An anonymous group of self-described "queer" and "people of color" artists claimed responsibility this week for one of the weirder things that has happened during the weeks of civil unrest in the East Bay to protest police brutality in the aftermath of grand juries in Missouri and New York declining to indict white police officers for killing unarmed black men. Last Saturday, the day of massive protests across the country tied to the Millions March rally, several lynching effigies were seen around the UC Berkeley campus. When we first heard of the effigies, we didn't know what to think. Was some racist trying to undermine the protesters before the marches even got underway? Was it a frat boy prank gone awry?
Well, late Sunday afternoon we had an answer. It was the queers. And some people of color. How many, we do not know. Nor did the artists give themselves a name. But in the absence of anyone else claiming responsibility, we'll take these people at their word that they hung the effigies. The vast majority of Bay Area residents who heard about the effigies or saw them �" black or white, gay or straight �" were deeply offended. We think the message of the queer and people of color artists was woefully misplaced �" as is their insistence on hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, which is what people do when they've screwed up.
Their three-paragraph statement explaining their motivation and reasoning is inadequate.
"For those who think these images are no longer relevant to the social framework in which black Americans exist everyday �" we respectfully disagree," the group writes. Actually, it's not that the images are irrelevant, it's that their display is inflammatory and offensive. The city of Oakland continues to investigate an incident from this summer in which a noose was found on a public works department truck used by African American workers. The noose is an explosive symbol that is rarely displayed �" and if it is, its connotation is likely at odds with what the artists likely had in mind.
"For those who think these images depict crimes and attitudes too distasteful to be seen ... we respectfully disagree," the group continues. "Our society must never forget. For those under the mistaken assumption that the images themselves were intended as an act of racism �" we vehemently disagree and intended only the confrontation of historical context."
Unfortunately for the group, since they didn't leave any indication that the effigies were an art installation, lots of people attributed them to racist motivations. The effigies resembled blacks who were lynched in the 20th century, and also referenced the words, "I can't breathe," which is what Eric Garner said nearly a dozen times before he died in a chokehold by a New York police officer this summer. People who saw the Berkeley nooses �" and others that were reportedly near Lake Merritt in Oakland �" can be forgiven if they didn't see the "historical context." Lynching has a troubling history in the United States and after the Civil War was used to terrorize and intimidate blacks.
Some black people disavowed the effigies, with one UC Berkeley student telling the Oakland Tribune that the effigies did not come "from the black students on campus."
"We wake up one morning and there it is, but we didn't know anything about it," student Kristiana Ekokobe told the paper. "It's our cause, but it feels like a lot of people want to take over [the movement.] It doesn't feel genuine."
Cal Professor John Powell agreed, telling the Tribune that the effigies showed the group's "lack of awareness and involvement with the black community."
The queer and people of color artists did apologize to one group �" black Americans "who felt further attacked by this work," they said.
"We are sorry �" your pain is ours, our families', our history's," the group wrote.
While the apology was warranted, we think the group owes an apology to the broader Bay Area, too. We urge the artists to issue a public apology �" with their names �" and hope that they stay involved in the social justice movement, but that future art installations speak to current events and not harken back to racist symbols to make their point. Thousands of people of all races have participated in the protests. The vast majority of them sincerely demand change in police tactics, in the justice system, and in society at large. We agree with them. In addition to police departments, protests should be directed at district attorneys and prosecutors; they're the ones who convene grand juries. The Brown and Garner cases demonstrate why secret grand juries should not be used for officer-involved shootings. A more open, transparent process is needed, like preliminary hearings, which are routinely used in criminal cases, just not those involving law enforcement.