This is going to be unlike any article we’ve written to this day. A major shift has taken place this past week in light of the murder of George Floyd. Rebellion and political disruption are paving the streets because the peaceful protests we’ve tried before no longer stick. As Malcolm X once said, “So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”.
- Aiyana Jones, 2010
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Two days prior, a high school senior was shot and killed on Detroit’s east side and the police received a search warrant for the house where the suspect was thought to be hiding. On May 16th, officers arrived at the wrong house and threw a flash grenade through the front window. The grenade weakened Officer Joseph Weekley’s vision when he entered the house. Mertell Jones, Aiyana’s grandmother, says she reached for her granddaughter when the grenade came through the window and never made contact with the officers when the shot was fired. Aiyana Jones died of a gunshot wound to the head. Officer Weekley was retried twice and all charges were dismissed. She was seven years old.
- Jonathan Ferrel, 2013
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Former Florida A&M player Jonathan Ferrell was 24 years old when he crashed his car and knocked on local resident Sarah McCartney’s door for help. This woman called the police and three officers came. Jonathan ran towards them and one of the officers fired a taser but missed. Officer Kerrick then opened fire and shot Jonathan 12 times and killed him. Officer Randall Kerrick was never indicted for voluntary manslaughter the state of North Carolina didn’t retry him.
- Tamir Rice, 2014
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On November 22, 2014, a 9-1-1 call was placed on someone who was “pointing a pistol” at random people in Cleveland, Ohio. The caller stated twice that the gun was “probably fake” and he’s “probably a juvenile”. However, when Officers Loehmann and Garmback spoke to dispatch, there was only mention of the additional information. The two officers arrived at the scene and saw a black boy pick the gun up and put it in his waistband. The officer got out of the car and told Tamir to put his hands up, but Tamir reached for the gun in his waistband instead. Two shots were fired at him despite no verbal or physical threat being made. It was found that the “gun” was an AirSoft replica belonging to Rice. The next day, he died in the hospital. Tamir Rice was 12 years old. The two officers involved were only placed on administrative leave and were not indicted.
- Breonna Taylor, 2020
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26 year old EMT Breonna Tayler and her boyfriend were asleep in their Louisville apartment when three plainclothes officers entered the home with a search warrant in a drug case. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, called 911, grabbed a gun and fired which resulted in a shot to an officer’s leg. Officers are said to have “blindly fired” more than 20 shots into the apartment; eight of those shots killed Taylor. Walker nor Taylor have ever been convicted of any crime. The three officers involved were reassigned until the investigation furthers.
Along with George Floyd, countless innocent black lives have been and continue to be taken from negligent police officers. At this time, we are not fighting against white people. We are fighting against the unjust system that was built to drag us down. We are fighting against the shackles of oppression that have restrained us from progressing. Colin Kaepernick peacefully protested and he was fired. How long should we wait for change to come? This is a call to action for black people and allies reading this. Do not stay neutral for others’ comfort. Here, you will find ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement and other black movements at this(both financial and non-financial). Together, we can dismantle oppression and change the status quo. Remember: Black lives should always matter.