Earlier today news broke of another Black life taken by police brutality. His name was Walter Scott. While the mobilization for accountability is real and necessary, we must also pause and grieve the loss of another Black life. Walter Scott matters.
Footage surfaced Tuesday of South Carolina Police Officer, Michael Slager, shooting Walter L. Scott after a traffic stop. Below is the video. WARNING: video is graphic and triggering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21T2F5WFPAw
The video depicts the officer emptying eight shots into Scott’s back as he fled from being tased. This evening the North Charleston mayor announced the state murder charges against Officer Slager. The New York Times cites quick political maneuvering around this case stems from the White House’s call for changes nationwide to improve “police relations.”
In the constant wake of state violence, video footage has inconsistently been beneficial to justice for the victims. For Eric Garner no indictment came and now the by-standing videographer is imprisoned. For Tamir Rice, Cleveland Police blamed him for his own death, because white terror painted him a monster. So now with Presidential pressure, we have this footage and are demanding action.
While the footage is a critical part of this swift response of “justice,” the question still remains:
How many more? How many more Black folk will be laid out in the street in normalized state violence? How many more Black women will be erased from the narrative? How many more Black children will be stripped of youth? How many more hashtag eulogies must we offer up?
These seemingly swift movements toward justice should also be signaling to a larger shift. While the outcries and protests speak volumes, let this footage solidify the need for a change. Our judicial system has been built on Black lives being consumed and imprisoned and slain in the streets. Justice is a farce still in the face of state violence and the whole system needs to be dismantled.
PS: You know how they slander Black folk with everything after the state kills them? Slate had to mention that Scott had a warrant in “family court.”
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