More Than Just The Color Of Your Skin

A semester project. An analyzation. A narrative. Real life. What does it mean to be African American in America? The issue is a tough one. Are the incidents we see involving police officers just and warranted? Were these black men guilty as any other? Is the color of their skin irrelevant? When I first ventured into this topic I wanted to shed a light on the events that led up to the killings of young unarmed black males by individuals responsible for enforcing the law. As a media motivated society, we see all and hear all. The media is unforgiving, and you have to be accountable for all your actions.



The shooting death of Michael Brown, Kimani Gray and killing of Eric Garner ha shed a light on the blatant disregard for human life. African American males lives. What I want to examine with this project is why these incidents occurred and how communities are not holding police accountable for their actions. According to Dailykos.com, 739 of the "Justified" shootings from 2012, 313 of them were Black.



• 44% of them or 136, were unarmed.

• 27% of them (83) were claimed by Law Enforcement to have a gun at the time of the shooting, but that could not be later confirmed.

• 20% of them (62) were confirmed to have been armed with a gun, knife or cutting tool.



I would like to write an analyzation on black males in the inner city and why it’s a reality of life or death when faced with a confrontation with police. Two questions have to be answered will this continue and how can it be stopped and prevented.

Work Cited:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/24/1324132/-How-Often-are-Unarmed-Black-Men-Shot-Down-By-Police#

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/18/killed-by-the-nypd-black-men_n_5600045.html

http://www.theroot.com/photos/2014/07/unarmed_black_men_killed_by_law_enforcement.html