To the Dartmouth Community,
We write to question and challenge you, as you continue to hold conversations amongst one another in regards to this weekend’s “Blue Lives Matter” display posted by the College Republicans.
We acknowledge that many of you are concerned about the question of free speech. However, one hundred students’ disapproval for “Blue Lives Matter” does not constitute a disregard for free speech, nor does it condemn policemen who have fallen in the line of duty. What it does constitute is a concern for anti-blackness on this campus and nationwide.
Movements like "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" are created purposefully as counter-narratives to deny the relevance of the original movement, “Black Lives Matter.” Regardless of intention, displaying these slogans ignores the context in which “Black Lives Matter” has arisen. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” highlights the fact that America systematically devalues Black lives- from our origins in slavery, the intense resistance against the Civil Rights Movement, the rise of mass incarceration of Black men couched in a War on Drugs, to the ever-present problem of police brutality against Black people nationwide.
This is why a bulletin board matters to us. It is because language does not occur in a vacuum, and context gives meaning to otherwise simple phrases. "All Lives Matter," "Blue Lives Matter" and other similar slogans erase the issue of police brutality specifically affecting black people. Furthermore, proponents of “All Lives Matter” often only speak up to drown out the voices of those calling for racial equality in policing.
The College Republicans have stated that they do not see the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements as mutually exclusive. And indeed, there are Black police officers. However, "embedded in the essence of the #BlueLivesMatter campaign is the narrative that the #BlackLivesMatter movement is denigrating and endangering police officers with its rhetoric, further deteriorating the public’s respect for the police."* Despite the fact that in 2016 alone, 71% of police killings were committed by white men, “Blue Lives Matter” encourages a misguided and unfair correlation between demanding for the protection of black lives, and denying the police the right to theirs. It pits police lives against black ones, and also ignores the fact that the police force is not an all-white cohort.
We encourage campus to honor law enforcement in a more nuanced way. We urge the community to organize around mental health and controlling civilian gun use, and finding ways to support the families of the police force without disrespecting families and communities that have been victims of police brutality, and have been organizing for better and more equal policing.
We are aware this weekend has brought up sincere concerns for the conservative communities on campus. Hence we invite the College Republicans, The Dartmouth Review, The Dartmouth, and any other members of the larger community to host a discussion on campus. We are happy to engage intellectually on the topic of co-opting movements against state violence.
Sincerely,
Concerned Students of Dartmouth
*Eric Geller- http://www.dailydot.com/politics/blue-lives-matter-twitter-hashtag/
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www.dailydot.com
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Further reading on “All Lives Matter”:
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/nation/problem-saying-all-lives-matter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-craven/please-stop-telling-me-th_b_6223072.html