Prom Night Experience

As a senior going to my last prom and my last high school dance ever, it is very hard for me to piece together the reasons why people would rather not go to prom. When the students who don’t want to go to prom think of prom they’re thinking of the cost. In doing this, they are neglecting what may be one of the best nights of high school. As a child, I would go through old pictures with my parents of when they were in high school and the picture I was always so in awe of was the picture of my parents together at prom. In having this experience with my parents, I have now realized that that is an experience

“Officer Jeronimo Yanez, charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black Minneapolis man” (Capecchi). “Brian Encinia, former Texas trooper charged with misdemeanor perjury stemming from his arrest of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was later found dead in a county jail” (Almasy). “Sgt. Kizzy Adonis, charged with failure to supervise in connection with the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black Staten Island man who died after police to administered a controversial choke hold” (Eversley). These are a few examples of the mistreatment suffered by young black citizens at the hands of police officers that resulted in the death of a suspect. Throughout the nation, the mishandling of the authority given to police officers has increased and is not merely coincidentally occurring.

Prom is supposed to be a very exciting night. I think finding a date for prom is even more exciting. You see my school has this thing called grand march and you have to have a prom date/ friend to even participate in the walk. So if you are a loner you can’t go. Well my experience finding a prom date so I wouldn’t be a loner was quite the adventure.

On a Wednesday evening at 9:05pm in Minnesota, an African American couple was driving in their car with a four-year-old daughter in the back seat. After being pulled aside by Joronimo Yanez, a police officer, for a broken tail light, Philando Castile, the driver, stopped his car. Officer Yanez asked Castile for his license and registration. Castile handed the officer his car license and registration, but also told him he has a weapon in his car, for which he was licensed to carry. Officer Yanez immediate words were “Don’t move!” As Castile put his hands up where the officer could clearly see them, officer Yanez shot him repeatedly four times in the arm to the horror of Castile, his girlfriend, and their four-year-old daughter. Completely stupefied by the event, Castile’s girlfriend, Reynolds, took out her phone and began streaming an online video directly to Facebook showing the immediate aftermath of the incident. In the video, Reynolds narrates the accident’s story and exclaimed, “You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir. Please don’t tell me he’s dead.” While recording, her four-years-old asked “Mammy, I’m scarred!” Reynolds answered, “It’s okay, I’m right here with you.” Officer Yanez returned and ordered Reynolds on her knees out of the car. Still being recorded, the other officers on the scene asked officer Yanez of his mindset, checking if he’s ok, completing ignoring the true victim, Castile. Castile was left bleeding

I and a community of others are outraged that Zimmernan was initially interviewed and let go with no charges filed more than six weeks after the shooting, Zimmerman still had not been charged with a crime, igniting a national outcry over what many considered to be state-sanctioned vigilantism. For many African-Americans the case had even deeper implications: Trayvon Martin, who had no criminal record, had been doing nothing more suspicious than walking. Many saw his death as another tragic example of racial profiling, the latest in a seemingly endless succession of unarmed Black men shot for appearing suspicious: Robbie Tolan, who survived being shot in his Bellaire, Texas, driveway in 2009 by a cop who thought he was trying to steal his own car; Amadou Diallo, shot and killed in 1999 in the Bronx when police mistook his wallet for a gun; Sean Bell, killed in 2008 on his wedding day in Queens, New York, by cops who thought he had a gun; Oscar Grant III, fatally shot by an Oakland transit cop on New Year's Day in 2009 while restrained and on the ground; and now Trayvon, with only a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea in his possession, shot dead on a Florida street.(Amber, 2012)

To begin the police has caused many unnecessary deaths throughout the United States. More than 920 people have been killed by the police in 2015 (“5 Facts about Police Brutality in the United States That Will Shock You”). In Ferguson, Missouri 18 year old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Mr. Johnson a witness at the scene, says that his friend was shot once from behind and then turned to face the police officer while raising his arms in the air. According to Mr Johnson, the officer fired several more shots at Mr. Brown before he fell to the ground (“Ferguson protests:What we know about Michael Brown 's last minutes”). Although Mr. Brown was fleeing from the officer, there was no need for the officer to shoot Brown.

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

In August of 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, an 18-year-old African American boy by the name of Michael Brown, was shot and killed by an on-duty police officer during the investigation of an alleged, strong-arm robbery (Clarke & Lefte, 2014). The incident ignited protests and violent riots that continued for several weeks throughout the United States. Similar high profile deaths of Eric Garner in New York City, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and Freddy Gray in Baltimore, have resulted in mass protests against law enforcement. For many, a deep divide was forged in the relations between law enforcement and the public; trust was lost on both sides. “Normally, official accounts of police fatally shooting black teenagers rest largely on the words of

New Haven, CT- A young African- American student attending Yale drives a ’92 Ford Taurus. In contrasts to the multitude of luxury vehicles and sports cars around campus, to say he looks conspicuous is an understatement. He is pulled over often, and at the height of his ritual of run-ins with law enforcement, he was getting pulled over once or twice a week. It’s perfectly understandable that law enforcement would be suspicious of his placement in a place like that, right? I mean to say, there’s no way a person like him is actually attending THAT University. However, more importantly, we must ask “What law was he repeatedly breaking to get pulled

The professors use hard hitting facts that demonstrates the truth behind African Americans and the way the law enforcement perceives them, giving the reader some distinctive insight. The history of the law enforcement along with the criminal justice system has portrayed that they are disproportionality race-based. Blacks are more likely than whites to be racially profiled (Staples 2011), to be stopped by law enforcement, and receive harsher sentences. Unfortunately, it has been shown time and time again that judges, jurors, and the law enforcement finds it challenging for them to sympathize with African Americans. All in all this body of academic work has highlighted external factors that have shaped the lives of Blacks in America without giving due attention to the words of Rodney King, the man who became the face of racial injustice (Chaney and Robertson 2014). Four themes were unveiled in the analysis King’s quotes: appreciation for the struggles of former Civil Rights Activists, appreciation for the legal system, personal feelings related to police brutality, and the desire for non-violence as a catalyst for positive

Some many cases that have affected my heart and have me thinking about what I should do as an African American women. I remember witnessing police brutality for the first time with the Sean Bell case. It was such a big story. I remember I was twelve when that happen and during Christmas and New Year’s Eve my family will talk about how tragic and angry they are about the case. But, what was so memorable about that case to me and what made my family so angry was Sean Bell and his friends were shot over 50 times on his wedding day. It’s almost make you realize that there is a war between black people and police

On July 6th, a Minnesota police officer pulled Philando Castile, a 32 year old black male, for a broken tail light. The officer asked the man to get out his license and as he reached for them, the officer then pulled a gun and shot Castile. As Castile lay with his head back bleeding out, his fiance, Diamond Reynolds filmed a video explaining he had shot Castile four times. Reynolds’s four year old daughter had been sitting in the back seat to witness the entire thing. Of the 708 police shootings to occur before September this year, ¼ of those deaths, 173 black individuals have been shot dead. Between 2008 and 2012, 12,765 people had been victims of police shootings and 51.1% were African American. Just to put things in perspective for you.

“Black lives matter!” We have been hearing this, on the news, on social media, and in protests for years now. However, it has become more frequently heard in the past few months following the highly publicized Sandra Bland stop and arrest. Sandra Bland was stopped by Officer Brian Encinia on July 10, 2015, allegedly for not signaling a turn. This stop went wrong almost instantly. She was found deceased in a jail cell on July 13, 2015, an alleged suicide. While there are several ethical issues regarding this case, both parties involved were responsible. While the officers’ actions seem to be the actions that are focused on most, some of Bland’s actions should also be considered when viewing the issues raised. The actions of both parties involved

Victims of police brutality may pursue court cases against the city employing their abusers. These cases do not always work out in favor of the alleged victims. Michael Brown, unarmed 18-year-old was shot dead by Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson. Brown had his hands up when he was shot and killed. Charges against the officers dropped. At times, an entire culture or race may feel victimized by police brutality. When police officers beat Rodney King, 25, it sparked a national controversy. The police officers that beat King were acquitted of all charges, sparking riots in Los Angeles, where civil unrest over racial profiling reached its boiling point. The riots resulted in the “deaths of 53 people” (Gray, 2016, p.

On August 9th, 2014, officer Darren Wilson shot 18 year old Michael Brown 6 times, the question of whether it was justified still lies in mystery. According to the Department of Justice report of the incident, Michael was physically aggressive to Darren Wilson and WIlson’s only means of self-preservation at the moment was to grab his gun and react. (DOJ. 6) However, differing eyewitness reports provide a different portrait of what occurred. Some say Michael held his arms in the air and said “Don’t Shoot” as Wilson fired and continued to shoot Michael, others report that Michael ran away and was gunned down, but ultimately, these eyewitness testimonies couldn’t stand up in court. (Schuppe) The backlash of his death was outstanding with Brown’s family at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter political movement. The entire town of Ferguson was grasped by rioting and protesting. Brown’s family reacted in tear met rage, a mother lost her son and the community suffered the loss of a promising individual.