Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien has announced a new “Black In America” documentary to air on CNN.
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, “BLACK in America: BLACK & BLUE” will premiere on CNN at 9 p.m. EST. In the new installment of “Black in America” O’Brien will highlight the lives of several young men broken by aggressive policing with the use of graphic videos and intense interviews.
In addition to the real-life perspective from NYPD police officers who believe and insist that they’re just fighting crime, O’Brien interviews others who confess that the “stop and frisk” tactic was not about fighting crime but fulfilling arrest quotas established by senior officials. “Everything is numbers based. … Summonses must be written; the arrests must be made …,” says one officer, his identity concealed for protection.
Between 2002-2013, the NYPD have reportedly made more than five million stops with more than 80 percent being African American or Latino with 88 percent of the stops not resulting in arrests, summonses, or evidence of any crime.
“What is so shocking is that this police practice was used around the country — and in some places still is — with the theory that police were stopping criminals,” said O’Brien. “It’s shocking that the city where this was popularized was stopping so many innocent people.” she continued.
To catch the gripping, hourlong special in its entirety, tune in to CNN or set your DVR on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m. EST. – ruu hawkins/@ruubabie
