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Fight The Power Analysis

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"Fight the power, fight the power, fight the power, we got to fight the powers that be." Fight the Power is an anthem song written, produced and performed by hip-hop group Public Enemy at the request of Film Director Spike Lee for his 1989 film, Do The Right Thing. The lyrics of the anthem incorporates various samples and allusions of African-American culture, from the Civil Rights Movement to today's Black Lives Matter movement. The message of the anthem does not represent a defiance of authority, but rather to fight the power of abuse. Criminologist James Fyfe, a leading authority on the use of police force, accountability and administration says to protect and serve is a very broad characterization of a police officer's role …show more content…

Garner and Graham vs. Conner are two other Supreme Court decisions to sanction racial profiling and gave leeway to the use of deadly force; notwithstanding, a cause to reconsider both of these rulings. The court has outlined a list of factors for balancing an individual's right versus a police officer's use of excessive force in the course of making arrests, stops or seizures: 1) the severity of the crime at issue; 2) whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others; and 3) if the suspect actively resists arrest or attempt to evade arrest by flight. Tennessee vs. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) and Graham vs. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). The names of unarmed African-American citizens killed by White police officers continue to grow and tensions between African-American communities and police departments are running high. Unfortunately, there is not enough official data to indicate whether racial bias is the reason police officers interact differently with Whites and people of color or whether racial bias plays a significant role in deadly force as there are no official databases to pinpoint how widespread police violence exists, neither is there enough official data to break down which demographic groups bear the brunt of such

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