On September 16, 2016, Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby was on her way to a domestic violence call when she noticed a vehicle stopped in the middle of the street. Upon approaching it, she encountered motorist Terrence Crutcher. After a three-minute exchange, Shelby deduced Crutcher was armed and dangerous, possessing a gun that was readily accessible inside the vehicle. According to Officer Shelby, Mr. Crutcher was non-compliant, and although he had been tased by another officer on the scene, Shelby believed deadly force was the only viable option for responding to him. Per her attorney Scott Wood, during her interview with homicide detectives, Shelby said, “I was never so scared in my life as in that moment right then.”

In retrospect, the victim did not display any particularly aggressive behavior or a weapon. So what was the source of Betty Shelby’s irrational fear towards Terrence Crutcher, an unarmed father of four? It was ebomaphobia (pronounced ee-bo-ma-fo-be-a), a specific form of discrimination directed towards Black males, historically labeled as racism.

Ebomaphobia (ebony, male, phobia) is defined as the irrational, persistent fear and anger towards Black men and boys. Ebomaphobia has long been a source of violence against Black men and boys, painting them as a constant threat. Ebomaphobia has led to the murders of thousands of Black boys and men, and has shaped the American justice system and law enforcement.

After great public outcry, a charge of first-degree manslaughter was brought against Betty Shelby. During the trial, she took the stand to testify in her own defense, for which she blamed Terrence Crutcher for his own murder. She inferred that Crutcher’s race and gender justified her assumption that he was armed and dangerous.
Although he brandished no weapon and made no threats, his existence was the source of her greatest fear, as ebomaphobia positions Black boys and men as criminal elements not to be trusted, affecting them in all settings.

On May 17, 2017, after nine hours of deliberations, a jury of Betty Shelby’s peers found her not guilty of first-degree manslaughter. Though unstated, this verdict, and those like it, give ebomaphobia credence, and is the rational for such acquittals. It is the source of perpetual injustice allowing the irrational fear of Black males to persist. And in encounters with law enforcement, the irrational and persistent fear of Black boys and men justifies unfounded violence towards unarmed citizens, while ignoring the fact that white males commit the vast majority of police murders.  It ignores the humanity of Black men and boys regardless of their age, character, behavior, or any other personal factor.

If we are to see real change as it relates to law enforcement, the justice system, education, the job market, and any other social structure, we must get real about ebomaphobia. It is an essential discussion centuries in the making that we cannot afford to ignore. Ebomaphobic attitudes have claimed countless victims, and if we continue to ignore its existence, countless Black men and boys will continue to become victims in the future.