On November 22nd, 2014, a 911 caller reported to the Cleveland Police Department that someone, probably a juvenile, was pointing a "pistol" at random people at the Cudell Recreation Center. The caller emphasized twice that the gun was "probably a fake". The information about the gun being fake and the person of interest being a juvenile was never relayed to the officers responding to the call.
Surveillance video later showed the person of interest paced around the park, occasionally extended his fake gun. He conversed on his cellphone as he sat on the picnic table inside of a gazebo. A patrol car sped through the park and stopped abruptly by the gazebo. The person of interest reached for his waist and an officer stepped out of the car and shot him from a distance of fewer than 10 feet.
The person shot was 12-year old Tamir Rice and he was killed for playing with a toy gun. In another video, it showed that the officers apprehended Rice's 14-year-old sister, forced her to the ground, handcuffed as she watched her baby brother bleed to death. Rice was never provided any first aid by the police officers at the scene. After a Grand Jury Investigation, it was determined that the officers involved in the shooting were not charged. The Rice family lost their son and were robbed of any justice.
The death of Tamir Rice and George Floyd adds to the tragic collection of stories where unarmed black Americans are murdered at a terrifying rate. It adds to the tragedy where the victims of these unjust killings rarely find justice. Often times, when these incidents are covered on the news, a frequent comment that's made, is "Well if only they complied, they would not be dead today."
In the majority of the instances where the victim complied, they were unjustly killed by the police officer. Surveillance video showed the moments prior to Mr. Lloyd's death where he complied with the police officer. At no moment leading up to his death did Mr. Lloyd resist arrest. Philando Castile complied when he disclosed to the police officer that he legally carried a firearm in 2016 after he was pulled over. His fate was decided by the police officer who discharged his firearm into the car with a child in the backseat. Last year, 1004 people were killed by the police. Of which, 234 of them were Black Americans. From year to year, the data consistently shows Black Americans killed at a frightening rate with little to no accountability for the law enforcement involved in those killings.
Protests erupted in Minneapolis and around the country in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. I believe we must condemn the conditions that lead to these rebellions. Those who rebel have legitimate grievances with those who are in power. They are frustrated with those in power who have been unwilling to get justice for the unjust killings in our nation. They are frustrated by the fact that African Americans are disproportionately targeted by police officers and incarcerated. They are frustrated by a government-sponsored war on drugs that devastated the black community, created a school-prison pipeline, and widened the racial inequality between Black Americans and White Americans.
With the eyes of the entire country on him, Colin Kaepernick peacefully took a knee to highlight police brutality and racism in America. Mr. Kaepernick's peaceful protest was met with heavy criticism from everyone including the President of the United States who called him a "son of a b— ". Mr. Kaepernick's peaceful protest resulted in him being barred from playing professional football in America.
If a peaceful protest does not enact change, then what can black Americans do to fight racism in America?
Protests have many forms and rebellions are a common form of protest that has been done throughout history. It is a form of protest done when the injustice experienced has reached its breaking point. From the Bread Riots during the French Revolution to the Boston Tea Party, rebellions are a form of protest done to highlight legitimate grievances. Only social and economic justice can quell the fire that has seared through our nation. America cannot boast to the world about our openness and equality while our own are disproportionately subjugated to injustice. We cannot continue to be the country where the killers of Tamir Rice are free and continue to escape the righteous hands of justice.
