The Second Wave

THE SECOND WAVE ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER

Created by:

Alyssa Alegre

TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 DAYS IN 1963 FERGUSON hands up, don’t shoot 50 years later, HAS ANYTHING CHANGED? baltimore AN OPEN LETTER TO WHITE SILENCE subway solidarity “THUG” conclusion

EIGHT DAYS

T

hey were eight days that tore

at America’s conscience. From May 2 to May 10, 1963, the nation bore witness as police in Birmingham, Alabama, aimed high-powered hoses and sicced snarling dogs on black men, women and even children who wanted just one thing — to be treated the same as white Americans.

Led by an unapologetic racist named Eugene “Bull” Connor, Birmingham cops brazenly attacked protesters — and the television cameras covering the drama broadcasted their brutality to the rest of the country. In the process, Connor became a living symbol of Southern bigotry and Birmingham became ground zero in the struggle for civil rights.

Two years earlier, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. first took aim at what was then the most segregated city in the U.S., Connor issued a warning.

Then, on May 2, King launched the final — and most controversial phase — of what they called Project C, the c standing for confrontation. Figuring that even Connor wouldn’t cross this line, King sent children ranging in age from six to 18 marching through the streets.

But Connor would not back down. By nightfall, his cops had jailed 959 youthful protesters. The next day, a thousand more — joined by brigades of grown-ups — hit the streets and this time Connor deployed the dogs.

“A Negro man had four or five deep gashes on his leg where he had been bitten by a dog. A sobbing Negro woman said she had been kicked in the stomach by a policeman.”

The battle in Birmingham dominated the evening news and the sickening spectacle got big play in newspapers across the country and around the world.

#BlackLivesMatter

M

ike Brown and his friend Dorian

entered the Ferguson Market on August 9th, 2014. Darren Wilson stopped them on their walk back. They had been walking in the middle of the road, because it wasn’t normally busy.

Darren Wilson pulls up saying “get the fuck on the sidewalk.” Dorian explains they are only minutes from their destination, and Wilson grows angry, asking “what did you say?”. Darren quickly opens his door and hits them with the door, with Mike taking the majority of the hit because he is a “big guy”. The door bounces back and Wilson appears to have taken it as a sign of aggression.

Wilson’s hand comes out of the window and places a hand on Mike Brown’s throat. Mike Brown is struggling to get away. Wilson grips Brown as though he was trying to pull him in the car. Officer Darren Wilson says “I’ll shoot”. Then he pulls his weapon and says it again.

The first shot is fired, in Mike’s hand. After the first shot they both took off running. Dorian makes it behind a car. Darren Wilson then exited the car. Mike passes Dorian and tells him to “keep running bro.” Officer Darren Wilson is moving after them now. He then fires another shot at Mike Brown, hitting his back. Mike Brown turned around, with his hands in the air but could not fully extend one of his arms due to the bullet wounds. The officer then shoots more rounds and Mike Brown falls to the ground and doesn’t move again.

“The criminal justice system has historically and disproportionately affected so many communities of color, and what we’re seeing right now when we turn on the news and we open up the newspaper is that frustration. So we will pursue justice by any and all means necessary.”

-Marilyn Mosby

#Baltimore

AN OPEN LETTER TO WHITE SILENCE: This circumstance affects every black person’s life in America. As a minority, blacks will always be compared to the actions of the entire black community. As in when someone sees any other black person, they will think of these kind of incidents of protests and riots. White people will never deal with that.

As a member of the majority, they are NOT a representative of white people. An individual is just an individual. So when seeing this article, you will not think “Oh no, everyone’s going to think I’m an aggressive white person who’s abusing my power.” However, the black community has to worry about: “Oh no, everyone’s going to think i’m (we’re) a savage, thug, criminal, guilty.” because that’s how the media continues to portray them.

This may seem like an exaggeration or unrealistic, but if you think in that manner, it’s because you have white privilege and have never felt fear because of your race. It is very real. In every minority, not just the black community, there is that fear.

The black community REALLY needs you all to at least understand that when you scroll past these posts and articles, or turn a blind eye because “You’re just not interested” or your “Tired of seeing these things” because they don’t affect you, THAT is a privilege you have because you were born white. Just in having that option to be indifferent to it is something that you are able to have because you are white.

Blacks are not afforded the same.

“I AM TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO COME ON ONE ACCORD UNDER THE CENTRALIZED BELIEF THAT WE ALL MUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS AT THE END OF THE DAY. WITH THAT BEING SAID, WHEN LIVES ARE LOST UNJUSTLY WE MUST STAND IN SOLIDARITY. IF AS PEOPLE WE FAIL TO STAND TOGETHER IN THE MIDST OF CASUALTIES THAT ARE UNJUSTIFIED WE CANNOT PROGRESS FORWARD AND WILL BE STRICKEN WITH CLASHES AND CONFLICT. I ALSO TIE IN THE ARGUMENT OF NOT BEING ANTI POLICE BUT BEING PRO ACCOUNTABILITY.” – DARIEL ALI, SEEN ON THE SUBWAY IN BROOKLYN, NY.

“DISCUSSING FREDDIE GRAY’S HOMICIDE WITHOUT DISCUSSING RACE IS AS INCOMPLETE AS DISCUSSING THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT DISCUSSING SLAVERY. IT’S A HALF-TRUTH.” — JASON DOWNS, ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY “AS LONG AS YOU’RE MAINTAINING A WHITE SUPREMACIST HIERARCHY, IT DOESN’T PARTICULARLY MATTER WHAT YOUR SKIN COLOR IS. BLACK PEOPLE, AND BLACK POLICE OFFICERS, ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THIS DYNAMIC.” — ZAK CHENEY RICE, THREE OF THE OFFICERS WHO KILLED FREDDIE GRAY ARE BLACK West Baltimore celebrates the news that all six officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray are to be charged.

May 1, 2015 [Shawn Hubbard]

“THUG IS THE WORD THAT SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS. THUG SHEDS NO LIGHT ON THE ACCUSER, ONLY THE ACCUSED. THUG INSTANTLY CONDEMNS. THUG IS A WORD THAT SAYS “YOU. YOU DESERVED THIS. YOU ARE A MENACE WHO MUST BE STOPPED. YOU ARE A DANGER TO GOOD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. YOUR DEATH IS JUSTIFIED — EVEN REQUIRED.” THUG REMOVES THE ACCUSER FROM CRITICISM, AND REDUCES RACIST VIOLENCE TO A SHOOTOUT IN AN OLD WESTERN. IT’S THE GOOD GUYS VERSUS THE BAD GUYS. THUG IS RACIST BECAUSE IT REMOVES RACE FROM THE PICTURE. THUG IS RACIST BECAUSE UNLIKE THE N-WORD, WHICH PLACES THE RACIST OPINIONS OF THE AGGRESSOR FRONT AND CENTER, IT TAKES AN ACT OF RACIST VIOLENCE AND LEGITIMIZES IT. IT TAKES AN ACT OF HATRED AND TURNS IT INTO AN ACT OF HEROISM. IT TURNS MURDERERS INTO MARTYRS. WITHOUT THESE JUSTIFICATIONS THE MURDERS OF MIKE BROWN, TAMIR RICE, TRAYVON MARTIN, FREDDIE GRAY AND SO MANY OTHERS WOULD LOOK LIKE WHAT THEY ARE — MURDERS. IT’S TIME WE RECOGNIZE THE WORD THUG FOR WHAT IT IS, AN ATTACK ON BLACK PEOPLE.”

“ANYONE WHO BELIEVES 300 YEARS OF OPPRESSION CAN BE UNDONE IN A 50 YEAR SPAN DOES NOT HAVE A BASIC COMPREHENSION OF HOW THIS SUBJUGATION CAN BECOME INTERNALIZED AND NORMALIZED, THUS CONTINUING TO BE A SEROUS SOCIAL ISSUE”

i can't breathe