This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Poly chapter.
Most of the race-related issues currently happening in the nation are Black and White. I am Asian-American, and I recognize that a privilege hierarchy exists between people of color as well because of the “myth of the model minority.” However, race issues affect all races, whether it be Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, Asian and even White. And it’s true that different groups of people experience different types of discrimination.
But that’s not an acceptable reason to change #BlackLivesMatter to #AllLivesMatter. Because that’s stripping the focus away from the reason why these riots all over the nation: the constant seemingly bigoted actions toward Black people by White police officers.
I fully agree that in their basic form, riots should never be the answer for change. With family near Oakland, I fear for their lives in the instance that any of them get caught in the middle of the action. Looting stores, destroying cars, setting buildings on fire, these are not means of making change but instead fulfilling the angry, violent Black stereotype that has been perpetuated since the birth of this nation. Yet with recent events, Black people have the right to be angry with the American Judicial System and Police Force. They have the right to feel rage.
And no, this is not all about the Michael Brown case in Ferguson. This misconception is the foundation of all of the people who aren’t in support of Black people during these times. The issue is that the Michael Brown case somehow became the origin of these riots. In that particular case, too much of the evidence and testimonies works in favor of Darren Wilson, the police officer that shot Brown. Alone, it just isn’t a solid foundation for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. However, there have been so many cases where unarmed Black people have been murdered by White police officers with barely any penalties, and the Brown case was, quite frankly, the last straw.
Amadou Diallo (1999): NYPD shot him 41 times as he was walking into his apartment. The police claimed he was reached for something that looked like a gun, though all he had in his hand was a wallet. One of the officers responsible remained on the force and was suspended from carrying a gun for 13 years.
Timothy Stansbury (2004): Unarmed 19-year-old shot by an NYPD officer on a late-night patrol. The officer claimed it was an “accident” and only faced a 30-day suspension from the force.
Oscar Grant (2009): After breaking up a fight, a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer detained Grant and had him lying face down, unarmed. Video footage shows evidence of the officer shooting and killing him as he was lying down, however, he ended up serving less than a year for killing Grant.
Aiyana Stanley-Jones (2010): The Detriot SWAT team was searching for a suspect in Stanley-Jones’ neighborhood and threw a flash grenade through her family’s window. After storming the house and shooting the 7-year-old girl in her sleep, both trails afterwards have ended in mistrials.
Eric Garner (July 14, 2014): 43-year-old Garner was approached by the NYPD on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. Video evidence shows the unarmed man, quickly getting upset and raising his voice at the officers about how they never leave him alone and to not touch him. An officer then put Garner into a chokehold and strangled him to death. The officer was place on “modified assignment in a non-enforacement capacity after the incident and stripped of his gun and shield.” However, the grand jury decided not to indict him.
People need to understand that Michael Brown and, more recently, Eric Garner, aren’t the only reasons for the protests and riots. They need to understand that, because if cases like these keep happening, they should no longer be considered coincidence.
Black people have the right to feel rage because it’s their people that are being harmed with out any fouls. All people should feel rage because race-related issues still exist and have gotten out of control. True, we know that #AllLivesMatter, but right now, all of those lives should be in support of Black people, because we need to make police officers and the judiciary system aware that #BlackLivesMatter.