When Corey Harris was driving his sick wife to get care, he called into his virtual court hearing for driving with a suspended license. The video of the hearing exploded online, getting him unwanted national attention.
Harris has complained that the online attention was traumatic and only heightened the scrutiny of his case. He was sent to jail again for not having a Michigan license. His license wasn’t reinstated because of bureaucracy and mismanagement. This web of legality works to criminalize something as simple as driving.
In Harris’ state of Michigan, Black drivers accounted for 22.1% of stops in 2020 despite just being 13.6% of the population. Traffic stops can end in legal trouble or, sadly, for people like Patrick Lyoya, in death.
Harris now has a learner’s permit. But this isn’t a happy ending when the system that got him here still exists. We need alternative approaches to traffic safety. Activists already envision non-police first responder teams or traffic voucher programs administered by civilians, not police, instead of tickets and warnings.
People made fun of Corey Harris, but there’s nothing funny about how we keep getting caught in the criminal legal system. The odds are stacked against Harris and all of us. The system doesn’t offer us grace, but we can fight for changes that do.