Stevante Clark felt a glimmer of hope when racial justice protests swept the globe in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. In March 2018, Stevante’s own brother, Stephon Clark, was killed by Sacramento police after they fired 20 shots at him in his grandparents backyard; he was an unarmed black youth. The authorities believed he had a gun but it turned out that he only had his mobile phone.
This death which occurred when he was just twenty two led to many demonstrations and pleas for change. It also resulted into more stringent use-of-force laws enacted in California. However, there were no nationwide comprehensive changes.
Thus, Clark expected that Floyd’s killing and those of many other Black people by police last year would finally bring the substantive criminal justice reform that has been sought for years by him and others.
However, even though it has become a symbol of racial equality and fairness since Floyd died four years ago, moving towards policing reforms across the board has not been easy. Momentum disappeared while legislations stopped leading communities, advocates and families who have lost their loved ones on their watch to accuse them of shifting away from police accountability.
“You cannot honor George Floyd’s life without passing comprehensive policy and legislation that will prevent another George Floyds,” said Stevante Clark during an interview with Reuters news agency. “I think that Biden administration hasn’t been aggressive enough about this crisis –this doesn’t belong to blacks only but everyone else as well-people are numb because of constant cases of police murdering them.”
At first there seemed to be a surge of calls for change but federal efforts at broad-based reform appear largely futile.
On Friday President Joe Biden stated “Congress needs to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” which includes measures such as law enforcement accountability.
Donald Trump’s campaign spokesperson told Reuters that if re-elected Trump will continue taking hard line approaches on immigration control and addressing violent crime and “he will restore law and order.”
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was initially introduced in 2021 to end aggressive police tactics, misconduct and racial bias towards black people has been stuck at several hurdles in the US Congress.
Bipartisan police reform negotiations collapsed in 2021 with Biden blaming Republicans for the failure. On the table were discussions about changes to “qualified immunity” laws that protect officers from some excessive force suits. The bill was reintroduced by Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on Thursday.
The experts argue that while criminal justice reform efforts fueled part of the 2020 election cycle, policing is unlikely to be a top issue in the 2024 presidential election.
“Other issues have come to the fore, especially with conflict in Israel and Palestine, with conflict in Ukraine, and the economy,” says Jorge Camacho of Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School.
However, it could be one reason why Biden is not as popular among African American voters – Black communities want action on policing, said Camacho.
Recent polling data by a non-profit research company African American Research Collaborative shows that now more than ever black communities are increasingly concerned about economic related issues such as cost of living crisis and jobs.
The George Floyd legislation being failed to pass by Congress, President Biden signed an executive order in May 2022 that partially created a new national police misconduct database, demanded federal law enforcement agencies to investigate cases of deadly force or deaths in custody and banned federal agencies from using chokeholds and “no knock” entries.
Still one day before the anniversary marking his death, veteran civil rights campaigner Rev. Al Sharpton called on Congress to approve the bill.
“The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a commitment we made four years ago to his family as well as every other black person’s family whose life was taken away by the police,” he stated, adding that the bill would answer what “we have spent decades marching, protesting, and advocating for.”
‘Not sufficient’
Rescission of a Trump-era policy that restricted the use of consent decrees in addressing police violence is one of the biggest changes made by the Biden administration towards police reform (Ray). “There have been achievements in terms of policing accountability but they have not had as much effect as we hoped.” – Nina Patel, Senior Policy Counsel at ACLU
Moreover, states like Louisiana, Arizona and Georgia have enacted policies that make it more difficult to videotape cops, though bystander videos often give rise to cases involving acts of brutality.
“We say reform alone is inadequate”, Cicley Gay Black Lives Matter Board Chairperson said while mentioning insufficient incremental reforms. “We hear first-hand from many families about not only what they experienced but also no progress and lack of policy change.”
The People’s Response Act put forward last year by congresswoman Cori Bush is now promoted by The Movement for Black Lives network representing over 150 leaders and organizations nationwide.
This bill focuses on state and local funding for “inclusive, holistic, health-centered approach” public safety leading to alternatives through department of Health & Human Services rather than policing interventions.
However these experts opined Republicans together with centrist Democrats will stand in the way of the bill’s passage. But advocates vow they will forge ahead.
“The tragic event was one amongst several incidents of police killings, police violence that existed in a pattern within our communities which we have been highlighting and fighting for a very long time,” stated Amara Enyia, Director of Policy & Research at Movement for Black Lives.
“Our work is not just about ourselves but a larger system of justice where there is no end.”
