Years ago, activist and comedian Dick Gregory had ideas on how to reform police. In an interview from ReelBlack’s Understanding series, Gregory made some very passionate and valid points about the state of the union in 2016.
His philosophy was that people needed to give police officers something that they can’t lose to mitigate police brutality and abuse of power. The first step he suggested was to start with passing legislation that directly impacts police policy.
Here are some of the takeaways from his interview:
1. Everybody who carries a gun has to be insured. The first time you violate your privilege of carrying a gun, you lose your ability to have a gun license.
2. Give them something to lose. The children of police officers should be able to go to school for free. This is an incentive for cops to honor the moral and ethics code or risk losing a free education for their children.
3. Cameras, cameras, cameras. Cameras should be on the police cars, police uniforms and throughout the police department offices. Should the cameras be intentionally or accidentally put out of commission, that’s an automatic disciplinary write up that may result in suspension, demotion or termination.
Born Richard Claxton Gregory, Dick Gregory was the first black comedian to cross over to mainstream audiences. He was a trailblazer in appearing on television and releasing comedy records, opening the doors for comedians such as Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx to do the same generations later.
Gregory was also a civil rights activist who was arrested several times for protesting racism and the Vietnam War. The following years, he would go on to write notable books on racial injustice, including Nigger: An Autobiography by Dick Gregory, Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, and Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies.
He is most known for his logical conspiracy theories that range from the poisoning of Americans through the evolving food industry and the consequential impact of Trump on America. He even said that most protests in the U.S. are staged…
Gregory would die at the age of 84 from heart failure caused by a bacterial infection in Washington, D.C. on August 19, 2017.
