We Will Persist: What the Media Is Leaving out of Protest Coverage

Written by Rita Thompson 

 

“No justice, no peace.” 

These are the words heard by protestors all over the world, demanding justice for the 200+ Black lives lost every year to police brutality, according to the research organization, Mapping Police Violence.

But what happens when coverage changes the narrative? What happens when the media turns their attention from the protestors to the anarchists? 

Regardless of what’s going down at these protests, the nature of the mainstream continues to miss the entire point.

So please, take a moment. Educate yourselves on what’s really happening. 

In Louisville, Ky.

  • Protestors created a human barricade to protect an officer who was separated from his squad. 

In Minneapolis, Minn.

  • Volunteers have gathered to clean up the streets nearly every morning since protests began in Minneapolis. 

In Washington D.C.

  • A local pizzeria is giving its employees three days of paid time off time for, “activism of their choosing.”

  • An attorney is providing free legal aid to arrested protestors.  “I am using my role as a legal advocate with the nationwide criminal justice reform initiative #Cut50 coupled with my role with Lawyer Bae LLC to create strategic ways to bring awareness, but also [to] make real [changes] in a legal system that has been founded on deep-seated racism,” Carter expressed to Forbes. “Some of these strategies currently include a campaign page I have created on the Lawyer Bae website that has links to various bail funds, including Tamika Mallory’s Until Freedom fund and also a pro bono directory similar to my main lawyer referral directory…that will give the public access to free lawyers if [you are] arrested and or attacked while peacefully protesting.”
  • Forty-four-year-old health care entrepreneur, Rahul Dubey, took more than 70 protesters into his house when they were being pursued by police officers with pepper spray after breaking curfew. “Rahul saved lives last night,” expressed a Black Lives Matter activist on Twitter. “He ended this with an inspirational speech about not giving up and keeping up the peaceful fight. What a guy. Thank you Rahul.”

  • D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser painted “Black Lives Matter” in massive yellow letters on the street leading up to the capitol building. “Breonna Taylor, on your birthday, let us stand with determination,” Bowser wrote on Twitter. “Determination to make America the land it ought to be.”

In L.A.

  • Sixteen year old activist, Thandiwe Abdullah, bravely shared her story with fellow protestors. Abdullah is the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard and an organizer with Black Lives Matter. Her work in launching the Black Lives Matter in School’s program aims to create safe spaces for black youth to speak out against racism in schools.

 

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@thandiweabdullah is 16 years old listen to her story. LISTEN to her. hear what she has to say. learn from her. follow her. #jackielaciemustgo #prosecutekillercops #defundthepolice @blmlosangeles @bldpwr #amplifymelanatedvoices

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  • The owner of a looted dispensary continues to support protestors regardless of his loss. “We can rebuild our store, but you cannot bring someone back to life,” the rapper expressed in his Instagram post.  

 

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I don’t expect everyone to understand what’s going on in the world 🌎 right now …. but I do ….

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  • L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti plans to cut as much as $150 million from the L.A. Police Department budget and redirect $250 million to youth jobs, health initiatives and “peace centers” to heal trauma.

In Merrick, N.Y.

  • Wynta-Amor Rogers made her voice heard at just seven years old. “She wanted to come out, she wanted to make a difference and be heard.” explained her mother to CBS New York. “I think that we all should encourage our kids to know what’s going on with the current events,” she said.

In Chicago, Ill.

  • Adam Hollingsworth, or the self-deemed, “Dreadheadcowboy,” rode his horse through protests to spread positivity and get children excited. 

“I thought about all the kids in the inner city of Chicago that have never seen a live horse before. I knew this would be something different and exciting for them,” reads Hollingsworth’s GoFundMe page, created to fund his ventures to future cities. “I decided to take my horse for a ride in my community and the reaction was simply amazing. Not only were the kids excited but the adults as well because they identified they’ve never seen a live horse either. 

Anarchy or Protests?

Yet, still, many are taking to the internet to refer to protestors as “animals.” Where do you think they got that idea? 

Please. Do not lose sight of what’s really happening here. 

 

 

Emerald contributor since June 2019

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