Police departments in Columbus, Ohio and Miami, Florida chose to kick off 2023’s Black History Month with an interesting choice: unveiling Black history-themed cop cars reflecting the colors of the Pan-African flag, Black fists, and kente cloth designs.
Ohio’s department even presents an MLK quote that doesn’t exist. Why?
They spent all that money to celebrate us, of course. And these shenanigans aren’t new. It’s been done in this country before and police in Canada even did it in 2021, too.
We know what we need in our communities and it’s not cops hopping out of Black History-themed vehicles. Or dancing with us at the cookout. Or making headlines for rescuing kittens. Or pretending to rescue Black children. These are all harmful forms of copaganda.
As this goes on, we become more aware of the ridiculous and harmful lengths cops go to neutralize us and maintain the status quo.
When these departments go viral, social media users should take the opportunity to make the violence they cover up go viral, too.
Our laughter and outrage are valuable. They’re our opportunities to gather and decry copaganda in all forms. This matters year-round, and especially during Black History Month.