Commentary: Cleveland protest again casts spotlight on U.S. racial discrimination, injustice

Merely a month after streets in Baltimore witnessed a riot following the wrongful death of a black man, indignant people in Cleveland, Ohio, are taking to the street to protest the acquittal of a white police officer for fatally shooting two blacks, both unarmed, during a chase.

On such occasions, the protestors, though expressing their anger in different ways, raged against the injustice for exactly the same reason: the U.S. law enforcement seems to have a stubborn bias toward certain racial groups and police officers are more likely to abuse power in dealing with these groups.

The protestors started to gather in Cleveland on Saturday soon after the non-guilty verdict on patrolman Michael Brelo was handed down.

Brelo was one of the 13 officers who fired up to 137 shots at the car of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams and caused their deaths. No officers except Brelo was charged in the incident.

Police have already arrested scores of the protestors in Cleveland, claiming "things got violent and the protesters refused to disperse."

It is easy to understand why police officers are on edge: They know too well that a largely peaceful rally coming against such a backdrop could quickly turn into violent clashes as have happened before in Ferguson and Baltimore.

The death of a black person, as a result of police brutality, is always a powerful reminder for his peers, who often feel despised and deprived, that they must put on a fight before the same ill fate befalls them.

Though the United States loves to brand itself as a land of freedom and equality, it is still looking for a way to bridge the profound division between the white and the minorities, without any promising answer in sight.

It is undeniable that racial discrimination against African Americans or other ethnic minorities, though not as obvious as in the past, still persists in every aspect of the U.S. social lives, including employment, housing, education, and particularly, justice.

According to a study by the U.S. Justice Department, some 400 people die every year in violent civilian-police clashes, with a quarter of the cases involving white police officers and black people, and the death toll of the black people in these cases are almost two times higher than that of the white police officers.

There is also a disproportionate ratio in terms of police officers' ethnic backgrounds, with an estimate showing that 70 percent of police officers on local levels in the United States are white.

The fact is that for a black child born into a poor family, his/her chance is very limited to get good education, find a well-paid job and be accepted by the "mainstream society".

The frustration and dissatisfaction against the established social structure among young black people will pose a threat to the stability of the U.S. society.

When people develop no trust in a system, it will not be respected or obeyed any more. And to make it worse, the U.S. politicians seem to be hardly enthusiastic about fixing the policies that may lead to glaring racial disparities. Endi