Justice For All

Nakiyah Jones
Sep 1, 2018 · 5 min read
Photo by the Guardian provided by www. All4buggin.com

Don’t shoot! The loud pleading voices of yet another semi-innocent man is all too familiar in this country. A body laying on cold cement oozing dark, red blood is too familiar in this country. America, land of the free, home of the brave, yet police continue to cowardly kill innocent black people instead of protecting them. In some cases laws were broken. In some cases officers did have just cause for pulling the victim over. However, overusing powers is a direct contradiction to the men and women who they are supposed to protect and serve. The victim a black male and the killer a white officer. What makes this murder so different from an everyday killing? The killer will live life freely while the family suffers from a loss and no justice brought to their situation. Wearing a badge doesn’t make anyone above the law.

Picture by voices of Detroit

Minorities in the United States are unable to have a voice for everyone to hear, so in 2013 as a response to the Trayvon Martin shooting done by George Zimmerman Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi all created a movement centered around black people called #BlackLivesMatter. This movement globalized the effect and impact of black lives about how things are not equal. According to a Harvard Gazette article written by Liz Moreno in 2015, an adolescent by the name of Michael Brown was killed by white police officer Darren Wilson. The officer was acquitted by the jury after a long trial and justice wasn’t served for Brown’s family. After the incident a huge uproar broke out, the family and friends were protesting because of the racial tension taking over their neighborhood. That Monday the president of the University of Washington resigned in response to the wake of student protest because of the violent act.

Expressing a point may be easy for some but when you are not privileged it can be hard to be heard. NFL player Colin Kaepernick understood this. Therefore, he used his talent and status not only to fill stadium seats but to give a voice to the voiceless by silently protesting. Unfortunately, due to a peaceful fight for his race he opted out from his contract. Justice for all is what America teaches our children when reciting the pledge every day in school. However, there is no justice in our social systems and racial classes. Yes, everyone is treated differently, but there is a fine line of how whites are treated and how blacks are treated. Kaepernick, a peaceful protester shut down for standing up in what he believed in is a prime example of how America is putting on a facade for everyone that believes in the “American dream’’. If it were really the land of the free, then black people wouldn’t get gunned down because they had on a black hoodie or going to a gas station. Black people would be able to protest peacefully without the white supremacist and police officers plotting their attack. If the U.S. was the land of the free Kaepernick would still have his NFL career silently kneeling during the pledge.

https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/kaepernick-kneel.jpg?quality=100&w=650

Living in America isn’t what it seems if you’re not the typical white male or female. According to Snopes.com black people are more likely to be targeted when getting stopped by a police officer a lot more than white people. America continues to parade around and say they are the home of the free and serve justice for all, when there is no justice for minorities. Some may argue that the movement is degrading other races and saying it doesn’t matter however, the movement is showing the rest of the world what black people all around must go through and the struggles they face when dealing with the law and society. Because of slavery black people may never have the same and equal opportunities as the white do but it is worth the fight.

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The reason on why I choose this topic is because I am tired of seeing no justice brought upon situations that if the skin colors of the suspect and victim were switched the outcome would be different. The way that the justice system is set up allows white police offers to kill and torture innocent black citizens and get paid leave or acquitted as a consequence. Letting them know that it is OK for these things to happen because the results won’t be bad at all. Victor white a young man from New Iberia, Louisiana was wrongly arrested and put in the back of a police car in response to a police call regarding a fight that he was not involved in. On the way to the police station Victor supposedly shot and killed himself while handcuffed in the back seat. Mysteriously, all the dash cameras were not recording in the car at the time of the “suicide”. People including myself and Victors family questioned how a handcuffed man that was searched and patted down before entering the cop car, could possibly shoot himself in his chest. And as a result of this Houdini suicide Victors father hired a lawyer and demanded the sheriff office to conduct an investigation. After numerous trials and protest from family, friends, and supporters Whites murder was ruled a suicide though there was no evidence to prove it. Seeing situations like this shows me that the law has little to no regards for black lives and it is sickening to know that these white cops get away with murder. I imagine many of these cases as if they were my own if it was my dad, brothers cousins, or uncles being killed by someone who is suppose to protect us from harm. Getting no justice and living with that hurt while the white officer gets to live freely with paid time off as if it were a competition. Imagine if it was your situation how would you feel?

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