Kim Trent

Black History Month has put me in mind of an observation Malcolm X made back in 1962: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”

Because I am a black woman, I wish this were no longer true. .Because I am a black woman, I know it is.

Recent headlines only reinforce this sad conclusion. First there was the online victim-blaming and shaming showered on the then-children who were allegedly sexually abused by singer R. Kelly in the wake of the release of the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.”

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Last week, former Toledo pastor Cordell Jenkins pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of underage black girls as young as 14. Jenkins is the second of three Toledo-area ministers to confess having sex with underage girls and sharing pictures of their sexual encounters with them. A third minister, Anthony Haynes, went on trial this week.

Finally, Detroit’s police department recently drew the wrong kind of national headlines when Officer Gary Steele posted to Snapchat a racially charged video of his encounter with Ariel Moore, a 23-year old black Detroiter.

After ticketing Moore for driving a car with suspended license plates, Steele had her car impounded and made a video mocking her as she walked home in sub-zero cold. In the video, Steele used graphics that mockingly described Moore’s frigid walk (“what Black Girl Magic looks like”) and sarcastically labeled the episode as his salute to Black History Month. He ended the taped encounter by saying, “Bye, Felicia!” — a black colloquialism used to signal disrespect for a person the speaker is dismissing.

To be sure, girls and women of every race have been sexually abused or faced humiliation at the hands of unprofessional law enforcement officials. But the boldness of these acts of disrespect and abuse, and the muted reaction to it, points to the lack of shame or remorse demanded of those who target black girls and women.

All of these stories are outrageous, but because it happened in my own backyard, I am particularly vexed by Steele‘s conduct. His mockery was a despicable negation of Moore’s humanity. Detroit Police Chief James Craig has condemned Steele’s behavior, and he has been placed on paid suspension.

Moore isn’t the first black woman to confront a police officer who sought to demean and disrespect her. My heart still breaks when I watch dashcam footage of 2015 arrest of motorist Sandra Bland by Texas police officer Brian Encinia, who pulled her over for failing to signal a lane change.

Encinia proceeded to mock and criticize Bland for failing to accepting his citation with Zen-like serenity. When she refused Encinia’s requests to put out her cigarette and exit her car — orders which many experts later concluded had no legal foundation — the encounter escalated, and Bland’s was arrested. Three days later, Sandra Bland was found hanged in a Texas jail.

The Texas county that employed Encina paid $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family. Encinia was ultimately fired for actions related to the encounter, and he has agreed to never seek another job in law enforcement.

Friday, some of Detroit’s most prominent black women leaders – including state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D-Detroit), Detroit NAACP Executive Director Kamilia Landrum and Focus: HOPE CEO Portia Roberson – will come together to announce a petition drive to call for Steele’s dismissal. I’ll be there, too.

For me, the need to relieve Steele of his duties is about risk management, not revenge. A so-called public servant who so gleefully delights in seeing a citizen being put in harm’s way has no business in law enforcement. It’s not unreasonable to worry that his behavior will escalate from callous to lethal.

Furthermore, there is evidence that Steele’s track record disqualifies him for a job that requires him to use good judgment with a firearm. In 2008, he accepted a plea deal for physically assaulting an ex-girlfriend and firing a gun next to her head.

I understand that Chief Craig must conduct thorough investigation before he decides Steele’s fate. But as a citizen, I won’t be silent about the disrespect and harm that Steele heaped upon Moore.

In investigating R. Kelly’s exploits, rock critic and music reporter Jim DeRogatis came face to face with the tragic reality of how black women are treated in America. “The saddest fact I’ve learned," he observed, echoing Malcolm X, "is nobody matters less to our society than young lack women. Nobody.”

I am hopeful that Chief Craig will do his part to prove DeRogatis wrong by holding Steele accountable for his actions. I won’t be silent unless he does.