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Anjanette Young. A 20 year social worker. Just back from work. Police invaded her home. Naked. Begged for clothes. Cuffed. 40 minutes of terror. Apologized & left. Then tried to cover it up. Defender: "What happened that night is the norm in Chicago." More: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/chicago-police-video-anjanette-young-should-shock-america-it-doesn-ncna1252123
"Chicago police & city officials fought to suppress the truth of what happened that night. They almost succeeded. Now, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for accountability. But would she have done so if her legal team or police had been successful in burying the facts?"
"We also must acknowledge how Young’s innocence & class are connected to her believability as a victim. Change one of these factors-if they had the right house, if she was not a professional, if she was using or dealing drugs-& maybe we would all be less concerned about her."
If Anjanette Young were, in fact, "guilty," or a less "sympathetic" victim of police abuse, "her experience would be consistent w/ the logic that assumes Black women should be treated w/ suspicion. And, most likely her experience would never be made known to the general public."
The normal course: "Victims & accused are dehumanized,. Many are moved through the system in complete silence. The state decides how their stories are told & what forms of accountability are just. Neither the victims nor the accused are centered in any processes of healing."
Ida B. Wells, one of Chicago's most best known and moat beloved civil rights leaders, once said, "The right way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." But what happens when we continue to suppress truth? https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/07/16/way-right-wrongs-celebrating-legacy-ida-b-wells
"Astoundingly, this cover-up has occurred under a mayor, a County Board president and a state’s attorney who are all Black women, a fact that shows us just how systematic and prevalent these issues are."
"Not shockingly, government officials are now pointing fingers at one another. With the resignation this weekend of corporation counsel for Chicago, the search for the proverbial bad apple continues. All the while, reform efforts continue to ignore calls for systematic change."
"Among restorative justice advocates the symbolism of the mythical Sankofa bird is well known. It can’t move forward w/o being able to account for the past. As we look back in order to move forward, we must center the history of decades of police violence." https://www.berea.edu/cgwc/the-power-of-sankofa/
"Rather than relying exclusively on the police to keep Chicago safe, we need to stop over-funding police departments at the expense of other vital functions. This also means redistributing dollars to invest in local grassroots, nonpolice orgs to respond to emergency calls."
"The outrage over Young’s home invasion & the subsequent cover-up is well placed & cant be met w/ simple reform fixes. Her story & the stories of countless others before her-both known & unknown-must point us toward a future that does more than empty promises made about “reform.”
This powerful piece was written by Emmanuel Andre. Public defender and restorative justice practitioner at Northside Transformative Law Center in Chicago.
