Black History Month police cruisers spark backlash online

At least two police departments — one in Columbus, Ohio, the other in Miami — are celebrating Black History Month in a way some observers are not happy with.

The Columbus Division of Police unveiled its “History 1” cruiser this month designed in colors and symbols reflecting Black pride and culture. A short video shared by the department on Twitter shows the cruiser with red, black, yellow and green stripes behind the words “Black History Month” on the front and side and the Martin Luther King quote, “Be the peace you wish to see in the world,” on the rear window. The video includes audio of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

The cruiser is aimed to “celebrate the achievements of African Americans & recognize their roles in our history,” a tweet by the police department read. It also said that citizens should stay on the lookout for the cruiser as it patrols through their community and neighborhoods this month.

More than a thousand miles south, in Miami, the city’s police department introduced its own Black History Month-themed car on Thursday, according to the Miami Herald. The vehicle is decorated in red, yellow and green with symbols of Black fists and an outline of Africa. A ceremony took place in Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood in Miami, while police honored the first Black men to join the force in 1944.

Some Twitter users also shared articles about Black police officers experiencing racism within Columbus’ police department, while others expressed concerns over the department’s spending habits — with one user tweeting, “Imagine cops spending however many thousands on THIS instead of say — spending public resources to house, feed and meet peoples basic needs.”

Sgt. David Scarpitti, a public information officer for the Division of Police, said its cruiser is decorated regularly to commemorate other holidays and events, including LGBTQ Pride Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Veterans Day.

“The City of Columbus and the Division are proud to celebrate African American history and the achievements made by so many men and women of color during the month of February,” he said to NBC News in a statement. “In the days after unveiling ‘History 1,’ we have already been approached by members of the community to have this cruiser be part of several upcoming Black History Month events.”

More than a thousand miles south, in Miami, the city’s police department introduced its own Black History Month-themed car on Thursday, according to the Miami Herald. The vehicle is decorated in red, yellow and green with symbols of Black fists and an outline of Africa. A ceremony took place in Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood in Miami, while police honored the first Black men to join the force in 1944.

While the two police departments aim to celebrate Black History, many on social media are not happy, calling their efforts a form of cultural appropriation while others cite police violence toward Black people in both cities. The new vehicles appeared  days after protests around the nation followed the release of police bodycam video of Tyre Nichols being brutally beaten and arrested by Memphis police three days before he died of his injuries.

One Twitter user flagged an article published November 2021 by The Columbus Dispatch finding that Black residents were disproportionately targeted with use-of-force by city police. The study, which analyzed data from 1,128 incidents, found that while Black residents make up only 29% of Columbus’ population, 52% of Black people were subjects of police use-of-force.

In March 2020, Miami police aggressively arrested several Black spring breakers, which the NAACP called an act of racism. One person criticized the look of Miami’s police cruiser, saying that the design missed the mark.

“It’s about recognizing the accomplishments of Black people,” the user tweeted. “Not celebrating we were stolen from Africa to then be frequently thrown in the back of these cruisers.”