In the past two years, there have been two instances where the lives of innocent teenagers have been taken over nothing. Both 17 year old Trayvon Martin and 18 year old Michael Brown were killed by Caucasian males despite the fact that they were both unarmed at the time. Both shootings have created unrest within the African American communities across the country, and if justice isn’t served for the victims we will never see a period of peace and rest within those communities.
Michael Brown was the 18 year old son of Michael Brown Sr and Lesley McSpadden. Brown was a recent graduate of Normandy High School, a school with a high poverty rate, in St. Louis, Missouri and was to attend Vattercott College two days after he was slain. He lived in
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The night following Brown’s shooting, police dressed in riot gear came to break up an unruly crowd following a prayer vigil held in Brown’s memory. The following day, officers had to resort to using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a massive crowd at a local convenience store that had been burned down and looted earlier. On August 13, the local government instated a mandatory curfew due to the reoccurring violence from the preceding days. I don’t believe the protesters are justified in looting the stores in the area, however I do believe they are justified in protesting the local government on not providing justice for the situation. Whether Michael Brown fought the officer or not, he still had his hands up when Wilson’s gun was drawn. When someone’s hands are up in the air that usually means they are surrendering themselves from the situation. The autopsy shows that with the way the bullets hit his body, he was more than likely in a hands up position. This is the second time fatal violence against and unarmed black teenager has occurred, the first being Trayvon Martin. With the way that case turned out, it’s safe to infer that Wilson will face no justice for shooting Brown. Our government claims to “protect” us under law, however it fails to do its job. We aren’t honoring Michael through the violence and looting, but we are through the peaceful protests in order to gain justice for his
The killings of unarmed black men have increased tremendously with different races to blame for. In January 2011, the life of Justin Patterson was snatched from him and his family by Mr. Neesmith, who only served in prison for one year. How do you think the community of Toombs County and Justin's family feel about him only serving one year in a detention center? Many people protested that the racial issues behind his travesty caused an upstir in the world, including the murder of Trayvon Martin that just recently happened in Florida during that time. However, Justin Patterson's murder did not make national news or even in the papers because most people thought he was just another dead man.
Stated by John Ramsey, “As I was walking through the basement, I opened the door to a room, and knew immediately that I’d found her because there was a white blanket- her eyes were closed, I feared the worse but yet- I’d found her” (Bardesley, and Bellamy). On December 26, 1996, one of the most famous, unsolved murders took place in Boulder, Colorado (Christopher). The murder caused many events including accusations, interrogations, false claims, and examining of evidence. The case also caused the Ramsey family to go through a hard time. The murder of JonBenet Ramsey was very shocking and caused a huge investigation that is yet unsolved.
There were no charges made against officer Wilson even with the suspects that claimed Michael Brown didn't do anything wrong . Police brutality has made black people take a stand and they formed the Black Lives Matter Movement.The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2012 after George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community, shot and killed Trayvon Martin. Following Martin’s death protests, rallies, and marches were held all across the nation. The Black Lives Matter movement includes all the ways in which black lives are less powerful at the hands of the state, it is a call for action against brutality by police and vigilantes, people who take the law into their own hands by trying to catch or punish someone in their own way. Politicians are also trying to straighten gun laws to prevent homicides like Bernie Sanders. Sanders wants stricter background checks so guns won’t be in the wrong hands. He also wants to ban assault weapons to citizens that were made to kill people. I personally think this can help improve our nation because it will give people with a criminal history less chances of owning guns but it also gives a right to people without a criminal background to be able to own guns for their own
Is people going to forget what happen in Ferguson? How about George Zimmerman being proven not guilty? Or that Eric Garner was screaming “ I can’t breathe” before his death? There are lists of African Americans all over the world who were not given the justice that they deserved. In todays, news African Americans are being treated unfairly compared to any other demographic groups. America is the greatest country in the world, but it is difficult to believe that being in the 21st century racism still does exist. For instance, when it was time to remove the confederate flag, some demographic groups had a hard time letting go. People who argue that “blue lives matter,” which states that police are justified when using force and being unfair. These reasons are not justifiable enough to kill someone. Black Lives Matter alleges that police target and use
The family of Michael Brown wanted justice for their son in which they felt was an unjust shooting. His mother was quoted expressing mistrust towards the police, "You 're not God. You don 't decide when you 're going to take somebody from here.” (McLaughlin, E. C. (2014, August 15) The family was obviously hurt by the shooting and wanted justice and support. The community began protesting the shooting and Officer Darren Wilson. Chaos broke out in Ferguson and a State of Emergency was issued. The community felt that the shooting was unjust and did not trust police officers. The community response to the shooting often attracted attention and made many political statements. Darren Wilson’s family were interested in maintaining his innocence. They hoped that the investigation would prove to the world that Wilson acted out of self-defense and did not violate Brown’s rights. The Criminal Justice system’s interests all hoped to create reforms and eliminate racism in police departments. On the local level many had to maintain safety in the community and assure proper police procedures. The state had to step into issue curfews and State of Emergencies to keep the state safe despite protests and riots as well as make sure Darren Wilson did not violate any laws of the state of Missouri. The state also hoped to create reforms to better race relations. On the federal level was the investigation which hoped to find out if the
On December 14th 2012, just 11 days before Christmas, an awful tragedy happened in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were shot at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This awful event left a lot of unanswered questions and rumors about that day. The reason for that is because the shooter killed himself after shooting twenty young children and six adults. This tragedy open the eyes of everyone; made you want to hug your loves one just a little tighter, appreciate what you still have and never take a day for granted. Even our president Barack Obama felt the pain of all those who lost their loved ones in this event. He insured everyone that he will do everything in his power to make sure a tragedy like this will not happen again. However, did you know that there have been over 44 school shootings since the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary shooting? I know as a future teacher and mother I want to make sure my children are safe in this world and even at school. I want to be able to make a difference in this issue and have some knowledge to have I can do that. The society should understand what really happen during the Sandy Hook event, the reasons behind why school shootings/violence are rapidly increasing each year, and have some knowledge about what we, as a society, can do to help in order for us to start seeing a decrease of these events.
Today there are many controversial subjects discussed throughout the media. One of the most discussed is race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, I came across an article titled “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’”, written by The Editorial Board. The article was published on September 3, 2015, to the New York Times. In the article, The Editorial Board writes about what they believe African Americans are facing as challenges in society today, including the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The Editorial Board is right that some African Americans have been treated unfairly, but all ethnicities have been. Life is a precious thing that comprises all ethnicities. This brings us to ask; why
Freddie Grey, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Eric Gardner, Jordan Baker.These are just some of the many, many African American people that were killed by the police, all unarmed, all mistreated by the police, all shot and killed, without a crime.. Every twenty-eight hours a life is lost. There are hundreds of innocent lives that are being taken away from their families. Police officers, who are meant to protect and serve, are instead killing and abusing civilians. These outrageous crimes would be avoided through accountability of the police, use of body cameras at all times, and the use of social media.
In 2014, the death of Eric Garner in New York City raised controversial conversations and highlighted the issues of race, crime, and policing in neighborhoods that tend to be poor and racially isolated. Garner, an unarmed black man, was killed after being tackled and held in a “chokehold.” According to the AP Polls in December 2014, “Police killings of unarmed blacks were the most important news stories of 2014.” The problem is that young black men are targeted by police officers in which they have responded with the misuse of force and policy brutality. It is evident that this issue affects many people nationwide. The civilians do not trust the police department and the justice system because they hold the perceptions that police officers are immune from prosecution despite their actions. In particular, black individuals, specifically black males, do not feel safe in the presence of police officers because they are not held accountable for their mistakes.
We can claim that we are outraged and upset, but if we nothing, we just look like mad lazy black people. To me outraged is when you no longer can take anymore, and I just do not see that here on campus. Those who are outraged were at the rally, they made posters, they joined in on the march, they follow the story, they make sure the story is well heard, and they are willing to help and support our community to ensure this does not happen again. We can all claim that we are outraged, but our actions must match. I feel as if police are killing our future doctors, lawyers, and educators, and they do not even know it. As we watch videos of young black men being gunned down in class tears always come to my eyes. Tears come to my eyes because I know that I have a brother, stepfather, and uncles who will one day have an encounter with the police. Those who have died to police brutality are too my brothers and sisters, and so are other young black men and women, and it saddens me that they are dying due to black on black crime or due to police brutality. Just as I would go crazy if it was someone I knew, I am going crazy for Walter Scott, Trayvon Martin, and others who have suffered due to police brutality. Just as my heart would ache if it were my brother or uncle, my heart aches for Walter Scott because he did not deserve that. Without body cameras or a brave eyewitness such as
Bang! The sound of a bullet being fired from a gun. To some, a sound of protection and safety, to others sheer agony and pain, and to some unlucky few the last sound they will ever hear. One of these unlucky few happened to be Tupac Shakur on the fateful night of September 7, 1996 at approximately 1:30 a.m. Unfortunately for Tupac he had to listen to a flurry of 15 bullets, some of which buried themselves deep into his chest, while the others ended up in the side of his car. Thus, the saga had come to a tragic close, as was presumed by the media, but in actuality it was just beginning to reach its often-publicized climactic end. Initiating the story of the east coast, west coast battle, which came about through the on-going confrontations between Bad Boy Records from the east and the infamous Death Row Records, who resided in the west (Ro, 288).
It should never be a case that a harmless, unarmed person must lie down on their back, die and receive no justice for us to want to get up and support racial equality. We must rebuild the Black liberation movement. We have to promote racial equality when African American children are serving years in jail for possession of marijuana, but privileged White children get 6 months on a rape charge. We have to also promote the minor injustices in the Black community; we cannot wait until the next death to decide we want to speak out. We have to take action now to speak out for the rights and freedom for all people. To give the next generation, who may even be your own children the benefit to not have to fight this fight of racial inequality and they could have the opportunity in seeing everyone as
Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement, originating in the African American community. It campaigns against violence toward black people and has become a uniting call for an innovative chapter in the black freedom fight. The clearance of Trayvon Martin’s killer in 2013 and the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 stimulated this movement. Black Lives Matter isn’t just about the loss of Black lives; but mainly about the lack of consequences when African American lives are taken by Caucasian officers. The question is; do black lives truly matter to those that claim to protect it? The answer is no they do not because the movement’s alleged “peaceful” protests continuously
The inexcusable violence toward a specific race sickens the citizens of the United States. This uprising bears many similarities to the French revolution. Both the French peasants and black people in America have dealt with injustice from people of a higher class than themselves. Many murdering police officers walk free, like the nobles who also killed without much thought or retribution. Both groups of revolutionaries have dealt with some members of the revolution spinning out of control. In Baltimore, fires have happened and store robberies occur that have direct links to people protesting the police. The French Revolution had people killing for no real aside from personal vendetta. Finally, the only way to end these protests and problems with the police is by the United States government acknowledging the pain that this group of people faces and provide them with compassion and solutions. As Mahatma Ghandi said "An eye for an eye will leave everyone
One of the most prominent grassroots movements currently at work in the United States is, undoubtedly, the Black Lives Matter movement. A multifaceted reform movement, it tackles the issue of institutionalized racism against black people in the United States. The movement began as a hashtag on Twitter in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Treyvon Martin case. Zimmerman shot Martin to death, claiming it was in self defense as he felt the young man looked threatening because it was dark and he was wearing a hoodie. He was acquitted of both manslaughter and second degree murder. Activists felt that this case was an extreme example of how little value black lives seem to have to the greater community. How could a young, unarmed black person get shot and killed while the white person who shot him simply gets to walk away? This all started as an anti-racist