Why #CrimingWhileWhite Is Frightening

by Jada Ojii

After the verdicts of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in recent weeks, there has been much outrage and a tremendous online response from black and white people alike. One such response was the online hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite, which was particularly featured on Twitter and consisted of white people outwardly discussing their experiences of getting away with certain crimes because they are white. The many stories  ranged from getting pulled over and let free to having their African-American counterparts arrested for the same crimes that they committed. The hashtag allowed many to share their experiences and also opened the eyes of others to white privilege and racism that still exists in America.

The reason that the hashtag and what lies within it is so frightening, is because it displays what we already know and further supports the fact that white privilege is, in fact, a big problem in present-day America. I recall a few weeks ago when the verdict of the Michael Brown case was made public, I commented on a Facebook status about how black people were pulling the race card about the whole issue. My white ex-boyfriend chose to argue with me about whether Mike Brown was killed out of self defense or not. After much back and forth, he then made the conclusion that black people don't face racism in America anymore and that we were all just living in the past. #CrimingWhileWhite shows that this isn't true, but this is not exactly a fact that black people want to be right about. Nonetheless, it is true that racism still exists in many aspects, including through police brutality. Although sharing stories about how getting away from charges and arrests because of the color of your skin helps to inform people about the issue of present-day racism, it also reminds black people that prejudice and injustice is right in our face and continues to happen behind closed doors and despite our efforts to end it. We have all come a long way in terms of creating a more equal society, however it is far from that. I think it's amazing that more and more white people are recognizing that this is an unfair society, but I only wish that the hashtag did more than inform. I wish that it would change things and that black and white people alike would be outraged by it. And that we would be upset enough to speak up when #CrimingWhileWhite happens, instead of waiting until a Mike Brown or Eric Garner gets murdered 40 years after the fact.

Email me: ojii.jada@gmail.com
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