Justice For Mike Brown

Police kill another unarmed Black teen. ANOTHER. When will this stop?!? The police are supposed to protect and serve. They are not supposed to kill at will. They are not supposed to take life as if they gave it. There are conflicting reports about what happened. I am inclined to believe the words of witnesses on the scene. These witnesses bombarded Twitter with their accounts mere moments after it happened. They say Mike Brown was walking in the street on his way home. The cop who executed him passed Mike and his friend and told them to use the sidewalk. Words were passed between the two parties. Mike and his friend kept walking. The cop put his cruiser in reverse and almost hit the two young men. The cop swung his door open in an attempt to hit Mike. Mike pushed the door back towards the car. The door hit the cop who in turn pulled out an M16 rifle and shot into the car. Mike ran away from the car. Then raised both hands in surrender. The cop shot Mike in the back of the head, execution style. Mike's body fell to the ground. The killer cop walked up on Mike's body shot him four more times. He stood over Mike and shot him some more. For what?!? What did he do to deserve this? Nothing. No cop is judge, jury and executioner. None of them. 

Mike's body lay in the streets of Ferguson, MI for over 5 hours. In that time, a large crowd grew. They were shouts of "I am Mike Brown" as well as "No Justice, No Peace." Mike's parents were a part of the crowd as well. The crowd left the crime scene and marched to the Ferguson police department. They were back this morning for the Chief of Police's press conference. The spin is already on in this case. They are report's that Brown stole candy and was running from the police. Another report is that he walked up to a cop's car, pushed the cop and tried to take his gun, which makes no sense. The victim is seemingly on trial in the court of public opinion. I hate it. It's as if Black lives do not matter in this supposed world of post-racial America. Brown just graduated from high school. He should not be dead. This disgusts me. I am heartsick about this. I am an auntie, a sister, a Godmother and a friend. There are too many Black boys and men in my life for me to take this sitting down. This is a travesty. I am so pissed. Justice for Mike Brown. 

And Another Thing (Mini-Rant)

Tragedies, like the Connecticut school shooting, always have a way of putting life into perspective for me. My birthday was a happy/sad day for me. I am always happy to celebrate making it through another year. But, to know that 20 children lost their lives that day as well made it sad. I still cannot believe this is the world we live in. This is not normal. I've been watching CNN and MSNBC constantly since Friday. It's only so much sadness one person can take. I just can't turn away though. Those kids deserve my attention. They need to know their lives were not in vain. I received calls from all 8 of my nieces and nephews on my birthday. I didn't realize how much I was longing for those calls. Hearing those tiny voice tell me "Happy Birthday" meant the world to me. Especially when there were so many tiny voices lost on the same day. I needed to hear from my nieces and nephews. They made my day. I am still so hurt behind the loss of life....especially kids. That is just wrong. I am praying for the families who are dealing with this tragedy. We have to remember their names, tell their stories. I still cannot wrap my mind around this. I am sure I never will. It's just been on my mind and I cannot shake it. Those poor little children. Gone entirely too soon. We will never be able to make sense of this tragedy. I'll just leave that up to God.