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This year's nationwide protests demanding racial justice and an end to police brutalitysparked by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black Americansinspired a proposal from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that critics worry will lead to more bloodshed: expanding the state's controversial "stand your ground" law with his drafted "anti-mob" legislation.

The Miami Herald reported Tuesday on the draft, which traces back to promises DeSantis made earlier this year "as he tried to deliver Florida" to President Donald Trump. The presidentwho ultimately won the state but lost the election, though is still refusing to concede to President-elect Joe Bidenhas come under fire for his own forceful response to the protests.

DeSantis' administration has circulated an "anti-mob legislation draft" among Florida lawmakers since his public statements in September, but no related measures have been filed in the state legislature. However, local attorneys are already raising alarm that the proposal "allows for vigilantes to justify their actions," in the words of Denise Georges.

Georges, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor who handled "stand your ground" cases, told the Herald that "it also allows for death to be the punishment for a property crimeand that is cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot live in a lawless society where taking a life is done so casually and recklessly."

As Democrats scold progressives about "defund the police," the governor of the 3rd biggest state by pop. is pushing an "anti-mob" law that critics say will legalize the killing of suspected looters and will punish cities that try to reduce police budgetshttps://t.co/tVEgmnWmIr pic.twitter.com/3pHqTWKIeD

Hamza Shaban (@hshaban) November 10, 2020

Florida passed its "stand your ground" law in 2005and other states, encouraged by the National Rifle Association, followed suit, enacting measures that effectively say people have no duty to retreat before using deadly force to defend themselves. The Florida measure garnered national attention in 2012, after George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in a gated community. Zimmerman's acquittal the next year sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Zimmerman's attorney did not raise a 'stand your ground' defense at the trial," the Washington Post noted in 2014. "But after the trial a juror acknowledged that jurors had discussed the self-defense law before finding Zimmerman not guilty. The law also changed the standard instructions to jurors in homicide cases, so that the judge said that Zimmerman had no duty to retreat and could stand his ground if he felt threatened. (The law may have also played a role in the initial failure of the local police to prosecute Zimmerman.)"

DeSantis' proposal goes even further than 2017 changes to the law that make prosecutors prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that a defendant wasn't acting in self-defense. As the Herald detailed Tuesday:

The proposal would expand the list of "forcible felonies" under Florida's self-defense law to justify the use of force against people who engage in criminal mischief that results in the "interruption or impairment" of a business, and looting, which the draft defines as a burglary within 500 feet of a "violent or disorderly assembly."

Other key elements of DeSantis' proposal would enhance criminal penalties for people involved in "violent or disorderly assemblies," make it a third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest, offer immunity to drivers who claim to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters who block traffic, and withhold state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement budgets.

Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb told the newspaper that "the Boston Tea Party members would have been lawfully shot under Florida's law by the British East India Tea Company."

"It dangerously gives armed private citizens power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes 'criminal mischief' that interferes with a business," Webb said. "Someone graffiti-ing 'Black Lives Matter' on a wall? Urinating behind a dumpster? Blocking an entrance?"

Webb and Georges were far from alone in criticizing the GOP governor's proposal. Critics warned it could lead to more violence by vigilantes like the white teenager charged with killing racial justice protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August and urged DeSantis to instead focus on the coronavirus pandemic that continues to ravage his state.

Florida @GovRonDeSantis has drafted anti-mob legislation to expand Floridas dangerous Stand Your Ground law, which could allow armed vigilantes to shoot alleged looters or anyone engaged in criminal mischief that disrupts a business. #flapol https://t.co/IARLIAb8Gp

Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) November 11, 2020

another case in point of how #gunpower is a settler colonial system of social control and social reproduction that delegates the power to kill in a flexible, decentralized fashion so that individuals can kill to "defend" themselves and a broader order of racialized inequality https://t.co/2hvtN8cwXb

inverted vibe curve: burgertown must be defended (@PatBlanchfield) November 10, 2020

more seriously this draft legislation is basically an attempt to give official state sanction to would-be kyle rittenhouses

b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) November 10, 2020

Hospitalizations for #COVID19 continue to rise.

More Floridians are filing for unemployment.

Small businesses and our tourism economy continues to struggle.

Expanding Stand Your Ground should not be the priority, @GovRonDeSantis. https://t.co/TJuPfIkCmo

Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) November 11, 2020

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, retired Miami-Dade homicide prosecutor Reid Rubin, Miami defense lawyer Phil Reizenstein, and Melba Pearson, a civil rights attorney and former deputy director of Florida's American Civil Liberties Union, all shared concerns about the proposal with the Herald, while others on social media described the draft legislation as "legalizing lynching" and "legalizing murder."

As digital rights activist Evan Greer put it: "This is basically just a license for white people to kill protesters."

Read this article:
DeSantis Responds to Racial Justice Protests With Expanded 'Stand Your Ground' Proposal Slammed as 'Legalized Lynching' - Common Dreams

Roya Row, Kyla Graham, Loida Navas, Norman Anthony Thatch, Itzhak Matos and JJ Javier interact while riding a subway ride during the first act titled Colored by Winter Miller on Oct. 30, 2020. Screenshot by Alejandra Aguilera.Asia Herbison and Emmanuel Odaibo act as a married couple whove witnessed a crime in Night Vision by Dominique Morisseau on Oct. 30, 2020. Screenshot by Alejandra Aguilera.Loida Navas reacts to Emmanuel Odaibo diagnosing her character with having a fear of Black people in No More Monsters Here by Marcus Gardley on Oct. 30, 2020. Screenshot by Alejandra Aguilera.Topher Ngo sings as George Zimmerman with Norman Anthony Thatch as Trayvon in The Ballad of George Zimmerman by Dan O Brien and Quetzal Flores on Oct. 30, 2020. Screenshot by Alejandra Aguilera.

The sound of police sirens approaching from a distance may comfort some, but to others its a noise associated with anxiety of potential brutality.

This is a common theme in the Los Angeles Pierce College Theatre production of Facing Our Truth: Short Plays on Trayvon, Race, and Privilege, directed by performing arts professor Shaheen Vaaz. Its a collection of six, 10-minute plays written in response to Trayvon Martins death in 2012.

The opening night performance on Oct. 30 was a slow burn featuring aspects of realistic fiction and true events, leaving viewers uncomfortable with the realities people of color experience in America.

In Colored, writer Winter Miller takes the historically offensive term literally. Each character is identified as a color: Blue (Roya Row), Green (Loida Navas), Purple (Kyla Graham), Yellow (Norman Anthony Thatch), Pink (JJ Javier) and Red (Itzhak Matos).

When they interact during a subway ride, the conversation becomes a competition of who is more oppressed than the other. As the play progresses, it becomes more difficult for them to sympathize with one another, resulting in a threatening confrontation.

Its a long-winded 10 minutes with heavy dialogue that attempts to create three-dimensional characters with their own experiences on inequality. Despite this, its evident the actors have taken the time to craft their roles into living people.

Some of the strongest performances are in Night Vision by Dominique Morisseau. Pregnant couple Ayanna (Asia Herbison) and Ezra (Emmanuel Odaibo) witness a man physically assaulting a woman, but because of a broken street light, they arent certain of the perpetrators race when reporting it to 911.

Herbison and Odaibo portray anger and guilt so realistically that it feels as if the audience is eavesdropping on a private conversation. Their tone and volume control is precise in dramatic effect while the pair emotionally discuss why Black is the default race people think of when a crime is reported.

Its a raw performance that takes advantage of the limited time by presenting the reality of what Black people encounter in America.

In Some Other Kid, writer A. Rey Pamatmat illustrates three ways people respond to injustice with monologues. Elissa (Eadan Einbinder) remains optimistic with hopes of inspiring others to act with kindness by placing her original sticker designs throughout her neighborhood.

Owen (Itzhak Matos) understands why marginalized groups may respond with violence through a metaphor of a cat scratching in defense. While Andre (Norman Anthony Thatch) has a bleak outlook by blaming stupidity on injustice.

The most fulfilling monologue is delivered by Matos, who takes the audience on an anecdotal journey that exudes confusion in the beginning but ends with successful symbolization.

The fourth play No More Monsters Here by Marcus Gardley is distressing to watch. Rebecca (Loida Navas) is diagnosed with having a fear of Black people by her doctor (Emmanual Odaibo).

But there is an experimental cure: wear a hoodie and live as a Black man. Rebecca does this and experiences the murder of a friend, job inequality and eventually turns to selling drugs for income. During one of her nightly deals, she is followed and is shot.

Navas bloody screams of complete fear are deafening. Pictures of slain Black people whose last view was staring down the barrel of a gun flash before the audiences eyes.

She wakes up, taking the hoodie off her body. Shes back in her doctors office, unharmed, crying about how unfair it is to attach faces to the names that circulate on news cycles of real Black people who died at the hands of law enforcement.

Although this play has elements of comedy, it presents the grim existence of police brutality.

Equally perplexing is The Ballad of George Zimmerman by Dan O Brien and Quetzal Flores. It recounts the true story of George Zimmermans acquittal on the death of Trayvon Martin through an experimental method of spoken word and song.

Zimmerman (Topher Ngo) sings segments of the real 911 call made to report his suspicions on Martin (Norman Anthony Thatch). During his performance, Ngo plays a guitar to accompany the play and to symbolize the gun that fatally shot Martin.

The audience cant help but feel anger toward how Zimmermans case was handled: house arrest and the return of owning his pistol that murdered a 17-year-old.

In the finale, a mother (Kyla Graham) worries about her sons (Norman Anthony Thatch) wardrobe in Dressing by Mona Mansour and Tala Manassah. It reveals an involuntary and wicked dance that mothers of Black children do to protect their children from harm

Graham performs a heartbreaking monologue that shares the vulnerability Black men in America have confronted since the origin of this country. And despite a mothers best effort to dress their children in non-threatening clothing such as button down shirts, its just a useless shield.

Music starts to fade in, its Ella Fitzgeralds Strange Fruit from 1954. Despite the decades that passed since the poem depicting the lynching of Black people was written, the harsh reality is that Black people are still in danger to this day.

Its the most difficult pill to swallow, but LAPC Theatre needs the audience to. Photos of mothers mourning the lives of their dead children because of racism and police brutality fill the screen: Emmett Till, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and George Floyd.

These were lives that were brutally ended and are still being protested for by people demanding justice through movements such as Black Lives Matter.

Facing Our Truth: Short Plays on Trayvon, Race, and Privilege is about the ugly reality that America tries to sweep under the rug: racism is alive and present.

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Six degrees of social justice - The Roundup News

MIAMI (CBSMiami) Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan announced Wednesday that she will be hosting a street renaming event in honor of Trayvon Martin.

The naming of the Miami street will be held Thursday, November 5 at 10 a.m. at 1655 NE 205th Terrace.

The County Commission on Oct. 6 adopted Commissioner Jordans legislation to codesignate Northeast 16th Avenue from Ives Dairy Road to NE 209th Street as Trayvon Martin Avenue.

Martin was a teenager who lost his life after being shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012.

Martin was shot dead in Sanford, at 17 while on a visit with his father. The teen was unarmed and walking back from a convenience store with candy when he was confronted and shot once by George Zimmerman.

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Zimmerman was acquitted under Floridas controversial self-defense law. The Black Lives Matter movement emerged after a Florida jury decided to clear Zimmerman in the shooting death in July 2013.

Commissioner Jordan, who sponsored the resolution, said the teen had mechanical skills, knowing how to build and fix dirt bikes and wanted to go to college.

See the article here:
Trayvon Martin Avenue To Be Dedicated In Miami - CBS Miami

More than five months into protests against racism and police violence, Dallas activist Tramonica Brown has seen turnout dwindle.

As the founder of the Not My Son nonprofit focused on police accountability and reform, shes not all that surprised that some people have checked out from the movement.

Anytime something big happens, everybody comes out, Brown said. One, people come out to be nosy. Two, people come out because they want to be seen and they want to think that theyre a part of a movement. And the all-time favorite: They want to take a few pictures and say Hey, I did my part for today.

But she said fewer protesters doesnt mean the support for dismantling systemic racism isnt still widespread. Her organization has shifted its attention toward getting people to the polls, hosting voter drives and other events. Brown said she still sees allies of different racial backgrounds doing work that helps the movement.

I dont consider it a decrease, because I see allies doing the right thing: building up Black people to where they should be, not to the placement of where America would like for us to systematically fall, she said.

Pew Research Center surveys show public support for the Black Lives Matter movement surged in June amid worldwide protests after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyds neck and killed him. That increase included a swell in support among white people, according to Pew. But a few months later support returned to its pre-June level.

In North Texas, Brown said, the movement against racism and police violence is at a different point than a few months ago. Worries about coronavirus and the election mean the protests occupy a smaller place in peoples minds.

As a result, she said, major events such as a Kentucky grand jurys decision to issue no charges in the killing of Breonna Taylor in September, didnt draw as much outrage as they would have a few months earlier.

Still, Brown said protesters' energy remains strong with or without the massive support they appeared to have several months ago.

Those white allies were not allies that we had to begin with, Brown said. They were just there as an extra body. They helped fill up space.

Black Lives Matter is a decentralized movement, founded in 2013 by three Black organizers after George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.

According to Pew, 55% of respondents supported Black Lives Matter in a 2017 phone poll conducted nationally. That figure rose to 67% at the height of protests in June. More white people than ever before including 37% of white Republicans said they at least somewhat supported the movement then.

But both of those figures dipped in Pews most recent survey, which was released in September.

Support among whites dropped to 45%, and as low as 16% among white Republicans. Support among Latinos also declined by 11 percentage points, and by six points among Asian-Americans. Support among Black respondents rose to 87% adding one percentage point since June.

Its not just support from white people thats waned, said Dwight D. Watson, associate professor emeritus of history at Texas State University. But he said whiteness in particular allows some to detach from other races' historic moments.

Whiteness gives people the ability to slip in and out of things that other people cant, Watson said.

Watson said individuals' dispositions towards social issues such as racism are heavily influenced by their parents. And since white people dont undergo life on the same terms as Black people, theyre able to check out from movements when they perceive their own privilege to be at risk.

Youre out protesting about police brutality but youve never been a victim of police brutality, Watson said. So, the selfish part of your human nature steps up.

Researchers describe race as just a part of the conversation. Politics also play a role in shaping public opinion, said Juliana Horowitz, associate director of social and demographic trends research at Pew and one of the studys lead researchers.

As with many things that we study, this is very much a partisan story, Horowitz said. We see that frequently, not only in studies of race, but gender and pretty much any social or political issue that we talk about.

Those national trends apply in Texas, said Kenneth Bryant, a professor of political science at the University of Texas at Tyler.

According to a Dallas Morning News-UT Tyler poll released Oct. 25, 72% of Texas Democrats said they had a favorable view of Black Lives Matter, while 83% of Republicans did not.

President Donald Trump has denounced Black Lives Matter, decrying the movement as being violent and destructive, although studies show only a small percentage of protests have resulted in violence or property damage. Democrat Joe Biden has been more supportive, while still distancing himself from some political ideas voiced at some protests, such as defunding the police.

Bryant also found that some respondents reacted negatively to certain slogans but responded more positively to the ideas behind them.

For example, the poll, conducted Oct. 13 through 20, asked whether respondents supported or opposed defunding the police. Only 25% of respondents said they supported the idea at all, and 60% said they at least somewhat opposed it.

But when the survey reframed the idea as cutting some funding from police departments to increase spending on social services in your community, 37% of respondents said they at least somewhat supported the idea, with 49% voiced at least some opposition.

Bryant suspects that a similar phenomenon may be occurring with the phrase Black Lives Matter.

"I gather a lot of white people differentiate between the organization of Black Lives Matter and the idea that Black lives matter,' Bryant said. Some people agree with the notion but disagree with the negative projections that have been put upon the movement.

Across North Texas, protest organizers have seen that shift play out in different ways.

For example, in Plano, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest in recent months.

Cheryl Jackson, who organized one of those rallies in June, said that she hasnt seen much of a decline in support but that the prolonged effects of the pandemic have been a barrier to change.

COVID-19 stopped all of the movement, said Jackson, the founder of Minnies Food Pantry. I hate that because this is an opportunity for our country to take our conversation about race relations to the next level.

One day before her protest, people staged a demonstration against racism and police violence in the streets of Waxahachie.

Lillian Ayro, a Black business owner and pastor who spoke at that event, called it one of the most remarkable days of her life.

We began to have dialogue; we began to have conversations, she said recently. It was refreshing to hear that conversation going on with my white sisters and white brothers.

Ayro said many of the allies she knows have remained steadfast in their support. She pointed to a Facebook group, of which shes the only Black member, where white women share resources to educate themselves on systemic racism.

Still, she said some people in her community get caught up in leveling unrelated accusations and false equivalencies while ignoring Black Americans' four centuries of accumulated pain.

I think what they forget is that this thing has been going on for so long, Ayro said. People have been silent for so long, and the Black community has been dealing with it for generations and generations.

Brown, the founder of Not My Son, said whites may not see the generational trauma racism has caused.

White people werent hung in front of their mothers and their children, Brown said. (They) dont have to pass by or hear about hanging trees that used to exist.

When protests ramp up again, Brown hopes the people who show up do so because they truly want to see the pain of Black Americans healed.

Fifty years from now, we can be in the same place, Brown said. Thats not good enough. We dont accept that. We want the same respect that you would want had it been you, had it been your ancestors.

CORRECTION, 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 5: This story has been updated to remove a photo of a person who is not a subject of the article.

Read more:
Support for the Black Lives Matter movement has decreased significantly since June, local and national polls - The Dallas Morning News

Over the summer my social media feeds, and hopefully yours as well, was full of posts about how to support black writers and creators. In the process I stumbled upon Bullets Into Bells, a free eBook that contains a collection of poems about gun violence. I picked it up on Apple Books in September and have been amazed by the people of colors names Ive never heard. Maybe you have never heard of them either. With that in mind, I am writing this in hopes of memorializing the victims so you will know their names. Even more, as the Internet has echoed for the last 226 days since the murder of Breonna Taylor, I write this in hopes that you will say their names and demand justice.

Tahar Djaout

Tahar Djaout was an Algerian poet and journalist who was gunned down in the summer of 1993 in the streets of Algiers. He died a week after being shot at the age of 39. His killers, a terrorist group, admitted that they killed Djaout because he wrote of progression within minorities.

Djaouts best work to summarize his life is the statement he wrote, If you speak, you die. If you keep quiet, you die. So, speak and die. Djaouts sentiment plays on what most of us have seen throughout the Black Lives Matter movements life can end, but what was said before and after it is forever.

Tamir Rice

Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old boy walking down the sidewalk with a toy gun when he was brutally murdered by the police. An onlooker originally called the police to report someone who was probably a juvenile was wielding a gun, but then stated it probably was not a real one.

Tamirs mother Samaria Rice says that he was an all-American kid, and writes, When I lost Tamir, I lost a piece of myself. No police have been charged on the shooting that occurred November 22, 2014. As a result, neither Tamir nor Samaria Rice have received justice. Its been 2,164 days.

John D. Morant

Antonius Wiriadjaja was 30 years old when he met John D. Morant. Wiriadjaja himself had just been shot in Brooklyn, when Morant, a barber in the area, saw him on the street and applied pressure to keep Wiriadjaja alive. Wiriadjaja writes, I tried to keep in touch, but, a year after my shooting, John went away to see family and friends in the South. I called him up and got no answer.

In June 2014, Morant himself was shot to death in the back in a South Carolina trailer park. He left behind a job he loved at his brothers barbershop in New York.

Eric Garner

Eric Garner had been arrested 30 times when he was caught yet again by police. This time in July 2014 was because he had been accused of illegally selling a single cigarette. When Garner resisted arrest, New York City policeman Daniel Pantaleo held Garners head down until he died as Garner protested, he was failing to breathe.

The video, filmed by an onlooker, was shown to a jury who voted Pantaleo was innocent later that December. There has been no justice for Eric Garner. Its been 2,293 days.

Michael Brown

Michael Brown was shot in Missouri two days before starting college. It was August 9, 2014 when he and his friend allegedly stole a pack of cigarillos from a convenience store. The pair fled the scene when they were caught up to by police officer Darren Wilson. As they were running, Wilson began shooting. Brown was shot six times three times in the arm, once in the eye, once in the skull, once in the neck, and once through his chest. A grand jury voted Wilson was innocent. There has yet to be justice served for Michael Brown. Its been 2,270 days.

Philando Castile

Philando Castile was driving through a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota in July 2016. Castile was pulled over by Officer Jeronimo Yanez for a brake light that was out. Castile immediately admitted to Yanez that he had a firearm in the car, but Yanez said that he misread the statement as a threat. Yanez turned to get his license out and was shot.

The entire exchange was livestreamed by Castiles girlfriend on Facebook for ten minutes. Mr. Yanez was fired, but the jury found him not guilty. There has been no justice served for Philando Castile. Its been 1,573 days.

Stephon Clark

On March 18, 2018, a yearlong investigation was launched to understand the shooting of an unarmed black man. Stephon Clark, 22, was shot seven times in Sacramento, California in his grandmothers backyard. Police received word that a man had broken car windows, and while looking for the perpetrator, decided Clark was him.

A year later in March 2019, the investigation concluded that Clark was innocent, not guilty. Even worse, the two police officers that shot him were found not guilty, too. There has still been no justice served for Stephon Clark. Its been 995 days.

Breonna Taylor

Breonna Taylor died in her own home on March 13, 2020 when she was shot eight times by police. She was in bed around 12:30 a.m. with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when they heard what they thought was burglars. Policemen Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove claim that they knocked on the door several times and announced their presence, but multiple neighbors stated that this was not true.

On September 23, 2020, a grand jury indicted Officer Hankison for wanton endangerment, which basically means he was only guilty for sending a bullet shot through the neighbors wall. There has been no justice, however, for the taking of Breonna Taylor. Its been 235 days.

George Floyd

In a manner that relit the flames of the Black Lives Matter movement, George Floyd was brutally killed after a police officer took a knee on his neck.

On May 25, 2020, Floyd was leaving a convenience store when the cashier believed the 20-dollar bill he used to pay with was counterfeit. The police were contacted, and upon arrival Officer Thomas Lane drew his gun immediately. Floyd was not compliant until he was put in handcuffs, in which case afterwards he did as he was told. He got on the ground, and Officer Derek Chauvin put his knee against Floyds neck. A witness began videoing as Floyd stated he couldnt breathe, and that he was going to die. The eight-minute video has been viewed billions of times. Chauvin was later arrested for second degree murder.

Justin Howell

At an Austin, Texas Black Lives Matter protest in May, Justin Howell was standing next to a protestor that threw a water bottle at a crowd of police officers. An officer fired back with beanbag rounds, one hitting Howell in the head. He suffered a fractured skull and brain damage. Howells brother Joshua has said that his recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint.

Since it is unknown which officer shot, it is rather difficult to know which is responsible. As a result, there is no justice for Justin Howell, who was simply exercising his right to protest. Its been 156 days.

Sean Monterrosa

In a small northern city of San Francisco, an unarmed 22-year-old black man named Sean Monterrosa was shot by a policeman. Monterrosa was protesting outside of a Walgreens when officers responded to a call about looting. Detective Jarrett Tonn assumed Monterrosa was looting, and shot at him through his own truck, not a city-owned police car. Monterrosa went to his knees and raised his hands.

Surveillance footage then suggests Monterrosa was shot. There has been no justice served. The June 2 killing occurred 155 days ago.

Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland had moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Prairie View, Texas to pursue a job opportunity in the summer of 2015. When she was pulled over by Officer Brian Encinia for a routine traffic violation, he asked her to put out her cigarette. Bland replied, Why do I have to put out a cigarette when Im in my own car? Encinia then commanded her to get out of the car, and following her refusal, he opened the car door, grabbed her, and attempted to pull her out. He then threatened to tase her, so she stepped out.

The two then walk around to the other side of the car. While they cannot be seen on the dash cam footage, a bystander filmed Encinia and a female officer standing over Bland. Bland is on the floor stating she cannot hear and that she is epileptic. Encinia replies, Good. Bland is said to have committed suicide in prison three days later, but rumors, as well as an HBO documentary provide context on how Encinia may have killed Bland and made it look like a suicide.

Encinia was later charged for perjury, not for the distress caused to Bland and her family. There has been no justice served for the pain brought to Sandra Bland. Its been 1,939 days.

Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin was an African American teen walking home from the convincing store when he was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. George Zimmerman shot the 17-year-old on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman had called a non-emergency line of the Sanford police, which advised him not to follow Martin. He did not listen and shot the boy. Martin had been visiting his father, made a trip to buy Skittles and a bottle of juice, and was murdered. Zimmerman was prosecuted for second-degree murder on April 11, 2012.

Freddie Gray

In April of 2015, Baltimore saw the death of Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. Gray was arrested in the Gilmore Homes Housing Authority by three police officers on bike patrol. An hour later, a medic was called due to Gray being unconscious and not breathing. A week later, on April 19, Gray passed away due to a cervical spine injury.

Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez stated a week later, We have no evidence, physical or video or statements, of any use of force. Protests began on May 1, 2015. Two years later in court, the officers were found not guilty over the mysterious death of Freddie Gray. There has been no justice served for him. Its been 2,026 days.

Akai Gurley

On November 20, 2014, Akan Gurley was walking down the stairwell of his apartment complex with his girlfriend in Brooklyn when he was shot. NYPD officer Peter Liang was a rookie policeman when he was patrolling the area and was startled by Gurley walking down the stairs. Prosecutors stated that Liang was reckless and did little to help the dying victim. Liang was subsequently fired and convicted of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct.

The names mentioned here are only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many others who havelost their lives to gun violence and police brutality. It is up to us to take care of the next generation by electing officials that will ensure police brutality and gun violenceis closer to ending. Every bit of change starts with us, the American people, and we must show up for each other and stick up for one another.

Sources

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/15/minute-minute-account-breonna-taylor-fatal-shooting-louisville-police/5196867002/.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140613/bed-stuy/man-who-saved-bed-stuy-gun-victim-shot-death-south-carolina/.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-officials-decline-prosecution-death-freddie-gray.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/florida-teen-trayvon-martin-is-shot-and-killed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52861726.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/08/sean-monterrosa-body-camera-video-police-killing.

http://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/us/austin-texas-police-bean-bag-20-year-old-injured/index.html.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40357355.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30350648.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30207808.

http://www.thecut.com/2020/09/breonna-taylor-louisville-shooting-police-what-we-know.html.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47430090.

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Say Their Names - BVU The Tack Online