Monday, June 1, 2020

For the Victims of Police Violence


A photo by Gordon Parks of a protest in Harlem in 1963

 "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid any more." Cesar Chavez

The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on Mr. Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, has brought attention to the often unjustified killings of minorities by police officers. Unfortunately, the unjustified killing of minorities by police officers is nothing new and has been going on for literally decades. What is more, it is not simply a matter of concern for the African American community. Latinos and Native Americans are also killed in disproportionate numbers when compared to white people. It is a subject with which I am all too familiar, having lost the person dearest to me to police violence.  As someone who is part Cherokee and has paid an all too high price because of police violence, I then stand with the African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans who are affected by such brutality.

What follows is a list of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans who were the victims of police violence. There are around 100 names, but it is important to remember that the actual number of minorities killed unjustifiably by police officers is much, much greater.

Matthew Ajibade - Edgar Alvarado - Tanisha Anderson
Anthony Ashford - Julio Bald Eagle -Sandra Bland - Freddie Blue
Jamie Lee Brave Heart - Rumman Brison - Michael Brown
Robert Carillo- Paul Castaway - Philando Castille
William Chapman III - Miguel Chavez-Angles - Alexia Christian
Jamar Clark - Stephon Clark - Terence Crutcher
Anthony Jose Vega Cruz - Michelle Cusseaux - Albert Joseph Davis
Renee Davis - Rolando Delgado - Manuel De La Cruz - Manuel Diaz
Jordan Edwards - Salvado Ellswood - Andrew Esquivel
Joseph Finley Jr. - George Floyd - Ezell Ford - Peter Gaines
Eric Garner - Brendon Glenn - Vincente Gonzalez - Akai Gurley
Mya Hall - Eric Harris - Richard Herrera Jr. - Osmon Hernandez
Anthony Hill - Sherrisa Homer - Corey L. Jones - India Kager
Corey Kanosh- Victor Manuel Larosa - Chassady LeClair
Allen Locke - Andy Lopez - Guzman Lopez - Marcelo Luna
George Mann -  Joseph Mann - Vanessa Marquez
Laguan McDonald - Natasha McKenna - Lance McIntire - Carolos Mehia
Gustavo Nujera - Anthony Nunez - Paul O'Neal -
Abraham Ortiz  - Dante Parker - Jaso Pero - Nathaniel Harris Pickett
Baltazar Ramos - Michael Ramos -  Eric Reason
Jerame Reid - Danny Rendon - Tamir Rice
Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) - Tony Robinson - Jesse Romero
Michael Sabbie - Phillip Salazar - Jacquline Salyers - Magdiel Sanchez
Nicolas Sanchez - Jonathan Sanders - Frank Smart - Walter Scott
Alvin Silversmythe - Alozno Smith -  Syville Smith - Alton Sterling
Breonna Taylor - Terrill Thomas - Willie Tillman - Mario Torres
Mary Truxillo - Loreal Tsingine - Carlos Valencia - Phillip White
Alteria Woods - Antonio Zambrano-Montes - George Zapata
Ricardo Diaz Zeferino