Trayvon Martin.
Michael Brown.
Eric Garner.
Freddie Gray.
Tamir Rice.
In 2015, 48 years after the Algiers Motel Incident and the Detroit riots, we still see cases of blatant police brutality perpetrated against the black population. With the rise of the social movement, Black Lives Matter, our society begins to once again reflect on the racist foundations of police relations with black citizens. Yet, as authorities and elected officials ponder how these instances occur, the majority of Americans fail to remember the Detroit riots and the events at the Algiers. While the Algiers Motel Incident was certainly not the first, nor the last instance of institutional racism in law enforcement, it could certainly serve as a foundation for learning about how these acts get overlooked and passed over in the justice system.
With the Algiers case, 3 men were killed and 7 others were beaten and humiliated to the point they could not emotionally bring themselves to testify about what happened to them. However, no one saw a day in prison in what many would recognize today as a heinous act of brutality and murder. In many ways, the hegemonic white social structure has succeeded in relegating the Algiers Motel Incident to the margins of historical memory.
While the names listed above (along with dozens of others in the United States) were not gunned down in Detroit, the lessons learned from black Detroit citizens after decades of police brutality can offer a great deal in reforming communities. While the memories of the Algiers Motel slowly fade with the lack of official documentation, coverage, and scholarship, many Detroiters have taken up the charge against police brutality that are informed by their own experiences.
Ron Scott, former Black Panther and Detroit activist for example, launched the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality (DCAPB). The organization’s aims are intended to elicit community autonomy and repel the need for police enforcement in black communities. Scott uses much of the experiences he endured to inform the manner in which he moves the DCAPB forward and help his community. Scott is noted for saying “we should not have police surveilling our streets, looking for trouble” when describing why he helped create the DCAPB. Scott, who was 28 at the time of the Detroit Riots, shows how a community can come together in an effort to prevent police brutality.
While the Algiers Motel Incident and the names Carl Cooper, Fred Temple, or Auburey Pollard may not be household names when it comes to the discussion of police brutality, their mark on Detroit left a wound that is being mended by citizens like Ron Scott. Today, we continue to see Youtube or cellphone recordings of officers slaying unarmed black men or throwing young black women across classrooms and they command us to reflect on the police brutalities of the past that precipitated today’s acts of violence.
In 2015, we stand at a crossroads with police brutality, both in terms of Detroit and the nation as a whole. Last year, Scott was quoted as saying “Marching is not enough” when it comes to responses to black citizens being killed by the police, there needs to be action. In many ways, he is right, but we should do so armed with the knowledge of the past. For many, the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement serve as the marker for many racial shifts in the country. In the same light, we should look to the Algiers Motel Incident as a means to understand how the culture of police brutality has maintained itself despite movements to counter the imbalance of power between citizen and officer.
Therefore, this project is an effort to understand the past. The Algiers Motel Incident, the facts surrounding its fallout, and the efforts to erase it from our conscious over time illustrate how the faded memories of horrific historical events can lead to their repetition if they are not corrected. Sadly, many of the events that take place today with young black citizens being gunned down have ominous similarities to the events of July 25, 1967. However, if we work together to educate, learn, and reflect on events like the Algiers Motel Incident, we can begin the process of building a better future.
algiersmemory.wordpress.com 