By Minnie Larry
As the nation mourns the passing of Civil Rights hero, John Lewis, we are left somewhat bereft. The question has now become who will pick up the torch and continue the race that Lewis leaves behind? The human rights race and the race for equal justice for the very people whom unwillingly became woven into the fabric of an unfamiliar land. The people whose ancestry is entangled in chains, lost to the bottom of the sea. America, in all its greatness and glory has yet to come to terms with or recognize Black people as its homologous brother. An indoctrination which has endured for the past 401 years.
“Black Lives Matter,” a rallying cry against the very nature of America’s treatment of its bargain chattel, has recently taken aim at this standardized status quo. This statement, a demand for equal treatment, has taken center-stage forcing the country’s move toward equality.
This movement was prompted by the unethical and barbaric treatment of a Black man being detained by police. The viral video dominated headlines, showcasing the brazen disregard to human life at the hands and knees of the police. The sheer torment of this man set off a firestorm of protests, crossing ethnic, racial, and religious lines. Eight minutes and 46 seconds was the time it took to lift the veil of systemic racism in America. George Floyd’s death has galvanized people both nationally and internationally. Floyd’s death made visual the secret and illicit affair between law enforcement and the Black community.
In Washington DC, the mayor spear-headed one of the largest artistic motifs’, bringing attention to the very place laws and legislation are written. It is in the nation’s capital where we had the chance to speak with D.C. native and the two-time WBO boxing trainer of the year, Barry Hunter, to get his thoughts about the changing paradigm Black people are facing.
Mr. Hunter, the famed cornerman behind local three-time world champion, Lamont Peterson, is also the professional trainer of the Headbangers Boxing Gym out of Bald Eagle Gym in Ward 8, one of the toughest and economically challenged areas in the city. Hunter is world renowned in the boxing community and is a long-standing champion to the DC metro area, for his charity and work with troubled youth. Hunter begins our interview by reflecting on the past and where he sees this reinvigorated Civil Rights movement heading.
Q&A
Hunter: I want you, if you have the chance… I believe it was 1988 or 1989… I can’t remember… I want to say 1988. My wife, (then girlfriend) and I were denied a hotel room at the Red Roof Inn. Construction is my background and I was working seventeen-hour shifts, working the Metro Greenline. So, I went to the motel and was denied. The reason for denying me was that I lived to close to the motel. There had been a lot of violence in the area pertaining to drug dealing, and that was the excuse they gave me. That was the first time I made a stand.
Hunter: My wife, I told her what was happening [and] she asked me to take her to the hotel. She wanted to see it with her own eyes. So, we went to the motel. They told her the same thing and actually called the police on her. So, we ended up suing them. The people sent a white tester and a black tester [with] the same ID, same address, only thing that was different were their faces. They [Red Roof Inn] told the black guy the same thing they told me, and they let the white man stay with no questions asked. So, I’ve been part of this freedom fight thing for a long time. Now 32 years later, we are still dealing with the problem.
According to a November 29, 1992 New York Times article, “’NO LOCALS’ RULE FUELS MOTEL SUITS, the couple had stumbled on an infrequently used security measure employed by operators of small hotels to discourage illegal activity on their property. But at the Red Roof Inn and another motel in the area, critics say, the rule was applied unevenly to blacks and whites. the couple filed a racial discrimination complaint against Red Roofs Inns. Inc., a national chain of 209 motels, first with a state civil rights agency and then in Federal District Court. In October, after a four-year battle, they settled the lawsuit for $37,000 to cover damages and lawyers’ fees.”
Minnie: You said earlier that you’ve been a freedom fighter for a long time. How did you continue your fight for justice and equality after the lawsuit?
Hunter: We had been beat down so much by these police officers, and to be honest with you, they weren’t all white. Some of the brothers who were police officers were worse than any white person. At one point, I wanted to join the police. My mission was to join internal affairs. To be able to police the police because I saw it [abuse] too many times and I’ve been a part of it too many times. So, in my late teens when I started getting pulled over, I had a little bit more knowledge than when I was much younger. So, I knew the questions to ask.
Minnie: With knowledge comes power?
Hunter: …and the lack thereof will make you weak. I had [police] whip guns on me for no other reason than for who you are and what you look like. I’ve been through it all. I’ve seen my first shooting at 14, living in the projects. The crazy part of it, Minnie, I started to become numb to the point it was almost regular to me. You fight and fight so much you know. What’s the endgame?
Minnie: I understand. Police abuse is not a new phenomenon to the Black community, but the visceral response from Floyd’s death has sent American society into a communal roar. What are your thoughts or reaction to Floyd’s death?
Hunter: To the family that lost their loved one, it’s a terrible thing. When I see this brother on the ground struggling for his life; three on his back, one on his neck and a fourth watching it. You hear, “someone should call the police!” Those were the police. Who do you go to?
Hunter: People are frustrated as hell and crying out, been crying out and nobody is listening. I would like to thank our White brothers and sisters, Latino brothers and sisters, all our Asian brothers and sisters, our brothers and sisters from the Middle East. This outraged everyone, if not now, then it will never be. How much more can you take? This change is only going to happen, [when] we make it happen. This is the time now to change this thing around. Don’t let up. They have ignited something that needed to be done for eons and the momentum is on their side. This is a diverse group of people. This is not just one group of people, this a lot of people all pulling in the same direction for the same exact thing.
This is different now, I’m gonna go back to 68.’ Everybody was hurting because of King [who] already had a great impact on that city [Washington DC]. In fact, it’s about five, I want to say between five to seven years ago [that] they have just rebuilt a lot of the area that was burned in 68.’ The difference between that one [riots] and this one is everybody knew who Martin Luther King was; was nobody knew, not even the brother that lost his life, how great his life would become in death. In death! Most people go through life not knowing their purpose in life and I doubt very seriously if he or his family knew that he was gonna be that sacrificial lamb, that would ignite this revolution that’s being televised. This cat, not knowing that all along he was a hero.
Minnie: As a society where do we go from here?
Hunter: All your prominent entertainers, actors, singers, your people that have that stage and platform to speak at a greater level, at a greater volume than you and I do. This is not the time to sit on the sideline and wait until this fight is over, to decide who is going to win or lose. You got to get in it right now. You are either with it or against it. It’s just that simple.
Hunter: I think the young brothers and sisters out there, (you) know even the ones who lost their way, they still have a chance to turn around. Educate yourself, know your history, know the history of the people who have oppressed you. Educate yourself, become doctors, become lawyers, turn this whole thing around. You and I standing in front of the tape with mere stones is not going to [make things] happen. If we get inside where the controls are, we can take it in any direction we want.
Hunter: I want them young people to know I have been a freedom fighter for years I’ve been about young people for years; it won’t stop until I lose my breath. We are in the midst of change; we cannot go back, but push forward.
