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Neil deGrasse Tyson
Reflections On the Color of My Skin
JUNE 6 · PUBLIC
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
At a Physics conference I attended long ago, while sipping wine left
over from the final dinner, a dozen of us peeled off and started arguing
about fun, geeky things. Why does Superman need a cape? And why do
cans of Diet Pepsi float while cans of regular Pepsi sink? And how
would the Star Trek transporter actually work? As the evening
progressed, just after a discussion of momentum transfer in car
accidents, one of us mentioned a time when the police stopped him while
driving. The officer ordered him from his sports car and conducted a
thorough search of his body, the car’s cabin, and the trunk before
sending him on his way with a hefty ticket. The charge for stopping
him? Driving twenty miles per hour over the local speed limit. Try as
we did, we could not muster sympathy for his case.
My colleague had other encounters with the law that he shared later that
night, but his first story started a chain reaction among us. One by
one we each recalled multiple incidents of being stopped by the police.
None of the accounts were particularly violent or life-threatening,
although it was easy to extrapolate to highly publicized cases that
were. One of my colleagues had been stopped for driving too slowly. He
was admiring the local flora as he drove through a New England town in
the autumn. Another had been stopped because he was speeding, but only
by five miles per hour. He was questioned and then released without
getting a ticket. Still another colleague had been stopped and
questioned for jogging down the street late at night.
As for me, I had a dozen different encounters to draw from. There was
the time I was stopped late at night at an underpass on an empty road in
New Jersey for having changed lanes without signaling. The officer told
me to get out of my car and questioned me for ten minutes around back
with the headlights of his squad car brightly illuminating my face. Is
this your car? Yes. Who is the woman in the passenger seat? My wife.
Where are you coming from? My parent’s house. Where are you going?
Home. What do you do for a living? I am an astrophysicist at Princeton
University. What’s in your trunk? A spare tire, and a lot of other
greasy junk. He went on to say that the “real reason” why he stopped me
was because my car’s license plates were much newer and shinier than the
17-year old Ford that I was driving. The officer was just making sure
that neither the car nor the plates were stolen.
Among my other stories, I had been stopped by campus police while
transporting my home supply of physics textbooks into my newly assigned
office in graduate school. They had stopped me at the entrance to the
physics building where they asked accusatory questions about what I was
doing. It was 11:30 pm. Open-topped boxes of graduate math and physics
textbooks filled the trunk. And I was transporting them into the
building, which left me wondering how often that scenario shows up in
police training videos.
We went on for two more hours. But before we retired for the night we
searched for common denominators among the stories. We had all driven
different cars—some were old, others were new, some were
undistinguished, others were high performance imports. Some police
stops were in the daytime, others were at night. Taken one-by-one, each
encounter with the law could be explained as an isolated incident where,
in modern times, we all must forfeit some freedoms to ensure a safer
society for us all. Taken collectively, however, you would think the
cops had a vendetta against physicists because that was the only profile
we all had in common. In this parade of automotive stop-and-frisks, one
thing was for sure, the stories were not singular, novel moments
playfully recounted. They were common, recurring episodes. How could
this assembly of highly educated scientists, each in possession of the
PhD — the highest academic degree in the land — be so vulnerable to
police inquiry in their lives? Maybe the police cued on something
else. Maybe it was the color of our skin. The conference I had been
attending was the 23rd meeting of the National Society of Black
Physicists. We were guilty not of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), but
of other violations none of us knew were on the books: DWB (Driving
While Black), WWB (Walking While Black), and of course, JBB (Just Being
Black).
None of us were beaten senseless. None of us were shot. But what does it
take for a police encounter to turn lethal? On average, police in
America kill more than 100 unarmed Black people per year. Who never
made it to our circle? I suspect our multi-hour conversation would be
rare among most groups of law-abiding people.
As I compose this, about 10,000 chanting protestors are filing past my
window in Manhattan. And because of the intermittent looting and
related violence, the curfew for this evening has been pushed earlier,
to 8pm, from 11pm in the preceding days. The most common placard was
“Black Lives Matter”. Many others simply displayed the name George
Floyd, who was handcuffed face-down on the street with a police
officer’s knee on the back of his neck, applied with a force of top to
half the officer’s body weight, resulting in his death. Curious irony
that NFL star Colin Kaepernick offered a simple demonstration of care
and concern for the fate of Black people in the custody of police
officers. He simply took a knee during the Star Spangled Banner before
football games. (One media outlet mangled the moment by describing him
as protesting the national anthem itself.) The outrage against his
silent act of concern for a national problem persisted through the 2017
season when, as a free agent, he went unsigned by any team to continue
his livelihood.
So, we went from a peaceful knee on the ground to a fatal knee on the neck.
The way peaceful protesters and the press are being shoved, maced,
tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and tackled in the streets of our cities
(when the police should really focus on arresting the looters) you would
think the protestors were doing something illegal or un-American. But
of course, the US Constitution has something to say about it:
Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom … of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.
Which amendment was that? The First Amendment. So, the founders of
this nation felt quite strongly about it. As such, protesting for
redress of grievances is one of the most American things you can do. If
you are the police, pause and reflect how great is the country whose
Constitution endorses peaceful protests.
What do we actually expect from our police officers? To protect the
peace and arrest the bad guys, I presume. But also, to be armed with
lethal force that they can use when necessary. That part clearly
requires training on how and when to use (and not use) the power of your
weapons. The rigorous Minneapolis Police Academy training lasts 4
months. The slightly more rigorous NYC Police Academy lasts 6 months.
Yet to become a certified pastry chef at a prestigious culinary academy
requires 8 months. The perfect croissant needs it. So maybe, just maybe,
police recruits could benefit from a bit more training before becoming
officers.
In 1991, Rodney King (age 25) was struck dozens of times, while on the
ground, by four LAPD officers, with their batons, after being tased. The
grainy 1990s video of the incident went media-viral, inducing shock and
dismay to any viewer.
But I wasn’t shocked at all.
Based on what I already knew of the world, my first thought was, “We
finally got one of those on tape.” Followed by, “Maybe justice will be
served this time.” Yes, that’s precisely my first thought. Why? Since
childhood my parents instilled in me and my siblings, via monthly,
sometimes weekly lessons, rules of conduct to avoid getting shot by the
Police. “Make sure that when you get stopped, the officer can always see
both of your hands.” “No sudden movements.” “Don’t reach into your
pockets for anything without announcing this in advance”. “When you move
at all, tell the officer what you are about to do.” At the time, I am a
budding scientist in middle school, just trying to learn all I can about
the universe. I hardly ever think about the color of my skin. It never
comes up when contemplating the cosmos. Yet when I exit my front door,
I’m a crime suspect. Add to this the recently coined “White Caller
Crime,” where scared White people call the police because they think an
innocent Black person is doing something non-innocent, and it’s a marvel
that any of us achieve at all.
The rate of abuse? Between one and five skin-color-instigated incidents
per week, for every week of my life. White people must have known
explicitly if not implicitly of this struggle. Why else would the
infamous phrase, “I’m free, White, and 21” even exist? Here is a
compilation of that line used in films across the decades. Yes, it’s
offensive. But in America, it’s also truthful. Today’s often-denied
“White privilege” accusation was, back then, often-declared.
The deadly LA riots associated with the Rodney King incident are often
remembered as a response to the beating. But no. Los Angeles was quiet
for 13 months afterward. Everyone had confidence, as did I, that the
video was just the kind of evidence needed to finally bring about a
conviction in the abuse of power. But that’s not what came to pass. The
riots were a response to the acquittal of the four officers in the
incident, and not to the incident itself. And what is a riot if not the
last act of helpless desperation.
The 1989 film by Spike Lee “Do the Right Thing”, which explored 1980s
Black-White-police tensions in Brooklyn, New York, ends with a
dedication to the families of six people. Eleanor Bumpers (age 66),
Michael Griffith (age 23), Arthur Miller (age 30), Edmund Perry (age
17), Yvonne Smallwood (age 28), and Michael Stewart (age 25). All are
Black. One was killed by a White mob. The rest were unarmed and shot by
police or otherwise died while in police custody. All deaths occurred
within the 10 years preceding film, and all occurred in New York City.
None of the police-induced deaths resulted in convictions, as continues
to be true for 99% of all police killings.
We know of these events because they each ended in death. But even so,
back then it was only local news. Was this just NYC’s problem? I asked
myself. I also wondered, for every police-related death anywhere, how
many unarmed victims are shot by police and don’t die, or are wrongfully
maimed or injured? Most of those cases didn’t even make the local news.
But if you lived in those neighborhoods, you knew. We all knew. For
what it’s worth, NYC now has the lowest police-caused death rate per
capita among the sixty largest cities in the US. Could it be those extra
two months in the New York Police Academy?
The corrosion and ultimate erosion of our confidence in the legal system
in cases such as these, even in the face of video evidence, has spawned
a tsunami of protests. With sympathetic demonstrations across the
United States and around the world. If the threat of prison time for
this behavior does not exist — acting as a possible deterrent — then
the behavior must somehow stop on its own.
Some studies show that the risk of death for an unarmed person at the
hands of the police is approximately the same no matter the demographics
of who gets arrested. Okay. But if your demographic gets stopped ten
times more than others, then your demographic will die at ten times the
rate. But even after we get the bias factor down to zero, there’s
still the matter of police killing unarmed suspects, White people included.
I talk a lot. But I don’t talk much about any of this, or events along
these paths-of-most-resistance that have shaped me. Why? Because
throughout my life I’ve used these occasions as launch-points to succeed
even more. Yes, I parlayed the persistent rejections of society, which
today might be called micro-aggressions, into reservoirs of energy to
achieve. I learned that from my Father, himself active in the Civil
Rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s.
In a way, I am who I am precisely because countless people, by their
actions or inactions, said I would never be what I became. But what
becomes of you if you don’t possess this deep supply of fuel? Who from
historically disenfranchised communities, including women, LGBTQ+, and
anybody of color, is missing — falling shy of their full potential,
because they ran out of energy and gave up trying.
Are things better today than yesterday? Yes. But one measure of this
truth is a bit perverse. Decades ago, unarmed Black people getting
beaten or killed by the police barely merited the local news. But now
it’s national news – even breaking news – no matter where in the country
it occurs.
So how to change all this? Organizations have surely put forth demands
for Police Departments. Here, I offer a list of my own, for policy
experts to consider:
1) Extend Police Academies to include months of cultural awareness and
sensitivity training that also includes how not to use lethal force.
2) All Police officers should be tested for any implicit bias they
carry, with established thresholds of acceptance and rejection from the
Police Academy. We all carry bias. But most of us do not hold the
breathing lives of others in our hands when influenced by it.
3) During protests, protect property. Protect lives. If you attack
non-violent protesters you are being un-American. And we wouldn’t need
draconian curfews if police arrested looters instead of protesters.
4) If fellow officers are behaving in a way that is clearly unethical
or excessively violent, and you witness this, please stop them. Someone
will get that on video, offering the rest of us confidence that you can
police yourselves. In these cases, our trust in you matters more to a
civil society than how much you stick up for each other.
5) And here’s a radical idea for the Minneapolis Police Department —
why not give George Floyd the kind of full-dress funeral you give each
other for dying in the line of duty? And vow that such a death will
never happen again.
6) Lastly, when you see Black kids in the street, think of what they
can be rather than what you think they are.
Respectfully Submitted
Neil deGrasse Tyson — trying hard to Keep Looking Up.
New York City
Illustration by Armando Veve
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Mike Werthmann
Great read.
I think about the one time in 45 years of driving I was pulled over, in
a speed trap.
I was such a prick to that officer. I let him know for the entire time
he wrote the ticket, that I deserved, how much of a waste of time it
was, and my opinions on speed traps.
I wonder how that would have went if I looked different?
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Chris Gupta replied · 4 replies
Steve Makohin
I’m watching Cosmos II (I bought it, because I love the series so much).
I always welcome you into my home, Neil. Virtually, or physically.
❤️
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Rm Sf replied · 7 replies
Dorian Gray
I look at my son and daughter with all their brilliance and hope they
will achieve to their greatest potential as you have and continue to do.
Thank you for speaking in this moment.
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Lilyann Majella replied · 17 replies
Darian Ross
I love you brother. You have brought so, so, so much to humanity and
this world. You are a treasure and gem to mankind.
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Zak Brown replied · 5 replies
David Thomas Devine
I like the idea of forcing police to have parades with full honors for
anyone who they unlawfully kill ... it would reinforce that they, as a
group, respect innocent victims of their actions as much as they respect
each other.
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Rm Sf replied · 4 replies
Jessica Worsley
Dr. Tyson you are unequivocally my absolute hero! I have followed you
for years, read so many of your books, and I have learned so much from
you! Thank you for sharing your perspective. As always, I can tell it
comes from your heart. Thank you for being such an amazing human being,
despite the circumstances that tried to keep from achieving greatness!
You touch so many lives and inspire so many people to be better. I am
determined to be better. I appreciate you so much! Sending love from
North Carolina!! ❤️
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Chris Gupta replied · 1 reply
Erica Helmick
I have always respected you, learned from you, and fully valued what you
had to say. But today, that respect, learning, and value has only grown.
You are a giant among men. Thank you for being you! 🖤
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Corinne DeLutis replied · 15 replies
Patricia A. Hunter
Thank you for your grace, sanity and wisdom.☮️
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Kevin Edwards replied · 1 reply
Nancy Golden
Thank you for your words of wisdom. Everyone would benefit from reading
this.
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Audrey Murphy replied · 1 reply
Blowindankerday Ondeezhoze
I truly love reading your words as well as listening to them. I like for
my son's to know that there is nothing wrong with being a well spoken,
articulate black person.
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Durell Favaroth replied · 1 reply
Michael A. Zvonar
Initial evaluation of bias, and cultural training and sensitivity are
vitally important... but I think renewal training, or continuing
education and evaluation are equally important.
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Elizabeth Quirk replied · 7 replies
Timi Heiser
Thank you, Neil. Your words always inspire.
I would like to add one more suggested policy you might want the experts
to consider:
Hold police officers to the same if not more stringent standard as they
do citizens when those officers break laws. If 3 ordinary citizens had
been sitting on Mr. Floyd's back at the time of his death, you can be
assured that all of them would have been arrested immediately. Why we
don't do the same for police officers who have sworn to uphold these
laws is a tragic injustice.
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Wanda Hughes
As a white person I am appalled and heartsick that this has to keep
happening in our country to our citizens. I'm a child of the 60's and
simply can't get my mind around how anyone, any person feels they have
the right to take someone's life due to the color of their skin. Thank
you for what you have written here.
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Rimesh Solari replied · 4 replies
Sarah Davis
I love listening to you talk about the cosmos, you are a thoughtful,
eloquent, and beautiful storyteller. This reflection is just as powerful
as what we’ve come to expect, and I’m really glad you shared it. It
gives us some great perspective to think about.
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Michelle Denise
I'm sorry. I know this is a serious topic that must be addressed.
Discourse not discord, but all I see is the sexiest astrophysicist to
ever breathe thus far. Thank you for sharing and weighing in on this
incredibly volatile subject.
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Adam McCool replied · 4 replies
Pat Haynes-Burton
You have been my hero since the first time I discovered you on TV...
Your color or mine has nothing to do with it.. In fact, I think you are
a handsome man. One time I saw you talking to children and instead of
talking down to them, you sat on the floor and talked with them... They
were treated with respect and interest.. You have a great mind and I
just want to say .. You are still my hero..
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Patti Graham
I am in awe of You, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and have loved seeing and
hearing you speak. This piece is incredible and I see a book here. That
you must write. The world must hear from you and everyone else. This
time I have a bit more hope that things are different this time finally.
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Cee Marie
Beautifully written, as always. Thank you, Neil. I’ve been waiting to
hear what you had to say, because you are a hero in our family. ❤️
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Ehud Bar-Niv
I would also suggest trying to partner up police officers with other
police officers of different ethnicity. The more diverse your team of
colleagues is - the more naturally you see the person in front of you
rather than the stereotype.
I've once read a paper about how diversity among teams of healthcare
professionals improves each professional's skills in making the right
diagnosis, and when I think about law enforcement, it seems to possibly
be even more obvoius.
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Brian Weiser
I don't see people by the color of their skin. I see them by their
heart, passion for life and the friendship they bring to the table.
Nobody should ever have to experience prejudice. Maybe one day we will
finally reach that point.. It will be a difficult road ahead to get
there. But one can hold out hope.
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Ellen J. Landp... replied · 8 replies
Greg Moj
You, sir, are a national treasure. Thank you for this and for everything
you do to educate and enlighten.
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Ian Firla
Shared with my children who adore you. Thank you for all of your
teaching and clarity of thought. You do so much for humanity.
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Jennie Persephone Wilson
Wonderfully stated. We all have some soul searching & learning to do.
I’m keeping my eyes & ears open to learn how I can advocate for others.
Thank you.
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Linda Berndt replied · 1 reply
John Steffen
You should deliver a speech! Every politician and police percient needs
to hear this! Thank you for sharing such a heart felt piece Dr. Tyson!
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Cathy Pederson
Words of wisdom eloquently expressed. Thank you for trying to help make
this a better world for all. I hope the shift is truly as palpable as it
feels.
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Pam Schrieber
Thank you kind Sir. I will admit I read your article through tears, it
was beautifully stated. Keeping Looking Up. 🌌🔭
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Sharon Symington
It’s refreshing to read articles of substance that share insight and
encouragement. Leadership comes from many quarters and rarely from
politicians.
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Aaron LeRoy
I'd add to this list of demands, separate, civilian investigations for
misconduct or complaints. Having it internally in the police force is
ineffective. You cannot have the accused's friends investigate impartially.
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Dan McCormick replied · 1 reply
Monica Montgomery
Gov. DeWine of Ohio suggested Police Officers should be licensed, like
Nurses, Doctors, Lawyers or Teachers, and undergo rigorous training to
earn that license. He suggested a state review board, like the State
Board of Education, to issue and oversee licenses.
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Marjorie Castle replied · 12 replies
John Hall
Beautiful. Thank you for these words.
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--
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
