I never met him, but the death of this 17yo young man has completely altered my life. As my niece (who did know him) said, “It’s a shame that this is how everyone is learning his name.” The past two nights, people protested the shooting of Antwon Rose (unarmed child) by a police officer; they walked miles to block traffic at popular driving areas, such as highway 376 and the homestead bridge. More demonstrations are scheduled all week, to send the message- “Antown mattered and the shooting of unarmed black youth needs to stop now.” These are peaceful demonstrations by a community affronted by society and ferociously grieving an unnecessary loss. His name was Antwon Rose.
Dear police officer, his name was Antown Rose. He was 17. He loved children and to volunteer. People claim that his smile could light up a room. He brought with him hope, joy, and life. He had plans and dreams. His, my /our community continues to love him. What he gave to others, was life. What he did, was live. How he interacted, was lively. With three bullets, you took his life. I ask you, if he were a white boy, would you have shot your gun. I know that we have to stop bolstering this divide between police and blacks. However, I feel like if we do not name this problem as a racial line that dangerously divides groups of people, then we cannot eradicate and eliminate a problem that threatens all of us. We have a police problem that has stemmed from generations of oppression in our country. I know as a white woman, it will be a challenge for me to describe a black person’s perspective. However, I am going to try so I can make a point and will do my best to honor what youth of color, friends of color, mentors and authors have communicated to me. Antwon’s poem “I am not what you think”, reflects a truth I learned from others- black people are afraid of the police. Black people have always been afraid of the police, and how could they not be. Ida B. Wells, documented over 10,000 incidents of lynching by whites of newly freed people, in the 30 years following the Civil War. Jim Crow laws legalized hate crimes against blacks that were enforced by police officers. Michele Alexander (2012), in her book “The New Jim Crow” suggests that Reagan’s War on Drugs was intentionally initiated as a mechanism to replace Jim Crow, leading to the mass incarceration of blacks (mostly men), based on minor drug offenses. She cites multiple Supreme Court cases that ruled in favor of discriminatory legislative and police practices, funded by the federal government, which led to the dilemma we have today. A disaster where blacks, especially young men, who are still undergoing brain development because they are KIDS, are justifiably afraid of the police. Antown’s prophetic poem communicated that deep fear. BLACK PEOPLE AND OTHER MARGINALIZED GROUPS ARE AFRAID OF THE POLICE!!! Unlike us whites, they do not have the liberty to walk, drive, shop, or live without being targeted. Now let me try to communicate what I believe Antwon was thinking before he ran. It is my understanding that Antwon and his friend took a jitney, or gypsy cab, to get pizza. Uber was not an option because you need a credit or debit card for that service. Antown probably did not know the jitney driver personally, and became scared when he heard the cop sirens. I am certain that Antwon, an intelligent individual started thinking to himself, “What if there are drugs in this car that we don’t know about. I could get arrested as an accomplice. I might not be accepted to college over this or if I do, how will I pay for it. If I get arrested I will be stuck in a cage. If I can’t go to college I might as well be dead.” He wrote it himself, “there are only two ways out.” He tried to escape so that he could escape the right way, in a year. I know this sounds like faulty thinking, but have you ever sat down with teenagers, and oppressed teens at that? They are intelligent, passionate, and inspiring; however, they lack rational and consequential thought processes. As mentioned in a previous blog, brain development ends at the age of 25. Is it really faulty thinking though? I might be wrong, but I feel really strongly that I am accurately communicating why Antwon ran, and I understand where he was coming from. Where do we go from here? Antwon cannot resume breathing. Woodland Hills, Pittsburgh, and America, we cannot and will not reverse this event, or all of the other unnecessary deaths. Why? Because we cannot and it is time to face our societal trauma, name it, and kill it instead of innocent blacks. As evidenced by our past and present, we Woodland Hills (now supported by the larger Pittsburgh community), know how to challenge racism and change society for the better. Woodland Hills, the school district both Antwon and I attended, was established by a court order to end segregation and unequal treatment of black students. One mother, led a movement for her son that created our school district. We right what is wrong at Woodland Hills, when given the chance. We make change. That is our history and the literal foundation of our school district. Yesterday, I felt so uncomfortable being white. Usually, I talk with people of color easily, just about anything. This was not the case yesterday. I was so ashamed about the color of my skin. Every time I interacted with a black person, I wanted to shout "I am sorry." They opened doors for me, helped me find stuff in the store, cheered on my dog and his stick/tree. I wanted to tell them to stop being so nice to me, “I’m white and I don’t deserve this treatment after Antwon was killed.” Sometimes I am really ashamed to be white. Should not all of us white Americans feel shame about our past and present? Colored youth, not just black, are killed and imprisoned every day because of institutional racism. We inadvertently mark them as ‘undesirable’, and that is the furthest thing from the truth. That is not my truth and I do not think it should be society’s truth, or anyone's truth for that matter. This world needs a reawakening. We need to unravel the past and remove its stronghold on our present. We must admit that there is no colorblindness in our society. We should appreciate and love our differences. We need to be honest with ourselves, and shout out for change. We did it in the 60s, so why not now? Antwon could have made this world a better pace by living in it, but that police officer murdered him. “It’s a shame that people know his name because of his death.” Antwon I am sorry you died. I am sorry for your family and friends. I am sorry for our community. Let us honor the boy that died, and think about “what man he would have become had he lived?” Antwon your life matters more than you ever imagined. Thank you for living…without you there would be no movement. As a nation, can we keep the momentum of social change that Antwon started for us? Can we protest peacefully every day, not just in Pittsburgh, but everywhere? Can we rewrite the laws? Can we mandate changes to police training? Can we learn to love and respect each other, regardless of skin color? Can we make sure that Antwon did not die in vain? Can we make sure that Antwon did not die in vain? Can we make sure that Antwon did not die in vain? In memory of Antwon Rose.
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