Summary

Ishmael Sistrunk begins his article “Walking while black: Michael Brown, black men and white police officers” by describing the violence and unrest that followed the shooting of Michael Brown.

He argues that tension between police officers and black people has always been present and is a result of racial prejudices. Furthermore, the election of Barack Obama as the US President has brought these racial tensions to the surface.

The writer describes his own experience with the police as a St. Louis resident, recalling how he was often pulled over under different pretexts. He argues that because he was black, he was a target of the police who would consider him suspicious even when he did nothing wrong.

Sistrunk notes that not all police officers are biased but argues that higher standards should be imposed on ...