Cleveland’s police department hasn’t exactly had the best reputation among its Black residents. So, after being reported for hiring cops who couldn’t pass background checks, they decided to pivot. Next stop? HBCUs.
The phenomenon of police recruiting at Black colleges isn’t just Cleveland’s idea. From offering internships in Maryland to courting youth with scholarships in North Carolina, cops are serious about “diversifying.” But why specifically HBCUs?
HBCU grads are “highly educated, culturally competent, critical thinkers, and trained to be servant-leaders.” That’s flattering, and we should be proud. But who said the police system deserves to have HBCU students in the first place?
Since the first efforts a century ago to hire Black officers to “improve relations” between cops and Black civilians, a truth has become obvious. Hiring Black cops has not ended police violence. Black officers can still be violent to Black civilians themselves.
As for the ones who genuinely still disagree with the system? They get shunned, abused, or pushed out.
Police are recruiting hopeful Black youth into a mission that’s dead on arrival. They aren’t actually committed to ending the violence against us. They’re distracting us from community-based action by initiating more of us into a system that cannot be reformed.