Over the past few years smartphones have captured brutal images of police violence against black civilians viral on social media fueling debate and making the violence but also the resistance to it more visible than ever under the hashtag black lives matter the protest has grown into one of the biggest civil rights movements in the U.S.
The black spring is is everywhere a conversation with the co-founder of black lives matter patrisse cullors about the need toresist this is back light welcome to a theater where words become weapons everybody follow behind Katie please I don’t really want to be getting upset yeah it’s just kind of embarrassing especially when there’s 200 people in the audience yeah so let me just remind folks that our team has your back right and this story is less for them yes it’s gonna impact people on the audience and much more for yourself it’s your opportunity to claim space and you could feel as angry as hurt as sad as upset as pissed as you want to it’s your story it’s shit that happened to you and you get to feel every single feeling yeah on the space it’s y’all space patrisse cullors is an activist and theatre maker from Los Angeles.
George Zimmerman:
George Zimmerman he was charged with second degree murder after fatally shooting 17 year old Trayvon Martin it was a case that sparked debate about racial profiling we the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty but for crowds gathered outside the reaction was one of disbelief I was sitting in a hotel in a small prison town visiting a little brother of mine and I wanted to see the verdict of George Zimmerman to see if he was gonna get any time or get convicted of anything and as I sat in that motel room on Facebook and as the verdict came outI was completely floored completely jaw dropped that he yeah that he that he got away with murder he literally got away with murder and was scouring the internet for some reprieve honestly and and I I came across that Lisi as opposed that when she when she says matter and that that’s the important importance of something going viral right like that’s the magic of virility is once up a thing goes viral everybody does see it and I can go into any any place around the world I can sit in any cab I can talk to any person to coffee shop and say you know black lives matter and they’ll say yeah I know black lives matter so your voice sounds really good no matter what you do with it butit would be good to hear a different fluctuate fluctuation so at age 15.
I was in Maple Lane juvenile prison and the staff there were abusing me and making me to be out to these to be this monster that I was not Thurston County wastrying to remind me you know like that you know what I mean so you want to be you want your voice to feel like it has different layers to it okay okay so put emphasis on a certain thing is it yeah at age 15 I was in Maple Lane juvenile prison and the staff there were abusing me they were trying to make me out to be this muster that I was not exactly evolved technically I’m developing other peace with black Seattle lights that’s they call themselves and the art piece is really bringing black people’s stories of criminalization and state violence to stage I think the like what I’m really doing is trying to challenge the narrative that black people can’t tell their stories that our stories are shameful and saying this was unacceptable this should not have happened to me and in fact this should not be happening to many people and you’re gonna listen and you’re gonna sit and you’re gonna be a part of this are you’re gonna be a part of helping mefigure out what we do next the white prosecutor decided to make the example out of my black ass and try me as an adult at age 15 the remand hearing was held in Centralia Washington in all-white town and there were no other black people there except for me and my mother Iswear it felt like I was in some type of circus as I was on display before all these evil and wicked people I was very nervous and I was trying to concentrate while listening to the rummage of paper and hushed voices of white folks talking and whispering about me I heard the rhythm of all these false allegations about how incorrigible I was and how I was a bully and a trouble maker the only thing they forgot to call me was a ****** when it came time for me tos peak after my mom had already pleaded with them for mercy.
Darren Wilson Ferguson Officer Shoots Mike brown:
I doubt 9-1-1 and then I realized that the 911 operator didn’t give a fuck at all to my horror I turned around and realized that I was being excessively pepper-sprayed after which the bike cop tackled me with the force of what felt like a linebacker hitting a helpless Y receiver I begged and I pleaded what did i do what did I do to wish this white male officer replied stop resisting his unlawful arrest but last first lady’s cutest Nick for no reason
Mike Brown was murdered on the streets of Ferguson by an officer named Darren Wilson when Darren Wilson went to the grand jury Darren Wilson said he was scared for his life although he had the gun and we see this so much law enforcement officers being scared for their lives but they have the gun and as the world watched and waited waited to see if Darren Wilson was going to be indicted by the prosecutor Bob McCullough we knew he wasn’t going to but but we hoped that he would and when he was in the whole world up rose and that was when you saw black lives matter go viral the second time the first time was during Trayvon and this is the second time where internationally and globally people were using black lives matter as they hit the streets to protest against the non indictment of Darren Wilson you had people that were shutting down freeways we had people who were showing up in the thousands many of us gathered and drove down to Ferguson and we stood in solidarity with the community this was that time where I could tell that this movement was really it was completely blossoming what makes Ferguson important is that there was an uprising Mike Brown dies the community comes out and they really big do a vigil that night but their police response with tanks and tear gas the night of the vigil and then the community says we’re not going home and these weren’t organizers these were nonprofit leaders these were black people who are fed up with the consistent level of harassment that was happening previous to my friend was killing and the police keep responding and keeping reactionary if they just allowed people to protest imagine how different the outcome would be but instead they were pressed instead they violated people’s civil and human rights and then the rest of the world was watching in shock.