Why don't people protest violence when it is not because of a cop?

They do!

Once again the media is awash in gross generalizations and stereotypes about violence in the black community.  "Why don't these people protest violence when the perpetrator is black?"  

This erroneous message is used to say that people should not protest when violence is because of police or whites.  It turns the concerns about being victims of violence into an argument about racial animosity.  In other words, it is saying you are just protesting because you're black and the perpetrator was white.  This dismisses the issue of violence altogether and instead tries to put people against each other based on race.

It is easy to put people against each other because we all live such segregated lives.  When there are not protests in the larger society, many whites do not realize the work and risk that many black Americans are putting into ending violence in their own communities.

For example, many Chicagoans heard about the violent shootings in April 2020 but this Mother Jones article details how,

The day after the bloody Tuesday, around noon, Joshua Coakley joined about two dozen outreach workers on a walk through the streets of this working-class neighborhood. They were on the lookout for local contacts, mostly gang members or former gang members who might have information about the shootings—or plans to retaliate.

Here's a picture of the outreach workers doing their thing:

And here is a picture in 2018 of high school students who  protested violence in their community:

Another group protesting violence is Mothers Against Senseless Killing (MASK) detailed in this Crain's Chicago Business article.  Below is a photo of Tamar Manasseh, who founded the group in 2014.

The Trace details how MASK launched Moms On Patrol, a group that camps outside to monitor the neighborhood and prevent violence.  Here is a picture of some of those moms monitoring the neighborhood and doing street yoga:

And sadly, two of the moms in this group were even killed by the violence that they were trying to stop.  Here is a NY Post article about it.  And here is a memorial created for them:

In 2018 there was a protest specifically meant to raise awareness in less violent  neighborhoods about the violence that occurs in other parts of the city.  This Associated Press article details that.


This DNAinfo article (2015) shows how residents protest violence in neighborhoods all across the city.

There is sociological research that these protests and interventions do help.  This article from Science Daily (2019) shows that these protests go back to at least 1994 with Operation Ceasefire in Boston.   And sociologists from Northwestern found a significantly lower rate of violence because of interventions:

Spreading effects

George Wood and Andrew Papachristos, sociologists at Northwestern University just north of Chicago in the city of Evanston, Ill., have looked into the how gun violence prevention efforts have played out in the city where 051 Melly was gunned down. 

Their work, published August 19 in Nature Human Behavior, focuses on a Chicago intervention that, between August 2010 and June 2016, invited violent offenders, identified via Chicago Police Department records, to one-hour meetings, known as call-ins, held in community centers and other public places. The study tracks recorded instances of being shot among nearly 8,500 individuals, including program participants and their associates, who are known from arrest records, police and outreach workers to be involved in violent groups.
As in programs in several dozen U.S. cities, the call-ins began with officers emphasizing that shootings had to stop. If they didn’t, perpetrators as well as neighborhood associates would be hit with outstanding warrants, parole violations and charges for other crimes. 

Then community representatives, including parents of murdered children, ministers and street outreach workers, told participants that they are loved and valued, but need to become involved in constructive activities. Victims of gun violence and their relatives described the trauma of their experiences.
Finally, local social service workers offered access to job training, drug treatment and other programs.

Focusing 2020 on Protests for George Floyd

Here is my analysis of how to focus on the protests surrounding George Floyd.  I want students to think critically and not simplistically about what hs been taking place.  None of what I wrote endorses the use of violence (whether against police or property) as a means to an end.  The link above contains my full thoughts with supporting material.  Here is a summary:

1. Racism is a part of our society in general (not just a part of police) and the President of the United States has been a very public face and promoter of racist ideas.

2. Even after the killing of dozens of Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement and Colin Kaepernick taking a knee and Lebron speaking out, there was no social change and instead there was resistance - a counter movement against Black Lives Matter, Colin Kaepernick being fired and banned from the NFL, a President speaking out against the movement or change, and an endorsement of white supremacy by the President of the United States.

3. Everyday life is exhausting when you must face racism in your daily living and racism is far more widespread than policing.

4. Looting and protesting are not the same. Focusing only on looting is simple-minded and scapegoating and will inevitably lead to more of the same in the future. There are many good police officers who are forced to work within a broken system. Some of these police have shown their sympathy to protesters. And many protesters who went out of their way to protect buildings, stop looting and protect police.
And in fact, looters vary widely:

Some looters are fringe groups who are against the protesters and want to make them look bad (and possibly start a race war),
Some looters are white people who don't understand the repercussions of looting,
Some looters are protesters who were met with violence so they were violent in return,
Some looters have no interest in the protests at all and are simply taking advantage of the situation.

Think critically. Work to identify your own biases. Work to end injustice in the U.S. even when the injustice is not affecting you. Work to end violence.

I elaborate on all of these points in the document linked about.