The White Privilege of ‘Necessary’ Violence

What happened in Minneapolis is a political and emotional expression of trauma in response to generations of Black suffering

A protester holds up a placard in front of police officers near the 5th police precinct during a demonstration to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, on May 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

On May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, officer Derek Chauvin held his knee against the neck of a handcuffed Black man for more than eight minutes. The man, George Floyd, pleaded for his life, but his pleas went unheard. He died as three other police officers watched.

The whole world watched, too.

The culture of police brutality, the culture of the police’s disregard for Black life, is captured on three videos for all to see. As of June 3, all four police officers have been charged in Floyd’s murder — Chauvin with second-degree murder (upgraded from an initial charge of third-degree murder) and the others with aiding and abetting. I remember watching that press conference held by Minnesota prosecutors on May 28. Prosecutor Mike Freeman confirmed that they wouldn’t rush to charge the officers because of insufficient evidence that, as he said at the time, “does not support a criminal charge.” On that day, many like me began to see the writing on the wall. Given America’s long history of denying Black people justice after being murdered by police, many assumed that despite the video evidence of Floyd’s murder, charges wouldn’t be pressed. Protests erupted. Hours later, the third police precinct in Minneapolis was enveloped in flames.

Since that day, when documenting the protests, conservative pundits have been happy to paint a picture of unbridled chaos and mayhem. Sean Hannity of Fox News has characterized the protests as “carnage,” while Laura Ingraham has called the protestors “criminals” and “terrorists” trying to “murder America.” Though in recent days, the protests have been largely peaceful, some conservative-leaning, pearl-clutchers among the general public, particularly in White suburbs, seem to agree with Ingraham and Hannity’s sentiments. Despite support for the Black Lives Matter protests, there still exists a swath of America that sees protest violence as senseless and unthinkable. But is it?

While it is not yet clear who lit the flames that set the 3rd precinct on fire, it is clear that much of the violence which has taken place in the…