling reflects a victory for the Asian community and a reinforcement of the cultural ethos of America that a black life is worth nothing. And the only good that it serves is that it can be cast in the trash and forgotten. One reason to explain this paradoxical ruling from Judge Chun is to underscore the previous point, that this judge has never seen African Americans as a community or as human.
Let me explain. The tens of thousands of African American defendants that have come before him as someone who has skipped on child support, as someone who has committed a burglary, as someone who has committed murder, as someone who has raped young girls, as someone who has defrauded society. He has only seen us in the worst of human circumstances. So when handing down the ruling on Peter Liang, he only saw another Asian who has made this enormous sacrifice by becoming a police officer. Even though he himself has suffered the abuse of the American racist society and the way they treat Asian people. Peter Liang in his eyesight was trying to make a difference; As opposed to the countless African Americans who have appeared in his court, who always have been in the role of the victimizer.
What judge Chun failed to understand is that 34,000 Black Churches in this country will never allow him to forget his racist ruling in this case. What Judge Chun should understand is that Jesus the Christ and the human Buddha will both seek justice for Akai. And the truth that was handed down by the jury should rise from the ashes of his cold legal opinion. And that Judge Chun’s ruling confirms what the Asian community has adopted as the campaign for this case, “it was a tragedy but not a crime.” We don’t need the Asian community to tell us what is a tragedy as Black Americans. We know what a tragedy is and it continues to haunt us from the time the white community brought us chained and naked to what we call the new world. What African Americans live in the US is not a tragedy but a continuous nightmare.
Let us remind our Asian brothers and sisters that in America you pay for your mistakes and you go to jail for the crime. Peter Liang is as guilty as sin and Judge Chun represents the worse of whatever beauty is in the Asian culture. Even though the Black Church would like to spend its time healing this divide, but we will not be an apologist to Judge Chun’s inhumanity to us and agree with the campaign slogan of the Asian community, “it is a tragedy not a crime.” Akai Gurley is a man, and he is a black man. He did not commit any crime and he is no damn tragedy.
About NBCI
The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is a coalition of 34,000 African American and Latino churches working to eradicate racial disparities in healthcare, technology, education, housing, and the environment. NBCI’s mission is to provide critical wellness information to all of its members, congregants, churches and the public. Our methodology is utilizing faith and sound health science.
NBCI’s purpose is to partner with major organizations and officials whose main mission is to reduce racial disparities in the variety of areas cited above. NBCI offers faith-based, out-of-the-box and cutting edge solutions to stubborn economic and social issues. NBCI’s programs are governed by credible statistical analysis, science based strategies and techniques, and methods that work.