Protests erupted across different cities in the United States last week as a grand jury decided not to press charges against the white police officer who illegally held an unarmed African-American man in a chokehold and killed him earlier this year. The decision came barely a week after another grand jury allowed the police officer, who shot and killed a young unarmed African-American in Ferguson, Missouri, to walk away scot-free. Both cases have immense repercussions for civil liberty and justice in the country. The cases also shed light on structural racism inherent in the American police force as African-Americans find themselves disproportionately facing police brutality. Statistics by the US Census Bureau reveal that 32% of people killed in arrest-related incidents between 2003 and 2009 were black.
Soon after the decision was announced, protestors in various cities such as Miami, Oakland, Chicago, Boston, Los Vegas, New York, Washington, Philadelphia and New Orleans poured onto the streets to register their disappointment in what they see as a corrupt system. They chanted slogans expressing solidarity with the victims and carried signs protesting against racial inequality. The image above shows a group of protestors in New York city soon after the grand jury decision.
Donovan X Ramsey is a New York-based journalist. He tweets @iDXR
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 14th, 2014.
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