B. Research Project: Victims of Police-Involved Deaths
At the end of the book on page 443, Starr says, It would be easy to quit if it was just about me, Khalil, that night and that cop. She then lists names including, Aiyana, Trayvon, Eric etc. that These are all people who have been impacted by police brutality, police misconduct (including situations resulting in death) and/or shootings. Starr adds, The messed up part? There are so many more. In this activity, you will engage in a research project about these individuals, all of whom have been impacted by police-involved deaths. In the book, the author only includes their first names but their last names are included here: Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, John Crawford, Philando Castile, Rekia Boyd, Ezell Ford, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland. Choose one of these names on which to conduct your research and write an essay about their life/death. Consider the following questions:
What happened?
What were the circumstances around the persons death?
How did the community and nation respond (or not respond)?
How did news media and social media portray the person and their death?
What are your thoughts and opinions about the case?
How was the case handled?
How do you think it should have been handled?
What were the outcomes of the case and do you think it was fair?
What was done and what should have been done in your view?
What impact did the persons death have on others?
