It seems that people are turning to Twitter for a lot of things these days. Yesterday, as people looked for a therapeutic outlet, Black Twitter was overcome by raw emotion and pain with the hashtag #IfIDieInPoliceCustody. It elicited tweets that, though heartbreaking, were unsurprising given the expectations black folks have come to expect from police officers designed not to protect and serve bodies that look like us. Instead, our people are left hanging and we are left to tweet #IfIDieInPoliceCustody so that we will have left a trail when they take our lives too soon.
TW: Even the hashtag made me want to cry. These tweets do the same.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody is a heartbreaking hashtag.
— deray (@deray) July 16, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody I will be blamed for my own death and my killer(s) will go home with badge, paycheck and weapons.
— Willie Dwayne Francois III (@WillieFrancois3) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/RevrendDoctor/status/621860531520053248
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody I’ll be misgendered and the police will blame my disability and/or weight and accept no culpability.
— Mx. Amadi “unwell anyway” Lovelace (@amaditalks) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody they will try to paint me as:
🔳 A. A Thug
🔳 B. A Thug
🔳 C. A Thug— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody … know that my death was orchestrated, not incidental.
— Black Millennials (@BlkMillennials) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody don't let them tell you to be peaceful in reaction. Because killing me wasn't peaceful.
— a disheveled wig (@KingBeysQueen) July 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/OckyJ83/status/621862197799448576
https://twitter.com/BlvckConscious/status/621839375958196224
https://twitter.com/bdoulaoblongata/status/621837581156663296
https://twitter.com/Russian_Starr/status/621835140558225408
https://twitter.com/See_Say_92/status/621831095911251968
https://twitter.com/ayypollo/status/621830927782559744
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody question everything. Don't believe a word they say. Demand the truth by any means necessary.
— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody don't let my daughters watch the media while they undermine who I am, justify my death, & defend my murderers.
— Nedra (@NedraDee) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody the cause of death is not suicide. I wouldn't even dream of dying surrounded by my oppressors. Believe me.
— K-Ci’s (ooh yeah) (@frodeci) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody Support my family while the media attempts to convince the world that I deserved it.
— Sure. Fine. Whatever. (@memorizeyrlines) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/myblackmindd/status/621866797172551680
https://twitter.com/XLNB/status/621867762625810432
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody do not apologize on my behalf. Do not forgive. Do not forget. Express your rage to validate my humanity.
— K-Ci’s (ooh yeah) (@frodeci) July 16, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody Do not let Don Lemon within 10 feet of whatever State I died in. Do not let him utter my name.
— I know YOU not talking. (@KimShoeCrzy) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/Desmond_JaMaal/status/621817228476944384
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody don't trust any report of me being aggressive, I put my humanity aside in interactions w/ cops to come home to my kid
— Jamilah Lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) July 17, 2015
#IfIdieinpolicecustody do not let the media kill me again and then erase my name from your memory.
— Jordana Jarrett (@jordanajarrett) July 17, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody I'm not suicidal. I'm not suicidal. I'm not suicidal. I'm not suicidal. I'm not suicidal. I'm not suicidal.
— M. PHOENIX (@MPHX3) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/AIL24/status/621869598107832321
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody I wasnt scared, they were. I wasnt armed, they are. I wasnt a threat, they will be.
— The Red Son (@TheRedSonRising) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/ImJustCeej/status/621694332370833408
Look at the hashtag and you'll see one thing in common. People of color. And this isn't a crisis? #IfIDieInPoliceCustody
— Mrs. Grotke (@__BHB__) July 16, 2015
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody there's a great possibility that I wasn't even breaking the law or resisting. I was just black.
— Francesca (@LipstickNLegos) July 16, 2015
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