Oct 21, 2020
Welcome Malaika Jabali to GEN! Her new column, “Watching the Police” will examine how police reform is playing out in cities across the country. First up, the race for D.A. in Atlanta — where both candidates are cozying up to police unions.
As conditions for the poor and working-class have declined in Atlanta, Black people are asked to celebrate the mere existence of Black elected officials, mirroring the vapid optics of national politics.
Black women are expected to be proud of a Fani Willis, or a Keisha Lance Bottoms, or a Kamala Harris, regardless of their policy record. Striving is inherently good, and “Black excellence” in any form — even if it’s won on the broken backs of our country’s Black working-class masses — is lauded.
