I am writing regarding the distasteful political cartoon published about the killings of black men. That cartoon perpetuates the racist notion that because Blacks are capable of killing each other, any violent crimes they suffer from anybody else is excusable.

The controversy over this article stems from a simple debate. Do Black lives matter? They do. Yet, apparently the Post Searchlight thinks their lives can be laughed about and degraded. To further analyze the “joke” around the cartoon, let me ask you why you think that tragic instances of gun violence in black communities makes it okay to justify extrajudicial executions?

The difference between Black on Black crime and Blue on Black crime is how only one of those criminals actually faces a courtroom, much less any consequences. It also has something to do with how implicit bias is factored in to how some police officers interact with people of color, which has been proven in report after report from the Justice Department.

To ignorantly deny this is to push an agenda, which journalists and editors like yourself should be above. I am disappointed in my hometown newspaper, and I hope that this incident leads the Post-Searchlight to reevaluate their personnel and content choices in the future. The community deserves an apology, and this is your opportunity to take responsibility for your careless reporting.

Sincerely,

Emily New

Los Angeles, California