โThe poor, of whatever color, do not trust the law and certainly have no reason to, and God knows we didnโt. โIf you must call a cop,โ we said in those days, โfor Godโs sake, make sure itโs a white one.โ
We did not feel that the cops were protecting us, for we knew too much about the reasons for the kinds of crimes committed in the ghetto; but we feared Black cops even more than white cops, because the Black cop had to work so much harder โ on your head โ to prove to himself and his colleagues that he was not like all the other n******โ
- James Baldwin