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Black Shooting Research Paper

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Jahkiya Jack English Prof. Avila 6 August 2016 Final Paper An unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer. The shooting prompted protests around the nation as people rallied for change. Pick a time period, pick a place, and pick a black person from the archive of African Americans who have fallen victim to this social injustice, and I guarantee that the scenario above will remain the same. Police brutality against African Americans is not a new topic, but the recent shootings of young black men by cops in cities around the Nation has reignited this oh so familiar fight for justice. Within the last few years there have been an abundance of protests and riots due to cops not being indicted for murdering unarmed black …show more content…

In 2012, a 17 year-old unarmed black boy was gunned down in Florida while walking home from a gas station after getting snacks. The murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL by George Zimmerman received attention around the nation. Zimmerman was eventually put on trial for Martin’s death, but was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter, which began the hashtag BlackLivesMatter. The official website, blacklivesmatter.com, describes it as “an ideological and political intervention in a world where black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folk’s contributions to this society, our humanity and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression” (Black Lives Matter, n.d.). The hashtag quickly transformed into a movement in 2014 after the deaths of Michael Brown, John Crawford III and Eric Garner. All three were unarmed black men killed by police who were eventually acquitted for their murders. The Black Lives Matter movement is a call-to-action to encourage people to fight against the racial inequalities endured by black people and stand against the expectations of normality defined by white supremacy. Many have tried to debase this movement by saying that all lives mater and all lives are important. Though the Black Lives Matter Movement may be “pro-black”, it does not mean it is being anti-white or …show more content…

These three things all contribute to the change we want to see in society. Currently, The Black Lives Matter movement is at the point of causing civil disobedience, which is used to gain the attention of the media, politicians and the nation as a whole. The movement works at different levels with the hopes of making changes in society which in turn would promote equality within the criminal justice system. Leaders of Black Lives Matter understand how the general population’s beliefs about crime and racism acts as an antagonist to any sort of reform to lower racial discrepancies, due to this they are trying to emphasize how race does matter in both the criminal justice system and society through the means of protests. The 23 active Black Lives Matter chapters across the United States are staging demonstrations in order to get society to acknowledge that there is a problem, and once people begin to listen, there can be legal challenges and new laws that work to influence a societal change. On August 28th, 2014 during Labor Day weekend supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement from around the nation set out to participate in a Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride. This protest, based off of the 1960s Freedom Riders, brought people to Ferguson, MO, the city where Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Naturally this

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