9 Moments That Prove Michael Brown's Death Was Definitely Not About Race
A year ago this week, on Aug. 9, 2014, Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri shot 18-year-old Michael Brown six times and left his dead body lying in the street for four-and-a-half hours.
It's still important to remind ourselves how far we've come. Since then, here are nine times Brown's death definitely, absolutely and unequivocally was not about race in any way, shape or form.
1. When white people from Ferguson dropped everything they were doing and rushed to condemn Brown's killer. The utter lack of support he received resulted in almost no money being raised for his legal defense.
Source: Huffington Post/ The New Yorker
2. When black people in Ferguson came out to protest and police treated them with genuine humanity and respect — exactly how they treat white people.
Meanwhile...
Mostly white youth at the annual Keene Pumpkin Festival in Keene, New Hampshire, rioted in October 2014.
3. When Wilson expressed heartfelt remorse for killing an unarmed black teenager...
Source: The New Yorker
4. ... And proved that he wasn't just utterly not racist, he didn't even say racist things by accident.
Source: The New Yorker
5. When the Department of Justice dug into Ferguson's policing practices and found that everything was on the up-and-up — racially speaking, that is.
Source: Huffington Post/Mic
6. That black people were never harassed or treated unfairly by Ferguson police.
Source: Mic via the U.S. Department of Justice
7. Never.
Source: Mic via the U.S. Department of Justice
8. And the fines they were asked to pay for minor citations were totally fair and reasonable.
Source: Mic via the U.S. Department of Justice
Source: Mic via the U.S. Department of Justice
9. Finally, Ferguson police were aggressively not racist — even in their private conversations with one another.
Source: Mic via the U.S. Department of Justice
So if any protesters or race baiters try shutting down the street during your commute to work, or hijacking political events with their "Black Lives Matter" hijinks, use this list as a friendly reminder that all lives matter — not just the black ones.
We don't need to keep talking about black lives like they require special attention. It's 2015. This isn't about race — is that not obvious?
