When I watch the evidence of the tragedy of the Daunte Wright shooting I think about the fear of a young man who was being asked to face consequences for a misdemeanor charge, and a police officer, Kimberly Potter, afraid of losing control of the situation. The result of all of this fear is a loss of life for the man, and the loss of a career and criminal charges for the woman who accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser. Can a taser be mistaken for a gun? Yes. It’s happened before, in Minneapolis, although I believe this was the first time someone was killed as a result. It’s easy to be angry about Daunte’s death. I feel it. We all are angry, to varying degrees. But anger doesn't solve anything. If you understand brain chemistry, we think less clearly when angry. Just as we think less clearly when we’re afraid.
It’s not fair for me to say more without further information. With another life lost, let’s look back at life in the U.S. 60 years ago.
Ruby Ridges and racism 60 years ago Ruby Bridges was the eldest of five children born to Abon and Lucille Bridges. As a child, she took care of her younger siblings. She enjoyed playing jump rope, softball and climbing trees.
Ruby Bridges was one of six black children in New Orleans to pass the test that determined whether they could go to the all-white William Frantz Elementary School. Two of the six decided to stay at their old school. Bridges went to Frantz by herself, and three children were transferred to McDonogh School.
Ruby Bridges was six-years-old when she became the first African-American child to integrate a white Southern elementary school on November 14, 1960. She was escorted to class by her mother and U.S. marshals due to violent mobs. Bridges' bravery paved the way for continued Civil Rights action, and she's shared her story with future generations in educational forums. White parents pulled their own children out of school. Only one teacher agreed to work with Ruby. Barbra Henry taught Ruby alone for over a year, "as if she were teaching a whole class."
On the second day of protests, a white student broke the boycott and entered the school. A 34-year-old Methodist minister, Lloyd Anderson Foreman, walked his 5-year-old daughter Pam through the angry mob. A few days later, other white parents began bringing their children, and the protests began to subside. Ruby remained the only child in her class, until the following year. Every morning, as Bridges walked to school, one woman would threaten to poison her, while another held up a black baby doll in a coffin. U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower oversaw her safety and allowed Ruby to eat only the food that she brought from home.
Child Psychiatrist Robert Coles volunteered to provide counseling to Bridges during her first year at Frantz. He met with her weekly in the Bridges home, later writing a children's book, The Story of Ruby Bridges, to acquaint other children with Bridges' story. Coles donated the royalties from the sale of that book to provide money for school supplies for impoverished New Orleans school children.
The Bridges family suffered for their decision to send her to William Frantz Elementary: her father lost his job as a gas station attendant. The grocery store would no longer let them shop there. Ruby's grandparents, who were sharecroppers, were turned off their land. Ruby Bridges noted that many others in the community, both black and white, showed support in a variety of ways.
Some white families continued to send their children to Frantz despite the protests. A neighbor provided her father with a new job, and local people babysat, watched the house as protectors. The immaculate clothing she wore to school in those first weeks at Frantz was sent to her family by a relative of Dr. Coles. The Bridges family could never have afforded the dresses, socks, and shoes that are documented in photographs of her escort by U.S. Marshals to and from the school.
Religious faith itself can be psychologically protective. An 8-year-old African American girl, in the 1960’s, was one of the first to enter a previously all white school. She wrote about her experience walking past a mob of adults who were yelling insults: I was alone, and those people were screaming, and suddenly I saw God smiling and I smiled. A woman was standing there and she shouted at me, “Hey you little nigger, what are you smiling at?” I looked right at her face and I said, “At God.” Then she looked up at sky, and then she looked at me, and then she didn’t call me anymore names (quoted from Coles, in 1990).
I am an advocate of respect and responsibility. Treat everyone with respect and be responsible for your behavior. We can work through this. We’ve been through worse. We simply haven’t reached the finish line.
Thanks for listening, Frank
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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