since the shooting and killing of michael brown in ferguson by a police officer and other tragic incidents between african americans and police in facetoface encounters and the subsequent protests a national dialogue on race relations has begun once again race relations forgetting ferguson remembering 1967 contemplating the future the imagery of the giant brutish kingkonglike black man threatening our cities is far from new currently it seems to be intersecting dangerously with another popular rhetorical image the obese person who is responsible for his own frail unworthy body this intersection was especially on display in eric garners case eric garner and the value of black obese bodies