Maxine Waters Says Police Think Their Job Is to 'Keep Black People in their Place'

Connor Grant | March 30, 2021
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On Sunday, during an appearance on Spectrum News 1’s “In Focus SoCal,” Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) asserted her belief that police are “led to believe that their greatest challenge and their greatest chore is to keep black people in their place,” which “stems from slavery when whites were absolutely in charge, and they absolutely controlled the lives of people and their families.”

Anchor Tanya Mcrae asked Waers, “We again witnessed racial tensions explode in this country after the death of George Floyd. Why do you think this country has such difficulty learning from history and making real changes when it comes to violence and injustice done to black people?”

“I believe that it stems from the history of this country," Waters responded. "It stems from slavery when whites were absolutely in charge, and they absolutely controlled the lives of people and their families."

“They decided to separate families and send the boys in one direction, the girls in another, the mothers to the big house. I mean, they’ve always been in charge. I think that this thinking about the need to control, the need to, you know, make sure that people stay in their place, so-called, has been what has - basically what has happened in America all of these years. And I think it continues in various ways. Sometimes a little bit more sophisticated ways.”
 


“The police, I think really believe and in some ways are led to believe that their greatest challenge and their greatest chore is to keep black people in their place,” Waters added.

Waters' poorly-timed, oh-so-unifying comment comes on the eve of former Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin’s murder trial for the death of George Floyd, a trial that will almost certainly lead to civil unrest throughout the U.S.

While the city of Minneapolis is already preparing for the worst in terms of protesting and rioting, continuous divisive commentary, such as Waters statement, will fuel the emotional response to whatever eventual result comes from the trial. 

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