The NAACP is being very clear about potential dangers African-Americans and other people of color may face if they travel to Missouri.
Last week, the organization issued a travel advisory warning prospective visitors of the “looming danger” they may encounter while in Missouri. This travel ban was the first of its kind for the NAACP and unchartered territory for the 108-year-old organization.
In a statement issued by the Missouri NAACP State Conference, the organization warns, “individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION. Race, gender and color-based crimes have a long history here.”
Some recent accounts of such crimes include the case of Tory Sanford. Last May, Sanford, 28, got lost on his way to Memphis and eventually ran out of gas. Authorities still don’t know why, but Sanford was taken into custody. He was never officially charged with anything, however he “was involved in two altercations with jail personnel in his cell.” Sanford later died, though details of his death have not been released.
Another instance that the NAACP cited as grounds to issue the travel advisory included the death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old Indian man who was shot at a bar by a man who yelled, “Get out of my country.”
The NAACP also referenced the decades-long tension that exists between the police and minorities in the community, specifically African-American minorities. The world watched in 2014 as the body of Michael Brown, 18, lay lifeless in the middle of a street for hours — in clear view of residents and motorists. Brown was shot by a Ferguson police officer who was later cleared of all charges.
And if those examples weren’t enough to validate NAACP’s advisory, consider the fact that Black drivers in Missouri are 75 percent more likely to be stopped and searched than white drivers.
While the aforementioned instances and countless others were contributing factors in the NAACP’s decision to issue the travel advisory, they weren’t the only reasons. Senate Bill 43 also played a tremendous part.
Senate Bill 43 is a new state law in Missouri that makes it more difficult to sue for discrimination, specifically housing and employment discrimination.
According to Gerald Early, chair of African and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, “Before (SB43) a plaintiff had to show that race and gender bias was a contributing factor to dismissal.” Under 43, the plaintiff must prove that bias was, in effect, the sole reason that explains the treatment he or she received.”
When I first learned of the ban, I understood completely why the NAACP determined it best to issue the advisory. In addition to genuinely warning visitors of potential danger, the advisory also draws close attention to the disruptive and highly concerning behavior tolerated in Missouri — behaviors that are, unfortunately, also tolerated in most states across this country. Perhaps by exposing it, more people will stand up against injustice. But it will take more than African-Americans to eliminate discrimination. We need the help of other minorities, including those in the LGBT community. We also need our white brothers and sisters to advocate with us. We simply need to join forces with people who have pure hearts and earnest intentions. Only then will we see substantial change relative to discrimination and other forms of injustice.
Missouri’s SB 43 takes me back to the Jim Crow era when Blacks faced discrimination, taunting, torturing and even murder — all because they were Black. Yet, actually holding a person accountable for their misdeeds was literally impossible, because Blacks had no standing in court, nor would their claims be recognized.
Remembering the obstacles of the past and how we circumvented them will help us as we strategize for current-day solutions to problems that are actually generations deep.
