Amadou Diallo: We Remember. We Stay Fighting.
Protective Custody - Dante and Main Flow Of Mood, Nine, Tiye Phoenix, Breezly Brewn' Of The Juggaknots, Talib Kweli, & Punchline
Amadou Diallo - Roy Campbell Trio
American Skin (41 Shots) - Bruce Springsteen
It's TIME - Max Roach
Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, 41 bullets fired at an unarmed man would have seemed like a fairy tale. A tall tale. A perverse extrapolation of a truth that could have never existed. The year is the 2-double-zero-seven and we've upped the ante: 50 shots. 41 seems reasonable in our current, perverse view. February 4th, 1999, our world permanently changed.
Easier than you would hope, a life can be taken away. 41 shots can be fired. 19 bullets can pierce flesh and take life away. As simple as that. 41 shots can take a life away FOREVER.
A candle can burn in memory. It's flame can only remind us for so long.
However, the light of that candle, no matter how small, can fill an entire room. The light of that small candle, no matter how small, can help us remember. Remind us of how lucky we are. We're still breathing.
A picture, I've been told, holds one thousand words. I've stood in front of this mural and asked, "Will those thousand words come close to rationalizing the death of a fellow human being?" If I could hear, what would HE tell me? At least I'm breathing, I tell myself. At least, I have the power to hold these rhetorical conversations with myself.
With time, paint may fade. The paint, although it may have lost some of it's initial luster, serves as a reminder of what we have. A reminder of how far we have left to go. A reminder of how much we HAVE.
I've been told that I live in a post-modern world. I still haven't been able to explain how a wallet could be "interpreted" as a gun. Do we truly live in The Waste Land?
Eight years have past since that fateful night. The night that redefined "normal." The night that stretched normal into the realm of the perverse. The unbelievable. The horrifying. The eye-opening.
Eight years have past since that fateful night. In light of recent events, it seems that we haven't evolved much since then. However, it is our privilege, being breathing citizens of this country, to remember the lives lost in the struggle. However, it is our DUTY, as human beings, to STAY FIGHTING.
posted by vik on Sunday, February 04, 2007
1 Comments:
"365 DAYS OF MARCHING" a New Amadou Diallo Documentary
For a sneak preview log onto:
http://www.365daysofmarchingmovie.com
It's important that the community know that the legacy of Amadou Diallo and the organizing efforts of all those who participated, was not in vain. Although New York City may have tried to sweep this one under the rug, Sean Bell and 50 SHOTS reminds us that Police Brutality & Police Community Relations are systemic and we must never forget. To do so...
"365 DAYS OF MARCHING"
Seven years ago when an unarmed African immigrant by the name of Amadou Diallo was shot at 41 times (hit 19 times) by 4 New York City Police Officers, the people took to the streets charging the NYPD with police brutality. Over the next two years that followed, a series of marches and protests was set into motion that would forever change the lives of New Yorkers.
At its conceptual root—spearheaded by Rev Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, was the march for justice for Diallo. However, in the midst of the struggles a new breed of protestor began to emerge. Along the side of the activist stood politicians, students & professors, unions, and laborers. The shout of “No Justice No Peace!—What do we want? JUSTICE!” Now became “What do we want?—BOOKS! HOUSING! JOBS! Diallo’s death became a symbol for justice on all fronts.
360 Media recounts this bitter and yet compelling part of New York City history in the upcoming documentary entitled “365 Days of Marching—AMADOU”
DIRECTED, WRITTEN & PRODUCED by Veronica Keitt
CO-PRODUCED by Michael Drake, Ozzie Thompson, Nat Wood,
Darryl Stith
with SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY
Rev. Al Sharpton, Seiko & Kadiatou Diallo, the parents of
Amadou Diallo, David N. Dinkins, former NYC Mayor,
Charles Rangel, US Congressmen, Rev. Jessie Jackson,
Charles Barron, Councilman, Norman Siegel, ACLU,
Community Activists, Leaders and others . . .
Scheduled to be released early Spring/2007
For a sneak preview log onto:
http://www.365daysofmarchingmovie.com
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