the blueshift journal

Eric Garner.  Michael Brown.  Amadou Diallo.  I could keep you here all day listing names of unarmed black men and women killed at the hands of the police. None of these officers has been indicted for these actions. Regardless of what you think fueled the intent of these law enforcement agents, there is that basic, primal crime inherent in killing an unarmed man or woman.  Racism does not linger in our society - it is thick, ever present, and it isn’t going anywhere unless we do something about it.

 

Inspired by Winter Tangerine Review’s arts feature Hands Up Don’t Shoot, we wanted to further the conversation with an exclusive, weekly essay series written by black writers and poets. Though, as an Asian American, I do not have the authority to speak on the matter myself, I can at least provide a platform for black men and women to tell their stories themselves. 

 

However, when reading this series, we demand an open mind and an attitude towards fairness. Whether you are radically liberal or radically conservative or somewhere in between, we ask you to maintain a calm voice and to be respectful when engaging in debate. Too often does the loudest voice gain the floor, and the sensationalist uproar stratifies America. We remind the reader that, although no oppressed group should have to swallow their anger or be patient for equality, civility in intellectual dialogue is one of the most effective ways of moving forward and achieving that equality. Listen to each other.

 

This is a series about a country that claims itself “post-race,” and the people who accept this as true. These are the voices of those whose deaths are ignored. These are the Stories of the Invisible.

 

--Tyler Tsay, Editor in Chief

January 14, 2015