Philadelphia activists selected Rittenhouse Square Park, a location in a predominantly white and affluent area, to honor the life of Mr. Tamir Rice, a poor black kid murdered by a Cleveland cop.
—
At least two mothers of black children were among the more than three dozen individuals Sunday afternoon who stood in front of the 18th & Walnut Street entrance of Rittenhouse Square Park in Center City Philadelphia to honor the life of 12 year-old Mr. Tamir Rice in Cleveland, who a year ago today was, within two seconds of a rookie cop’s arrival, shot and killed while playing with a toy gun.
“We have to change the way cops interact with our community,” said Ms. Erica Mines, who parents an 18 year-old, as she held a sign that was given to her during a visit to Cleveland from one of Mr. Rice’s family members.
Ms. Erica Mines, an activist, speaks at the Philadelphia #YearWithoutTamir vigil. Photo Credit: C. Norris – ©2015
Tears flowed as Ms. Mines, an activist with the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, spoke about being in a space with so many mothers whose black children have become victims of state-sanctioned violence and, to exacerbate grief, haven’t received justice.
“I would be going bat sh*t crazy trying to get justice,” Ms. Mines, who once blocked rush hour traffic at length with the mother of Mr. Brandon Tate-Brown –an unarmed black man killed while fleeing Philadelphia police – exclaimed into a bullhorn.
A woman named Ms. Chantelle Whitney who resides in West Philadelphia was the other parent who spoke out, saying she’ll never forget seeing the murder of Mr. Tamir Rice and “imagining it was my small child.”
Those black folks shocked by the video—gritty footage from a surveillance camera—have, suggested the saddened mother of a 3-year-old, forgotten America’s history and are ignoring the cruel circumstances upon which the country’s wealth was built: murder and pillage, violence and oppression of black bodies.
“Police have never been here to protect black people; the police existed to protect property,” said Philadelphia Black Lives Matter activist Ms. Taylor Nicole-Johnson on Saturday at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts during a panel discussion I moderated titled ‘The Modern Day Civil Rights Movement.’
An audience member Saturday said “white supremacy started with the Constitution.”
Those historical assertions are now, following the fatal officer-involved shooting of Mr. Rice, the types of truths Ms. Whitney stresses upon her daughter so that she truly understands “the world we live in.”
When it came his turn to speak, Mr. Gabriel Bryant—an activist who held the bullhorn for all the speakers—took his fellow protesters on a journey that started with reflective laughter about what he did at age 12—“I loved Friday nights: Family Matters.. Steve Urkel”—and ended with a quiet rage about white supremacy, capitalism, injustice, and indifference.
Sunday’s #YearWithoutTamir vigil could’ve been held at any park in the City, said Mr. Bryant, but Rittenhouse Square Park was chosen specifically because it represents a sense of white comfort, a luxury not to be disturbed by black tragedy.
“The energy of Black Lives Matter is to disrupt that comfort,” Mr. Bryant said.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
The post Outside Swanky City Park, Tamir Rice Remembered appeared first on The Good Men Project.
