A JOURNALISM STUDENT RESPONDS TO A JOURNALISM DEAN’S BOGUS REPORT: My response to Dorothy Bland’s column, “I was caught ‘walking while black:’”

I believe Dorothy Bland fabricated the situation into something that it never was and certainly never intended to be. The dash cam video shows the cordial interactions and between two Corinth police officers and Dorothy. They simply bring to her attention that she’s walking on the wrong side of the road impeding traffic which is a safety hazard. In the police chief’s response article Debra states, “Impeding traffic is a class C misdemeanor, and it is our policy to ask for identification from people we encounter for this type of violation.” The police officers had valid reasoning for all their actions. The issue wasn’t race. The issue was Ms. Bland walking in the street vulnerable to being hit by a vehicle that she would’ve never seen coming.

I am not blind to the fact that racial profiling happens on a daily basis in this country. It absolutely happens, and it’s a sad reality. Dorothy’s reaction to this could very well be fueled by all the incidents that legitimately depict racial profiling, but her case seems like a desperate plea for attention. As a prominent leader who represents UNT I would expect Dorothy to respect the officers enough to know they were merely protecting her. The dash cam footage shows nothing but a polite interaction, which is far from the column she wrote for the Dallas Morning News. . . . I’m not sure what will happen next but as a journalism student I’m agitated that Dorothy holds the position of our dean. After the way she’s handled herself, she is undeserving of the title. Although she’s bringing poor attention to my university, I will not let her discredit the degree I worked so hard for.

It advanced a preferred Democratic narrative, so it’s “journalism” enough.