With the Black Lives Matter movement still pushing strong all across the country, another police killing has the movement’s members up in arms just weeks after the death of George Floyd. Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police officers after a confrontation in a Wendys parking lot near the fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru. Protests quickly turned up as angry Atlanta residents took the streets shutting down one of the city’s major highways.
On Saturday, the Wendys that Brooks’ death occurred nearby would eventually be burned down during the protests. Killer Mike, who has been very active on the topic of social justice, took to his Instagram to speak on Brooks’ death on Saturday, saying that the man should still be alive and vowing to support groups that advocate for change.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBYxv8aHlkP/?utm_source=ig_embed
Sharing a pair of pictures, one that simply read “Rayshard Brooks” and another that was a photo of Brooks, the Run The Jewels rapper left a lengthy caption detailing his thoughts and frustrations about yet another black to die at the hands of the police.
#RayshardBrooks should be alive this morning. He should be waking up (hungover or drunk in the tank depending on whether he was apprehended) and not dead. If I’m the Wendy’s worker who called the police, I feel like shit this morning because a call for a man sleeping in a car should not have ended with his killing. If I’m the people with the child in the car, I feel helpless and hurt. If I’m that child, I’m scared shitless of anyone with a uniform and a gun. If I’m the angry white or black guy who was filming and saying, “I watched y’all for twenty minutes,” I’m wondering what else I could have done? I am mad as hell and I am saddened beyond consolation. At a minimum, we need a law that prevents shooting a person while they’re fleeing. If there is no weapon, fleeing from an officer should be a foot chase and radio race. If a person gets away, they get away. As I have said before, I will continue to look to and support grassroots organizations who are doing the work, day in and day out. If there are groups who you know are organizing to end police killings, @ them so we can follow and support.
Killer Mike concluded the post by asking his followers to continue to “#PlotPlanStrategizeOrganizeMobilize.” It was just last week he joined Bill Maher’s Real Time With Bill Maher to speak on this concept, asking people not to riot but instead mobilize a political movement to incite change.
“But after the destruction of property, I need you to become an organizer,” he said. “I need you to plot, plan, strategize, organize, and mobilize. Protesting is the first step.”
