By Bryan Jenkins

     A black man leads the U.S. Senate’s efforts at police reform… one might think that, as a black man myself, I’d sleep well over that. But… it’s U.S. Sen Tim Scott of North Carolina, the only African American in the U.S. Senate — who claims that America is NOT a racist nation!  

     Maybe he’s been smokin’ one of those funny cigarettes. Did he ask any Native Americans – most of whom’s tribes were wiped out or thrown off their own lands, by early American expansion, and long denied any relief or inclusion? Did Scott ask any Chinese-Americans, descendants of those brought here for cheap labor then socially sidelined and racially scorned as sub-human? Did he ask any Japanese-Americans who served proudly defending America in WW2, while their families, labeled as Jap sympathizers, were forced from their homes and confined to holding camps?  

  Scott says America’s not racist- did he ask any Mexican  Americans, like the judge at whom his party’s chief, Donald Trump, directed racist criticism over a ruling he lost, or the many latin immigrants Trump blamed for taking jobs Americans refused to do? The good senator sure didn’t ask any of his fellow African Americans, who’ve collectively spent 400 years fighting every effort to intentionally deny them the fruits of the nation they helped build.

Scott says America’s not a racist nation. How does he explain generations of Jim Crow laws that socially and financially locked African Americans out of equal opportunities? How does he explain the era of subsequent lynchings that played out across America, where white Americans, who were so happy to take part, brought their families for entertainment and actually posed for pictures?

How does he explain America’s execution of the original G.I. bill, which provided much-needed benefits for veterans returning from war and denied those benefits to black veterans. American history is full of accounts the good Senator seems to have forgotten or ignored. Maybe he’s just a selective reader, or perhaps just wasn’t listening in history class! 

Scott says America’s not racist… and we’re supposed to expect HIM to lead efforts to hold police accountable for abuses that appear to be racist? Senator Scott has already said any effort to strip police of immunity against punishment for bad acts is a non-starter. So, where is any hope of making police accountable, for what they might do to the next person… maybe your son, your daughter, maybe me, maybe you… And that’s why … I can’t sleep… can you? 

 Bryan Jenkins is a 35-year veteran of Broadcast Journalism… honored for work ‘on the set’ and ‘in the field’, with two Los Angeles Emmy Awards, a Golden Mike Award and The N.A.B.J.’s National Award of Excellence. Bryan is a captivating storyteller and communicator, having worked as Anchor, Reporter, and Producer in major markets across the country, and contributed to successful media campaigns for local politicians and non-profit organizations. He now resides in southern California, sharing his expertise as a writer and Media Consultant.