Below are only a fraction of men, women and children who have been killed by either a police officer or an armed citizen. Each of these victims did not posses a weapon at the time of their murder, and in all but few of the cases they lost their lives because someone "thought" they were reaching for a gun that turned out to be a wallet, cell phone or nothing at all.
This is absolutely unacceptable.
African Americans can no longer tolerate the unjustified killings of their loved ones. As a country, if we are to start any effective dialogue to end this pitiless trend we MUST admit that the fear of black skin plays a part in each of these murders. You won't find a list this long of Caucasian Americans who were either accidentally or intentionally killed by law enforcement. Why? Because no one invariably assumes they have a gun, no one assumes they're a criminal and no one assumes they're incapable of controlling their anger.
This is not a "black problem". It's an American one.
In the few cases below where unarmed African Americans were in the middle of committing a crime, we're not saying they shouldn't have been captured with all necessary force and imprisoned accordingly. A criminal is a criminal and should be handled as such. But even a criminal, should he reside in this great country, is an American worthy of justified handling, proper prosecution and a fair trial. In short, reaching toward our waistband (where 99% of wallets and ID's are stored) should not be a death sentence for African American men, women and children.
The reckless indifference and/or prejudice exercised by law enforcement and society in regard to the African American people ends today. We cannot sit idly by while these killings continue year, after year, after year. We must educate our law enforcement in this area and hold them accountable for their actions. How many more of us must die before you acknowledge the pattern and address it directly?
It takes a second to differentiate a gun from a cell phone, a wallet or nothing at all. I would argue, a life is worth that second.
