Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, bashed a number of high-profile activists and lawyers for using the deaths of Black people to get famous.
Tamir was shot to death in 2014 at the age of 12 by two officers, both of whom never faced any consequences for the shooting. In December, the federal government officially declined to press any charges against Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.
But in a series of Facebook posts on Sunday, Samaria said well-known activist Tamika Mallory, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and others were "chasing clout" and profiting from families that are still struggling with the loss of a loved one.
The posts started on Sunday and coincided with the 2021 Grammy Awards, where Mallory appeared on stage with rapper Lil Baby during a performance.
"I'm tired of you black lives matters (Tamika Mallory and crew) b***hes that's riding theses [sic] family back and yall ambulance chasing Attorneys ( Ben Crump) (Lee Merrick) too yall have f**k up our fight and yall can kiss my a*s too….Make it make sense….You can't working with devil is easy too do [sic]," Rice wrote on Sunday.
She later wrote, "This movement got me f**k up and ready to f**k you up," and added that she felt like the ubiquity of Breonna Taylor's and George Floyd's name in media did little to change the outcome of their court cases.
Samaria questioned the effectiveness of activists and lawyers considering how many of these types of cases end up without any convictions.
"I have tried to stay off this s**t. Tamike [sic] and the crew you b***hes chasing clout along with, Sonney, Crump , and Lee. Yall have literally f**k our fight up. I hope not another family soul used yall to represent them…Yall might ass well be junior pigs cops…..I'm mad ass yell [sic]," she wrote in another post.
"Another thing, not one of you mf lost anything in this fight….robbing your own people from getting justice….They won't talk to me cause they know I'm not with bull s**t," Rice added.
"Too many dead souls and they think its a joke," she noted in another post.
She later shared a video of Mallory onstage with Lil Baby at the Grammy Awards and reiterated her charge that the activist and others involved in Black Lives Matter protests were treating deaths at the hands of police as a joke.
"Look at this clout chaser. Did she lose something in this fight? I don't think so. That's the problem. They take us for a joke. Thats why we never have justice, cause of s**t like this," Rice said.
"F**k a Grammy when my son is dead. F**k all pigs cops," she added.
The posts caused a stir online as it coincided with Lil Baby's performance at the award show, where he mocked police officers and staged a protest in the background for his hit song "Bigger Picture."
Some people praised it as one of the best performances of the night.
Lil Baby might have just given one of the most powerful Grammy performances ever???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/jUl3jqDZ3w
— CULTURE CENTRAL (@_CultureCentral) March 15, 2021
But others were concerned about how the use of images of Black death were being used for profit.
I didn’t understand this performance or why mallory was promoting cbs and the Grammys on her page as if they were champions of social justice. Not sure how she calls herself fighting the system while also aligning herself with the same system she claims she’s fighting
— GORMAN 2036 (@dcjanfan) March 15, 2021
Some people began to reference some events that used the names of those killed by police as promotion.
does anyone remember when they did this? pic.twitter.com/pDaDVasoIm
— dr. umar hate account (@deadmetaphore) March 15, 2021
Some complained that too many protest movements were using the names of those killed to fundraise without sharing any of the funds, while others questioned what protesters were supposed to do to highlight the lives lost and bring awareness.
That doesn’t matter. The BLM establishment raised money, partially thru using Tamir’s name, & since they made money using his name, they SHOULD be doing something for these families..that’s her point. They’re using ppl deceased family members names for $ but not helping them.
— samara????so yall really elected a child molester… (@ebony_samara) March 15, 2021
Many people defended Mallory's work and dedication to the movement to protect Black lives but others referenced moves she's made, questioning her motives.
if you google images of Mallory and other celebtivists they are constantly on paid panels, speaking at colleges, for corporate diversity speaking engagements, and photoshoot after photoshoot. like Deray, it's just stepping stones to further grifts or political lobbying
— WineMom Antichrist (_Defiant) (@WokeHamiltonBro) March 15, 2021
Lil Baby's performance starred actor Kendrick Sampson and was similar to the police killing of Rayshard Brooks in 2020. In addition to Mallory, Killer Mike made an appearance during the performance.
The rapper later released a statement to Complex about the performance.
“My performance is important to me and I had to make sure it was right. Nominations aside, actually performing ‘The Bigger Picture’ means the most to me. I paint pictures with my songs and wanted the performance to bring that picture to life," Lil Baby said.
"Just like with the song, this performance had to reflect the real. No sugar-coating. My family, my fans and my city know who I do this for,” he added.
