On Feb. 21, 36-year-old “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was arrested on a felony charge of disorderly conduct in relation to evidence that he orchestrated the assault he reported to Chicago police in late January. The charge and consequent arrest came after two brothers, Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, claimed Jussie paid them to stage the attack.
There has been a lot of speculation about Smollett’s motive; two prominent theories suggest Smollett was dissatisfied with his salary on “Empire,” and he felt there was an underwhelming reaction to a threatening letter he received (which he is also being accused of sending) a week before the alleged attack. Regardless of his motive, one thing is certain: the exploitation of racism and homophobia for personal gain is utterly despicable. If these allegations are true, Smollett should face the utmost accountability for his actions. However, myself and many others do not regret believing him.
The prevalence of hate crimes has increased over the past three years, largely (or entirely) due to the increase of damaging racial rhetoric sweeping the country. Studies have observed that “hate crime victims often do not trust that reporting will help them.” This kind of deep distrust is at play in Chicago, a hub of violence against black people, where the police have proven time and time again that they should not be trusted when it comes to protecting black lives.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who is black, said of the hoax, “Why would anyone, especially an African-American, use a noose…to further his public profile?” Though Superintendent Johnson is not wrong to highlight just how despicable Smollett’s exploitation of a symbol of extreme violence against black people in this country, the Chicago PD has no right to claim a higher moral ground.
The CPD is 14 times more likely to use aggressive force against young black men than their white peers. This includes fatal shootings, such as the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in November 2015. The murderer, former CPD officer Jason Van Dyke, was only sentenced to 81 months in prison. The damage the CPD has done to countless black lives vastly outweighs the impact of Smollett’s alleged lies.
It is also important to note that a disproportionate amount of resources were put into solving the Smollett case, while a great number of cases still remain unsolved by the CPD. Superintendent Johnson remarked, “I just wish that the families of gun violence in this city got this much attention because that’s who really deserves the amount of attention that we are giving to this particular incident.” Chicago has a homicide clearance rate of approximately 17%. People such as Rashad Pratt, who was fatally shot sitting in his SUV over seven years ago, will likely never get justice. But that’s not Smollett’s fault. The CPD has deep-rooted issues that need to be fixed, and Smollett should not become a scapegoat.
I will say one final thing to those “concerned” that Smollett’s alleged hoax will make it less likely for other people to be believed: black people have never been believed by the majority. This alleged hoax only gives an excuse to bigots, those who stay complacent and anyone else in between to keep on not believing their stories. When black people share their stories of discrimination and violence, they are dismissed and often blamed for what happened to them. Why do you think it took decades for R. Kelly to be arrested?
I will continue to believe those who speak out about hate crimes and other violence perpetrated against POC and other minority groups in this country. Smollett’s appropriation of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan did not change what it represents: unadulterated ignorance and hatred. Do not let one allegedly false report diminish the chance of justice for the real victims.
