by Bernice Powell Jackson

About the author: Bernice Powell Jackson is the executive director of the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice and a columnist for the on-line publication Black World Today.

In New York City two Hispanic men are killed when they are shot from behind 28 times and another Hispanic man is choked to death after his football hits a police car. In Pittsburgh, an African American businessman is choked to death after being stopped for a traffic violation. A St. Petersburg, Florida, African American motorist is shot to death also after a traffic stop. A New Haven, Connecticut, African American man suffers the same fate. In each case the killing occurred while the men were in police custody or in the course of a police action.

These are just a few...