We have essentially gone from being communities that were policed by people from the communities to being communities that are policed by strangers, and that's no longer a community: that's an area that's under siege.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the shift from community-based policing to policing by outsiders, which undermines the sense of community.
Killer Mike's quote reflects on the evolution of community relationships and law enforcement, suggesting that when policing is conducted by those unfamiliar with the community, it transforms the social fabric into one marked by fear and distrust, rather than collaboration and support. This shift signifies a loss of community identity and solidarity, equating the environment to one of siege rather than belonging.
In practice
In a community meeting discussing local safety measures.
I have searched all night and day for new and better words that could express my feelings and fear for the people of this country. I found no new words. I only have no hope-filled insight to deliver. I only have this warning to all Americans: Whatever this country is willing to do to the least of us, it will one day do to us all.
The way you start to break down systemic racism is to start building individual relationships with people who are not like you.
We have a responsibility to do better as black people in this country. I don't care how white people look at you - I care that we have a one-trillion-dollar spending base, and if you want to see change, you have to start to focus on, economically, how can we change our communities.
Government should fear the people, not the other way around.
I have hurt my community. I have to look myself in the mirror and know that, and I have to own that in order to grow past that.
I just need the junkies and the liars and the thieves,_x000D_ _x000D_ I need the pimps, prostitutes and pushers out in the streets._x000D_ _x000D_ That's where I'm seeking God, cause that's where He found me.
We must delight in each other, make others conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body.
The key to community is the acceptance, in fact the celebration of our individual and cultural differences. It is also the key to world peace
I'm building shopping centers and movie theaters in the inner cities. So that means supplying jobs and letting blacks understand that we have to build our communities back, not looking to anybody else.
In any democratic, civilized - even non-democratic nations, if you are a nation, it means to say that in our case, if there's a hurricane in Louisiana, the people of Vermont are there for them. If there's a tornado in the Midwest, we are there for them. If there's flooding in the East Coast, the people in California are there for us.
Our rural communities are the heart of our state and too often lack equitable access to housing, transit, and economic opportunity, so I'm deeply committed to working in Washington to reverse that trend in Georgia.
In community work, you reach some people, but in writing, I can reach many more people, not only in exploring issues of domestic violence, but also by showing the importance of strong women in communities.
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