This past September many America citizens were hit back-to-back with the realization that Black boys and men are “moving targets” for some police officers in America. In Columbus a thirteen-year old was shot and killed. Why? According to the Columbus Police Department (CPD) he pulled a gun on them during a chase. The “gun” turned out to be a toy gun. King is the third young Black man killed by the CPD this past year in Columbus. The police-officer appears to have fallen under the misbelief that the teenage boy, who happens to be Black, wanted to harm him, and thus his lawyers defense that the white man who is a trained police officer was “in fear for his life.” And now Tyre King’s mother buries her son and cries “no peace until justice.”

As I was preparing to write an article about King, I turned on the news and saw a video of a black man walking with his hands in the air, leaning against his car with his hands in the air, and then suddenly hearing shots and seeing him on the ground shot dead in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This time shot dead by a police woman who appears to have fallen under the misbelief that the “big bad dude” who happens to be Black, wanted to harm her, and thus her lawyers defense that the white woman who is a trained police officer was “in fear for her life.” And now Terence Crutcher’s twin sister buries her brother and cries “no peace until justice.”

No sooner than I decide that I must write about both King and Crutcher, I’m smacked in the face with the news that yet another Black man has been shot dead by a police-officer. This time in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the police-officer was a Black man. A Black man that appears to have fallen under the misbelief that the man waiting for his son to come home from school, who happens to be Black, wanted to harm him, and thus his lawyers defense will no doubt be that the Black man who is a trained police officer was “in fear for his life.” And now Keith Lamont Scott’s wife buries her husband and cries “no peace until justice.” 

Black children, women and men are being killed by policemen at an alarming rate and it appears that there is no end in sight. The Guardian’s police killings database reports police have killed at least seven hundred and ninety people thus far in 2016 and that many of these people were “unarmed, mentally ill and people of color.” Of this number, one hundred and ninety-four were Black Americans. The Guardian also reports that Black people and, which is new information to me, Native Americans are being “killed at the highest rates in the United States.” Police in America have killed anywhere from fifty-nine to ninety-nine people during any given month this year.

It appears that the CPD is increasing their number of killings in Columbus. In fact, it appears that Ohio in general is becoming known as one of the states that is not safe for a Black man if pulled over by the police. And let us not forget that King was “suspected” of committing a crime when he was chased and shot by the police officer. Let us not forget that Scott was killed when the police officers were trying to arrest someone else with a warrant. Will the Black man ever escape the curse of being “mistaken” for the “bad guy” and being pulled over, arrested and sometimes jailed for crimes they didn’t commit just because they happened to be a Black man at the wrong place but the right time to be killed by a trigger happy “frighten for his or her life” police-officer?

Once again there have been peaceful marches and prayer vigils in all three states, except for Charlotte where the city is literally burning from the protests that went from peaceful to violent with police-officers and protesters being injured, shot and tear gassed. At the time of this writing the burning and violation of the midnight curfew continues in Charlotte. Why the violent protests? Because there comes a time when there is no peace until justice is given and the justice that they want to start with is the release of the police dash cam and videos that the police are refusing to show at this time. The justice that Columbus wants to start with is for the CPD to start using dash cams and body cams. And Charlotte, North Carolina cries “no peace until justice.” And Columbus cries “no peace until justice” and Tulsa, Oklahoma cries “no peace until justice” and the America Black family cries “NO PEACE UNTIL JUSTICE!”