(Todd A. Smith)
Stop playing the race card.
Stop race-baiting.
All of this talk about race makes me uncomfortable.
There is no racism in America.
If Black people took some accountability for their actions, there would be no disparities in the criminal justice system.
Those are excuses that Black people often hear when we speak out about the unjust system in this country.
But how could a person in good faith believe that Americans are all treated equally when they could look at Florida and see Black women facing much longer prison sentences for doing similar things that their White female counterparts get slaps on the wrist for?
All Black people have ever asked for is equality.
If all the facts are similar, a Black criminal should get similar punishment as a White criminal.
But what we have seen since 1614 to 2026 is a system that favors White people, while throwing Black people away for what, on the surface, look like similar situations.
Phenix S. Halley of The Root reported, “For years, Christian Obumseli’s family has had to watch the legal experts debate the fate of the woman who killed him. Now that Courtney Clenney has been sentenced, some have questioned whether six years in prison is justice for a family who has to live without him.
“Clenney, the OnlyFans model also known as Courtney Tailor, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Obumseli’s 2022 stabbing death. She received a six-year prison sentence, with credit for roughly four years already served, followed by five years of probation, according to Rolling Stone. She originally faced up to 30 years if convicted of second-degree murder.”
Clenney is White, while Obumseli was Black.
Obumseli became infamous after his death because of disparaging remarks he made against Black women and comments on why he favored White women instead.
While people should date those who make them happy, Obumseli’s comments were extremely dangerous because he should have known he lived in a society that favored his White girlfriend more than him because of skin color.
He had to know American society would never see her as a threat, regardless of how violent she was.
He had to understand that White proximity would have never made his life more valuable to mainstream America than other Black people who do not get the benefit of the doubt from police or the justice system.
Clenney could have told a lie on him, and his life would have been in danger because of the fact that America sees her as more valuable than him.
White America was always going to see her as a damsel in distress and see him as a Black brute and savage, regardless of how classy, sophisticated or educated he may have been.
On the other hand, White America deems it more believable that a Black woman could be violent against her partner.
It believes that Black women are more of a threat.
And that is why Black women seemingly get harsher punishment for similar things as violent White chicks.
Halley reported, “A Black teen, Jahara Malik, was sentenced in May to 17 years in prison followed by five years of probation for the 2024 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Yahkeim ‘Keimo’ Lollar, CBS News reported. Prosecutors had sought 20 years, while her defense asked the judge to treat her as a youthful offender.
“In another case, a 23-year-old Black woman named Tykidra Leonard was sentenced to 50 years in prison back in November after pleading no contest to the second-degree fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, First Coast News reported. Prosecutors noted she never accepted responsibility for his death.
“Obviously, these three cases are not identical, and they should be treated as a clean sentencing comparison. The circumstances, plea agreements and evidence in each case were different. In Clenney’s case, however, Obumseli’s family was reportedly involved in the consultation and approval of the plea agreement.”
However, at least for Black men, stats show that White men get lighter sentences for similar crimes and similar criminal backgrounds.
That reality makes many Black people question every time a White person gets a light sentence for a violent crime.
The stereotype says that Black people are more violent.
That is why Black people overpopulate the prison system.
The stereotype is that Black people commit more crimes because it is in their nature.
The stereotype is that Black people participate in crime more because of absentee Black fathers and poor guidance from the elders in the community.
The stereotype is that hip-hop music is causing young Black people to behave violently.
While all those issues need to be addressed, the prison system in America was always set up to re-enslave Black people, while disenfranchising them and making it harder for them to pull themselves up from their bootstraps, even if they got released from prison.
Black people do have some issues that we need to fix.
But America has some issues it needs to fix too.
And this country can start by fixing the double standards in its judicial system that give White people the benefit of the doubt, while throwing Black people away like old napkins.
While the justice system might have gotten sentencing correct in Clenney’s case, on the surface, it appears Florida treats people differently based on race.
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