The Oxford MI Active Shooter Incident: The Anomaly, and reactions that Harm

Prayers to the Oxford, MI school district and the victims of the mass shooting that happened this week.  I can only imagine the level of concern, and fear parents are having for their children's safety. 

In response to this incident,  many school districts have cancelled classes for the remainder of the week . I'm sure some will homeschool their children, while others enroll them in private schools. But realistically,  the majority of American parents cannot afford anything beyond public school. 

Typically mass shooting incidence result in community panic and desperation. And this commonly leads to, what I define as reactive - overnight solutions, such as parents advocating for employment of more police officers, and the installation of surveillance technology in schools. Or city officials immediately diverting funds to police technology, instead of considering the impact surveillance and policing, continues to have on Black and Arab communities. Evidence has shown that these methods do not lead to long-term changes that protect all communities, they've caused more harm.

Earlier this year, city counselors of Dearborn, MI voted unanimously on Installing surveillance cameras in public schools that would feed directly to the Dearborn Police Department. More than 40% of the city's residents identify as Arab in Dearborn; since 9/11 Arab communities have dealt with accusations of terrorism and the overbearing forces of surveillance. The use of Surveillance against Black communities in America, dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century, in places like Fredrick, Maryland where former L'Hermitage plantation slaveholders, used surveillance to maintain order and hierarchy. Racism in Dearborn dates back to previous Dearborn Mayor, Orville Hubbard's racist legacy , and today, we see similar patterns continue. In some areas of the country, Black girls are more than 7 times as likely to be arrested than white girls.

When Dearborn lawmakers and elected officials around the country, present these policies and procedures, they continue racist policing and Anti-Blackness, that continue to harm many of us.

Because of media attention mass shootings get mass attention despite being a rare anomaly. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), defines mass shootings as a rare type of shooting incident. 

School shootings are extremely rare, but Black people being harmed by the police is not. Its time for us to invest our energy and resources into proactively, advocating and creating policies that result in positive changes for all communities. 

It's time to prioritize school mental health resources for K-12 schools, such as harm reduction curriculums, and investment into school counselors,  nurses, psychologist and social workers. Currently, majority of states in the U.S do not meet the student to therapist ratio, recommended by healthcare professionals.  Governor Gretchen Whitmire released state guidelines for student recovery, to help K-12 schools get back on track, as they navigate through the pandemic. These guidelines included universal mental health screenings for all students, providing educators with resources on self-care, and hiring more social workers, nurses and psychologists. Despite evidence showing that Black boys are often referred to police officers, and labeled as "Bad" instead of receiving support from mental health professionals,  Dearborn and many other cities in Michigan have not implemented these methods.

This is no way to maintain a healthy well-being; and it won't lead to positive change. Its time for us to invest energy into proactively, advocating and creating policies that result in positive changes that protect all communities.  Let's invest in each others humanity over harm.