To be young and black in this country doesn’t seem to be safe at all. It’s like history’s repeating itself. Always remember the victims. Don’t let their deaths be in vain.
Emmett Till, 14, was stalked and killed by a mob of white men in Mississippi in August of 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman.
Trayvon Martin, 17, was stalked and killed in February of 2012 in Florida for being an unarmed black boy in a hoodie walking in a neighborhood where a non-black man assumed he didn’t belong.
Their killers got away with it.
Tyisha Miller, 19, was killed by police after her family called 9-1-1 for help when they found her sleep in her car and had trouble waking her.
All four of her killers got away with it.
Jordan Russell Davis, 17, was killed in November 2012 in Florida because the white man who killed him felt the music coming from the car he was in was too loud.
This killer has pled not guilty; trial pending.
Rekia Boyd, 22, was killed by an off-duty policeman who was firing over his shoulder trying to hit another man.
Her killer was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Jonathan Ferrell, 24 and unarmed, was killed by police on September 14, 2013 while seeking help following a car crash.
His killer, Randall Kerrick has been indicted on voluntary manslaughter. Justice is still pending…
Renisha McBride, 19 and also unarmed, was killed on November 2, 2013 while seeking help after crashing her car.
Fortunately, her killer, Theodore Wafer, was convicted of second-degree murder.
And there are sooooo many more lynchings — yes lynchings — that have happened to black boys, girls, men and women over the past 400+ years black people have been in this country. Too many.
You may hear many people claim that these weren’t about race, but make no mistake, they were. They always are, and until we all face those facts, we can never move forward.
Are you mad? You should be. We all should be. But let’s channel that anger into something positive and help bring about change in our country.
Tell us how you plan on helping bring about positive change by commenting below!
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Sadly, we have to update this list. Michael Brown, another UNARMED black teen (only 18 years old) was killed — shot SIX times — in Ferguson, Missouri by police officer, Darren Wilson, on Saturday, August 9, 2014. Do you live in that area? How would you describe what’s going on?
Let your voice be heard! Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #Ferguson, organize a march, or join (or start) a social justice club in your school! Tell us how you plan on fighting injustice below!