Kathairo Solutions

To celebrate Black History Month, two police departments chose to take an interesting approach by debuting cruisers with festive designs. The Miami, FL department cruiser, displaying Black History Month colors and Africa-themed designs, is pictured above. The “History 1” cruiser from the Columbus, OH department also has Black History designs along with quotes from Martin Luther King. Jr.

A recent NBC News article reports that both departments are receiving backlash for being insensitive to Black community’s plight with police (citing complaints from each department) and also for being frivolous with spending.

This shows just how messy reconciliation can be. Black people certainly have good reason to be leary as Blacks are killed in this country at a disproportionately higher rate by police than Whites. The killings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, George Floyd, and Tyre Nichols are just a few haunting reminders of this sad reality. Yet overall, I do believe that most police are men and women of integrity that serve and protect our communities well.

Reconciliation work is messy, hard, and often confusing. But, something needs to be done. People must keep moving toward each other. And to make progress, along with calling out the sins of the past, people need to be willing to let those from different sides make genuine mistakes. That’s where your grace comes in. Either way, a door is opened for people on both sides to talk and listen to each other.

So, what do you think? Against the background of hate and mistrust, any attempt at bridging divides, has potential for success, but also risks.

• Did these departments make the right decision or did they make a mistake?
• Is it helpful or hurtful for police cruisers donned in black history decorations to roll through communities that once were or are experiencing police abuse?
• What else could they have done to supplement their efforts?