At age six, I was in kindergarten, picking flowers, painting my walls pink, and eating oreo worm dessert cups. At age six, Kameron Prescott was shot and killed by law enforcement while they aimed to kill a non-violent suspect. Officers had zero body cam footage and one officer was untrained on new guidelines. No one was charged. At age seven, my favorite color was pink, my favorite song was Super Bass and OMG and I learned every division and multiplication problem. At age seven, Aiyana Jones was shot and killed by police officer, Joseph Weekely, while sleeping on her grandmother’s couch. Officers had a warrant to raid the house next door, but had shown up there instead. He was not charged. At the age of twelve, I was playing with Bratz dolls, listening to Hot Line Bling, and getting ready for middle school. Tamir Rice was 12 when police officer, Timothy Loehmann, shot and killed him for playing with a toy gun. No one was charged. At age sixteen, I was getting my permit and my frst car. At sixteen, Ma’Khia Bryant was shot three times and was unfortunately killed for protecting herself from a group of girls trying to steal her car and fght her. No one will be charged. As a seventeen year old, I am getting ready for college and graduating. At age seventeen, Trayvon Martin was coming home from a gas station and was shot in the back for purely walking home. No one was charged.
Black and Brown adolescents are six times more likely to be killed by the police. Since 2018, officers have killed over one hundred children, twenty three under the age of fifteen.
Shockingly, police brutality is the one of the many leading causes of deaths for young men and boys. When we speak of reform, protesting the government, or demand change, what is the outcome we want ? For many years, we have been doing the same thing in a repeat manner. A child or adult would be killed or seriously injured by an officer, citizens protest, and the outcome would be that it was rightfully “justified”. Rinse and repeat. In 2020, Breonna Taylor was killed by officers in a botched raid in her apartment. An apartment that was later proved as the wrong one by their mistake. Breonna Taylor died, citizens protested, and the outcome was justified. This year, a verdict that many people wanted to come alive, was the charges held against George Floyd’s Killer, Derek Chauvin.
When I think about reform, I think about change. The change to have better educated law enforcement who care about the neighborhoods they protect and serve. A change to how the system was made. Many of the laws that were made to keep BIPOC down and unable to make money are still here today. With research, more activism,and more unity, we would be able to achieve the change that we need for our communities.
9 comments:
This piece was worded so perfectly to accurately describe how tragic all of these peoples deaths were while also finding a spot of hope for future black adolescents and adults due to Derek Chauvins charge of being guilty. Wonderful job I was really moved by this piece. -Leah Thompson
Zaejahn this post was so powerful! I love the way you wrote this. By comparing what you did at the same ages as those who were murdered you made it even more crystal clear just how heartbreaking and deadly racial injustice is in this country. You are so right, the systems in this world, and especially in this country have been stacked against BIPOC. There is so much that must be done in terms of reform and change and I have so much hope that our generation will make the changes that are so desperately needed, so that no one has unjust disadvantages or is inexcusably murdered by those supposedly there to protect. We cannot tolerate the rinse and repeat any longer, we must continue to make change using the momentum and power gained after the Chauvin conviction. Thank you for writing this piece! - Nicole Lillie
I loved how powerful this is. Everyday on the news you see more cases of police brutality and the police officers getting off the hook with no charges. It pains me to know that our police system is so broken that innocent little boys and girls were murdered. Hopefully in the upcoming years things change and that we make that change happen so that BIPOC do not have to fear for their lives when they encounter a police officer. Thank you for writing about this and your hope for change. Hopefully together it will. -Angela Carnalla
This was such a powerful message, thank you for bringing awareness to police brutality especially among African Americans. The way you incorporated such tragic events into aspects of your childhood during that time was very impactful and eye opening as a reader. As you said, It’s a serious topic that needs to discussed in order to change into a better society.
This is a very strong piece you’ve written by comparing yourself at different ages of your life to the victims of police brutality. Without the change in the system like you described these horrific events will just keep happening and the cycle will just keep going. I hope to find more people who think likewise and see our generation finally united on this matter so to make our world a better place.
Alot of the things you wrote are conflicting with some of my beliefs, but as I took the time to sit down and actually read this I really learned something new and now I have become more informed. Thank you for explaining yourself and explaining the issues currently going on in our society and our nation. If I hadn't read this essay I wouldnt have realized what true change means and how important it is to seek it instead of constantly saying we need it. You are very brave for writing this and it also broke my heart realizing how fortuate I am to be in the neighborhood I'm in and the one I've grown up in. This was amazing and has really touched my heart to actually research more and grasp things instead of automatically being bias towards things. Again thank you for taking the time to make this essay I would have never been so informed if you didnt. The question is now what are we as a nation and as a people going to do to fix these issues. I agree if we all rose up together and fought actually presented our requests to the leaders as a people change would definitely come Godwilling. _Arnold Porter
It is truly heartbreaking how they were just kids with a whole future ahead of them, and we lost them to our corrupt justice system. They deserve justice along with the other people who's stories never blew up on social media. We need to see change.
I really loved how you expressed your message about police brutality. The parts where you compare yourself at the same ages as victims who were murdered by the police is heartbreaking, and it really captured the tragic reality we live in. It is a cycle that we must work together to stop. Thank you for writing this piece.
The title of this piece caught my eye and I was not disappointed. The way that you connected aspects of your childhood to those who have unfairly lost their lives to police brutality was so powerful and when the repetition of the phrase "No one was charged" changed to "No one will be charged", I got chills. The issue of BIPOC being disproportionately being victims of police brutality is just as prevalent now as it ever has been and the first step to ending the cycle of "rinse and repeat" is educating ourselves and those who uphold the law. This was so well written and it made me view police brutality in a different way. Thank you for this and great job!
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