Nov 13, 2023
Black Cop PUNISHED For Wearing Hair In Bantu Knots
- 7 minutes
Jersey Black female cop discipline for
wearing Bantu knots.
For all of y'all that don't know what
Bantu knots are, you're looking at them.
It is a hairstyle that
originated in Africa, and
we see a lot of Black African American
women wearing this hairstyle.
Women throughout the African diaspora,
what people won't tell
[00:00:17]
you is what's connected to the Bantu knots
is it's a delineation off of braids.
Braids were used, one to bring
seeds from the native country for
all types of food that Americans love now,
i.e watermelon, i.e okra,
all of that came from Africa, and
it came in the tweeting of this hair.
[00:00:35]
So you all might not know that,
but this is ridiculous.
Let's get into it.
New Jersey chain Weekes-Rivera.
That's her name.
A 10 year veteran of
the Maplewood Township police has filed
a discrimination lawsuit after she was
disciplined for
wearing her hair in Bantu knots.
[00:00:52]
The lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black
Star, was filed against the Township
of Maplewood and
MPD Captain Peter Kuenzel, or Zel.
The complaint states that Weekes-Rivera,
who wore her hair in Bantu knots,
a traditional African hairstyle,
as I just stated, on August 20,
[00:01:09]
was in violation of the dress code.
She was disciplined 11
days later on August 31.
On August 31, 2023,
Officer Weekes-Rivera was notified of
an internal affairs complaint regarding
her violation of Maplewood R and
[00:01:24]
R 4.7.2 Manner of Dress on Duty,
states the lawsuit.
Her hair in Bantu knots, but her
supervising sergeant were disciplined for
failure to supervise when
they decidedly refused to
discriminate against
Officer Weekes-Rivera for her hairstyle.
[00:01:42]
Man, this is unbelievable that we
are still policing Black people's hair.
This idea of professionalism
is unbelievable to me.
I also think this is something
we need to talk about.
We are not willing just to punish
this officer for her hairstyle.
[00:01:58]
They, when I say we, I'm talking
about the police department and
also America because we
allow this to happen.
So I think what goes further is they
even prosecuted her supervising officer
because they didn't punish her,
they didn't discipline her.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
[00:02:13]
But it's also, Paul, for the course, for
an institution that has so much ingrained
and also riding on the fact that Black
people need to know their place.
Jackson.
>> Speaker 2: Yeah, and
instances like this, whether it's here or
corporate America,
dealing with similar things,
[00:02:29]
it's just a way for people to pick
on somebody that's beneath them.
Keeping people down, identifying something
to do with somebody that gives you
a reason to give them a boot or something.
But especially since you pointed out that
their supervisors were also being harassed
[00:02:44]
for not coming down on her as well,
its just maintaining the authority,
the image of the police state, the image
of what law enforcement is supposed to be,
because perhaps people won't take her
seriously or they won't be afraid of her.
They'll feel like she's one of them if
they come up to the car looking like that.
[00:03:02]
I guess it's like a clean cut mentality or
something.
But really, underneath it all,
it's just bullying.
That's all it is.
She's just getting bullied.
>> Speaker 1: That's all it is,
brother, and that matters.
I mean, I have my hair in
a kinky staff intentionally,
and I see that you have locks.
[00:03:18]
So we're speaking from a space where we
know exactly what it means not only to be
Black, not only to be Black man,
not only to be Black man with
nappy hair intentionally.
We also know what it means to watch
sisters in places where they're trying to
be a part of the blue.
What happens to protect the blue
when they show up like this,
[00:03:34]
talking about these agencies?
Atlanta Black Star went on to say that
Kuenzel also reportedly told Weekes-Rivera
that she violated policy by
wearing her hair in rollers.
To get that paper, it was cringeworthy,
recalled Weekes-Rivera.
I had to ask him questions
to stop myself from crying.
[00:03:51]
It's super embarrassing.
It makes me feel less than.
That is the intention.
That is not by mistake, that making
you feel less than for accepting
your blackness and moving in that space
is as American as apple pie and baseball.
And when we pretend that it ain't,
[00:04:07]
when we pretend that that feeling of
embarrassment, that feeling of nothing or
less than is intentional,
then we are missing the mark.
This is what happens when people
say police departments are broke,
when in actuality, we know they were
designed to work just like this.
Jackson.
>> Absolutely, and
it's important to know when you pushing
somebody down, it's not just so
[00:04:26]
that you can keep yourself
up elevated in power, but
before that comes just general insecurity,
you know what I'm saying?
When you really break people down
from an anthropological level,
it's really quite simple.
We feel certain ways and we react to them.
[00:04:42]
We want to feel like we're on top,
at least of our own lives.
We want to feel like we aren't threatened.
And at the end of the day,
this country was set up for White people.
It was set up in such a way that Black
bodies were used in slavery land, was
taken from natives, and it was speculated
upon and that's how this country spread.
[00:04:59]
So we're trying our best to
get away from those pillars.
And we have done a good job at it, but
we're still fighting it because those
are the foundations of the country.
So if Bantu knots make
people feel insecure,
it's just going back to
who's supposed to be on top.
You shouldn't be here.
I shouldn't be working next to you.
[00:05:15]
And that's why we got to keep the fight
alive, because we can't win it.
And we will.
>> Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I guess it's
this false idea of what's professional,
right?
In the Black Star,
they went on to say that Weekes-Rivera,
who was also involved in an earlier and
separate lawsuit against Maplewood that
[00:05:31]
was brought by the City employees
challenging COVID-19 vaccination mandates,
is requiring that a Judge force Kuenzel
and township to comply with the CROWN Act.
This is so Black people can wear their
hair the way they please and turn over
policy copies on officers hairstyle as
well as complaints about her hairstyle.
[00:05:48]
And again,
that's according to New Jersey Monitor.
I'm just thinking, man, we breeze over
this because it's one of the things
that Black people deal with on a regular
basis, but we shouldn't because what's at
the bottom of it is what this sister said
about her feelings, how it made her feel.
[00:06:08]
We're talking about trauma and
the building of new trauma on
top of undelt with trauma.
So operating in a system, talking about
the police department, the institution
that is policing in America, then being
told that your blackness is not enough,
but also your hair is making it worse,
[00:06:23]
is something that every day you put
on that uniform, you have to feel.
And I don't know what to do with that
Jackson, that's rough for me to try and
process.
>> Speaker 2: I think that what's
important is to realize that
this also translates into policy.
[00:06:38]
As we saw the reversal of Roe V Wade and
what happens with a lot of the Red States
being extremely adamant
about pushing six week bans,
even though the Republican constituency
really doesn't want that either.
More and
more authoritarianism is creeping in.
So this can translate into policy,
as we've seen.
[00:06:56]
Look at how many bills have been
passed to make it harder for
people to vote things along those lines.
I can't remember cuz now
we got Mike Johnson.
I think it was Emerson, Marjorie Taylor
Green and a few other Republicans.
Like, I couldn't vote for him because
he was in favor of gay marriage, like,
[00:07:13]
stuff like that.
So this can creep into law.
So, you're very right, it is important for
us to not let this slide under the rug.
>> Speaker 1: Yeah I mean,
it creeps into law and
then also what's left unsaid is
if we don't file these lawsuits,
if this sister didn't file this lawsuit,
what will happen is they will kill you or
[00:07:31]
torture you and
tell the world you were okay with it.
Right?
We see this fake telling of history about
slaves being docile and enjoying life,
this comfortable life on plantation,
when in actuality,
we know there was all types of protest.
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