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Black Mothers Act Out What Might Be The Future Of Their Sons In The US (28 Pics)
Artist Jon Henry started working on his photography series Stranger Fruit back in 2014. What began as a protest against senseless police killings of black people ended up being a lot of other things, too. Most notably, it's an introspective mirror that allows viewers to examine their own take on the subject.
The people we see in the photos are real mothers, posing in their own environment with their actual sons, reenacting what it must feel like to lose them. The mothers are isolated. Alone. Empty. When the trials are over and the protesters have gone home, when the news cameras are gone and nobody is around anymore, the mother remains on the site forever. There's no peace of mind; the scene will always haunt her.
These mothers understand that this could happen to their family at any moment.
More info: jonhenryphotography.com | Instagram
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Untitled #44, Crenshaw Blvd, Ca
this is why we say black lives matter because people need reminding that POC are humans too.
From a rural area in North Minneapolis to a street corner in Jersey City, Henry has visited a lot of places for the series. "I chose these locations because I could find subjects there," the photographer told Bored Panda. "The locations are where the families live and work. I'm looking for areas that describe the city and/or state from a geographical and architectural point of view."
Stranger Fruit By Jon Henry
Even though these shots are staged, they radiate authenticity. "The families choose whatever they are comfortable with wearing, so that helps the natural feel," Henry explained. "The comfort level with the family also helps the feel of the images. These aren't actors, they are family that [really] consider these issues."
Untitled #35, North Minneapolis, Mn
The photographer wanted the mothers to pose deadpan to appeal more directly to the viewer. And they do. They look directly in our eyes, as if asking, how do we feel and what are we going to do about this. "The viewer can make their own decision on how to respond to the images," Henry concluded.
Untitled #42, Central Los Angeles, Ca
Untitled #5 Parkchester, NY
This is heartbreaking...no mother should have to fear for child's life based on solely the colour of their skin.
Untitled #33, Jersey City, Nj
This is so sad. No mother should have to fear for her son's life because fo their skin.
“Untitled 48, Inglewood, Ca”
Untitled #19 Magnificent Mile, Il
Reminds me of Michelangelo's Pieta in the Vatican. http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelos-pieta/
Untitled #25 Montgomery, Al
Untitled #55 Little Rock, Ar
Untitled #17 South Side Chicago, Il
I'm just imagining the people who just don't care and it makes me SMAD!!
Jon Henry, “Untitled 39, Santa Monica, Ca”
Untitled 53, North Little Rock, Ar
I have cried over every one of these pictures. people treasure and love each other.
Untitled 56, Houston Tx
“Untitled 45, Oakland, Ca”
Untitled #13 Groveland Park, Il
Untitled 51, New Orleans, La
Untitled #3 Harlem, NY
Untitled #1 Co-Op City, NY
Untitled #29, North Miami, Fl
Untitled #24 Birmingham, Al
Untitled 46, San Francisco, Ca
Stranger Fruit By Jon Henry
Untitled #21, Berwyn, Il
Untitled 50, West Orange Nj
Untitled #31, Wynwood, Fl
Untitled #9 Newburgh, NY
Untitled #11 Buffalo, NY
Makes you think about how many black mothers have been that road for real. And that the possibility of this happening is very real to the people who posed.
I am the proud mom of a black son and it hurts me to see this. I'm constantly scared for my child. I have to now teach him how to act in front of police or white people in general. No sudden movements, yes sir- no sir only, don't show anger, and the list of don'ts go on and on. It's completely overwhelming and beyond sad. My child didn't choose to be born a black male, God chose him and that makes him perfect.
I experienced too many times in finding a love one or a child from a neighbor whose child was found on the side of the road or in an abandon building...yes overwhelming...
I came across this post 6 months late. However I'm just going to state that the majority of white people are killed by other white people! Same goes for all other races. You are more likely to be murdered by an acquaintance than a stranger. Verifiable Facts!
This is heart wrenching. I am not black, but I am a mother, and cannot fathom losing my son. But to lose them to this everyday violence is beyond comprehension.
Why no one fears for the daughters? They are also more likely to get arrested than white girls.
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Since someone will probably say this is tacky, tasteless... See Michelangelo's famous PIeta. Every mother's sorrow over a dead son. That was the artist's point. The humanity. And that's the point of these photos.
Spot on. Pietà was amongst the first things that came to my mind too. And this series is using art and religious motifs in a very clever way, to make sure we understand it's more than politics - it's a matter of empathy for the fellow human being. It brings out so many points and questions.
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It is a shame that so many men (white and black) are being killed on a daily basis not by police but other men. I know this will get down voted because white liberals do NOT really want to raise a single damn finger to stop the 6000 murders of blacks every year. They want to keep us in chains. Keep us dependent on DC millionaires. People will destroy a city because of the 20 + killings by the police. Crickets when it is just another brother shot any other time. Tell me I'm wrong. There will be reckoning for you folks that politicize everything and only promote your agenda. You sacrifice a brother for your politics. You would take out the police know damn well that just gets another brother killed.
THIS! It seems that "black lives matter" only when taken by a white officer. Where are they when a brother is killed by another? Where are the rioters when gangs shoot up a neighborhood and injure someone who was just sitting on a porch? What about the numerous people still living in extreme poverty, where tiny little kids are starving? To me, their lives matter just as much. Sheer statistics show that any POC is far more likely to be harmed by another black individual than anyone else. It's time we start taking accountability and quit turning a blind eye or trying to blame someone else. But no one wants to hear that
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I am always so shocked when others can't see the value in another life. Just because they don't look like you, doesn't mean they are less than you. They have dreams like you. Why not fight for them too? Black lives matter. Stand with them.
Thank you so much. All of the hateful responses I have seen today have almost brought me to tears, but your response gives me hope.
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This circus they play keeps getting more pathetic maybe stop shooting people then police won't arrest you
I am a white mother with a black son who was shot in Seattle and this touched me so deeply im crying but they're thankful tears of joy because my son survived and is thriving and just had his first baby 6 months ago. Please don't ever take this time we have for granted and love on your son today if you can because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.
Initially it seems a bit over the top for mother's that haven't lost their sons, but then again this is the very real fear these mother's live with.
I don’t know that these mothers *haven’t* lost other sons.
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I am a black female. I have been racially abused in JUNIOR HIGH. JUNIOR HIGH. Nobody did ANYTHING and I was stuck being tormented through that school until I moved. It is not only sons that have to be scared. It is black daughters as well. I am adopted, and my adoptive parents are white, and my birthmom is black. NOBODY WILL UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF LOSING A DAUGHTER OR A SON. Stop racial viloence now... or face the prece. Protest after protest after protest.Be lucky you don't have to feel FEAR pulsing through your veins every time you set a foot out of YOUR DOOR. Be lucky. Were scared. Edit: I just needed to rant afer seeing this. I did not mean to attack anybody or anything.
Listen. I was born in a hellhole where my cousin was assasinated in front of his family and kids for political reasons. Hearing about you truly privileged people whining about verbal slights and abuse, and something that has less than 0.01% of happening unless you resist arrest, is pathetic. This is for everyone, not only directed to you, but stop being a crying victim and do something constructive for once in your lives.
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Some free advice to appreciate these photos more. Take it or leave it. Rather than just scrolling quickly through each picture, take a few moments to pause for each picture. For each one, gaze somewhat in their eyes, how they seem to be looking at the person behind the screen.
97% of people killed by police are male. Why is this blatant sexism not being protested? Why only blacks???
heart breaking to see, heartbreaking because it could happen, has happened, my heart goes out to all the families that have lost anyone and to all these brave mothers to pose like this with your children, I pray that nothing like this happens to all you
This is something that has happened and that could happen again. Young black men and women being killed for no reason except the color of their skin. To those people who say that this happens because of black on black crime, I want you to go to Google and type in the search "lynchings in the US " and then tell me whether black people bring violent death onto ourselves. The color of a person's skin should not be the only motivation to kill them. I have a twelve year old brother and I would hate to have to bury him young because someone chose to kill him over the color of his skin.
My mom taught me that WE ALL BLEED RED. We are all alive and we all deserve the same chances. The end. If you cried about Sandy Hook, but didn't care when they installed metal detectors in inner-city schools thirty years ago? Reality check yourself. That's all I ask. Reality check yourself. .... And we're all accountable for ourselves, and for the role we play in our society, large and small, as voters, as citizens, as voices, as neighbors. Peace.
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Truly awful. I don't think that until George Floyd was murdered that most white people truly appreciated the depths of racism and racist killings there truly were. It's not to excuse this lack of caring but I can say, with honesty, it truly IS hard to spot racism when it's not directed at you personally. But what has been seen cannot be unseen. I hope none of them face this future in reality. At this point in time we have a REAL chance to change things, if we don't take it then we have failed our children, these children..
Sadly, I don't think most white "people truly appreciate the depths of racism" to this day. But I agree Floyd's death woke up a good number.
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My white privilege has allowed me to never be overly concerned about my son being murdered. I simply can't fathom how difficult is for black moms to live with this real threat. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
This is heartbreaking. I hate that there is still racism in the world today. I wish people would just grow up and realize that at the end of the day WE ARE ALL PEOPLE. We are all human. Our bodies work the same, we breathe the same air. It just bothers me so much. It honestly seems like most people who are racist are trying to act younger than me. (I'm 13) And I wish people would GROW UP and realize that WE ARE ALL HUMAN!!
Or they could pose their sons in graduation gowns which is approximately a million times more likely to happen than this.
My white privilege has allowed me to raise my son without much thought of his being murdered in the streets. I can't fathom the pain of living with this. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I am crying its not fair that people have to fear for their lives over the color of their skin
So powerful. I am Latina and my mom had to give my brother the “police talk” and she told him it is important to respect police officers because his skin is brown. This should not happen.
One of the few bored pandas that made me cry. I don’t have any sons. But I have daughters and granddaughters, all headed down the wrong road. Death of a child is the ultimate agony.
Just because Black Lives Matter people say that black men are being killed by police because of being black doesn't make it true. The studies do NOT back it up. So, you ask why every time you hear about a shooting, it's always a black guy. That's because BLM specifically states they will take care of black people first, and worry about other people later, so they make a fuss about the death of nearly every black person (whether justified by the situation or not), and so that's all people see. Did you all care about the 14yo autistic boy who was shot after his mother called for help with a mental health care crisis earlier this year? There IS evidence of higher rates of non-lethal force by police towards black people, but not lethal force. Keep in mind: white men are TWENTY times as likely to be killed by police as black women, but black women say they are terrified of being pulled over because they don't want to be killed. Their fear is real, I'm sure, but it is baseless fear.
Yes and another example is i was watching the news and heard A sentence about a white 15 year old girl shot at a BLM riot, the news didnt even care enough to say more than one sentence, but oh, the poor black people ruining buildigs and stealing s**t, oh no poor them. Give me a break.
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These photo are heartbreaking, and if you have time please watch the video he's talked about the issues. https://youtu.be/mrUTJfFLuJ0?t=1
I don't understand this. It doesn't HAVE to be 'acted out" - it is really happening.
This is so stupid. Pretending you child is dead and making them pose shirtless in public.. sometimes in snow... on the road. reeks of manipulation and melodrama.
Let me just ask: If you going to "white" neirbohood are you affraid? How about "black" neirbohood? I bet you do not crossing even if you hurry... That is it.
This myth of Black victimhood is so rare that Jussie Smollett had to make it up. And when caught there were NO CONSEQUENCES.
I got a heart cramp when I saw they were all titled ''untitled''...
I am sat with my (white) baby girl sleeping in my arms with tears running down my face. I cannot fathom this being an actual possibility for my baby and my heart breaks for all the families that have experienced this or will experience it. Black lives matter
These beautiful people should be under terrible duress to be able to do this kind of photo-shoot. I'm deeply saddened by the state of 'the greatest country in the world'...
Wow, I didn't realize how bad it really is in America, not just the post itself but the comments as well, I don't think I can read any further
Colors don’t matter n too many people don’t understand that. Everyone needs to remember that saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover....” I’m white, but I still feel sorry for the blacks. Just cuz their skin is different, doesn’t mean they are, so why does color matter to people? Sorry to all blacks for this aggravation/stress caused by other races.
Not many people understand yhis post! This series of pictures show how black mothers see the future of their sons! Besides them all being dead, their potential To make a life, is gone! Murdered, accidental death, poor health care, racial profiling, police brutality, complete inequality , because of the color of their skin, and what white people see and feel about their superiority. Death is the future and it looks like to them, that it will never change.. this is inequality at its worst. What do you think now?
A better title for this would be BLACK MOTHERS ACT OUT THE PROBABILITY OF The Future Of Their Sons In The US
USA please listen: Fix your gun laws Fix your drug laws Fix your employment laws Fix your abortion laws All will soon be well The world
Stop being so f*****g dramatic. Turn off the media and get a life.
Here's a neat idea. Get married to the guy you plan to have impregnate you. The statistics show, white or black, you and your children are so screwed when you have a child out of wedlock.
Maybe black people should stop killing each other. When approximately 3% of the population commit over 50% of the homicides, something should be done. That’s where BLM should focus its efforts, rather than focus on the tiny percentage that are killed by cops. (I’m sure this will just get downvoted to hell, rather than realizing it’s the truth)
1. Look at the percentages. 2. Yes. Disproportionate police violence is a serious problem in the US, and people of other races are killed, too.
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More like 3%. 13% is the total of black people. But mostly men 6.5% and baby and grandpa aren’t out murdering, so about half 3% are responsible for over 50% of murders.
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There is no "race war" you buffoon. Racist white people love pretending the big bad blacks have been coming to get them forever. The truth is this is overwhelmingly one-sided: State power is used to murder black men and women in completely disproportionate numbers.
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So you don't like violent protests and you don't like peaceful art... So people should just shut up and let the world run over them quietly?
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This is heart wrenching. I am not black, but I am a mother, and cannot fathom losing my son. But to lose them to this everyday violence is beyond comprehension.
Why no one fears for the daughters? They are also more likely to get arrested than white girls.
Load More Replies... Since someone will probably say this is tacky, tasteless... See Michelangelo's famous PIeta. Every mother's sorrow over a dead son. That was the artist's point. The humanity. And that's the point of these photos.
Spot on. Pietà was amongst the first things that came to my mind too. And this series is using art and religious motifs in a very clever way, to make sure we understand it's more than politics - it's a matter of empathy for the fellow human being. It brings out so many points and questions.
Load More Replies... It is a shame that so many men (white and black) are being killed on a daily basis not by police but other men. I know this will get down voted because white liberals do NOT really want to raise a single damn finger to stop the 6000 murders of blacks every year. They want to keep us in chains. Keep us dependent on DC millionaires. People will destroy a city because of the 20 + killings by the police. Crickets when it is just another brother shot any other time. Tell me I'm wrong. There will be reckoning for you folks that politicize everything and only promote your agenda. You sacrifice a brother for your politics. You would take out the police know damn well that just gets another brother killed.
THIS! It seems that "black lives matter" only when taken by a white officer. Where are they when a brother is killed by another? Where are the rioters when gangs shoot up a neighborhood and injure someone who was just sitting on a porch? What about the numerous people still living in extreme poverty, where tiny little kids are starving? To me, their lives matter just as much. Sheer statistics show that any POC is far more likely to be harmed by another black individual than anyone else. It's time we start taking accountability and quit turning a blind eye or trying to blame someone else. But no one wants to hear that
Load More Replies... I am always so shocked when others can't see the value in another life. Just because they don't look like you, doesn't mean they are less than you. They have dreams like you. Why not fight for them too? Black lives matter. Stand with them.
Thank you so much. All of the hateful responses I have seen today have almost brought me to tears, but your response gives me hope.
Load More Replies... This circus they play keeps getting more pathetic maybe stop shooting people then police won't arrest you
I am a white mother with a black son who was shot in Seattle and this touched me so deeply im crying but they're thankful tears of joy because my son survived and is thriving and just had his first baby 6 months ago. Please don't ever take this time we have for granted and love on your son today if you can because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.
Initially it seems a bit over the top for mother's that haven't lost their sons, but then again this is the very real fear these mother's live with.
I don’t know that these mothers *haven’t* lost other sons.
Load More Replies... I am a black female. I have been racially abused in JUNIOR HIGH. JUNIOR HIGH. Nobody did ANYTHING and I was stuck being tormented through that school until I moved. It is not only sons that have to be scared. It is black daughters as well. I am adopted, and my adoptive parents are white, and my birthmom is black. NOBODY WILL UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF LOSING A DAUGHTER OR A SON. Stop racial viloence now... or face the prece. Protest after protest after protest.Be lucky you don't have to feel FEAR pulsing through your veins every time you set a foot out of YOUR DOOR. Be lucky. Were scared. Edit: I just needed to rant afer seeing this. I did not mean to attack anybody or anything.
Listen. I was born in a hellhole where my cousin was assasinated in front of his family and kids for political reasons. Hearing about you truly privileged people whining about verbal slights and abuse, and something that has less than 0.01% of happening unless you resist arrest, is pathetic. This is for everyone, not only directed to you, but stop being a crying victim and do something constructive for once in your lives.
Load More Replies... Some free advice to appreciate these photos more. Take it or leave it. Rather than just scrolling quickly through each picture, take a few moments to pause for each picture. For each one, gaze somewhat in their eyes, how they seem to be looking at the person behind the screen.
97% of people killed by police are male. Why is this blatant sexism not being protested? Why only blacks???
heart breaking to see, heartbreaking because it could happen, has happened, my heart goes out to all the families that have lost anyone and to all these brave mothers to pose like this with your children, I pray that nothing like this happens to all you
This is something that has happened and that could happen again. Young black men and women being killed for no reason except the color of their skin. To those people who say that this happens because of black on black crime, I want you to go to Google and type in the search "lynchings in the US " and then tell me whether black people bring violent death onto ourselves. The color of a person's skin should not be the only motivation to kill them. I have a twelve year old brother and I would hate to have to bury him young because someone chose to kill him over the color of his skin.
My mom taught me that WE ALL BLEED RED. We are all alive and we all deserve the same chances. The end. If you cried about Sandy Hook, but didn't care when they installed metal detectors in inner-city schools thirty years ago? Reality check yourself. That's all I ask. Reality check yourself. .... And we're all accountable for ourselves, and for the role we play in our society, large and small, as voters, as citizens, as voices, as neighbors. Peace.
Load More Replies... Truly awful. I don't think that until George Floyd was murdered that most white people truly appreciated the depths of racism and racist killings there truly were. It's not to excuse this lack of caring but I can say, with honesty, it truly IS hard to spot racism when it's not directed at you personally. But what has been seen cannot be unseen. I hope none of them face this future in reality. At this point in time we have a REAL chance to change things, if we don't take it then we have failed our children, these children..
Sadly, I don't think most white "people truly appreciate the depths of racism" to this day. But I agree Floyd's death woke up a good number.
Load More Replies... My white privilege has allowed me to never be overly concerned about my son being murdered. I simply can't fathom how difficult is for black moms to live with this real threat. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
This is heartbreaking. I hate that there is still racism in the world today. I wish people would just grow up and realize that at the end of the day WE ARE ALL PEOPLE. We are all human. Our bodies work the same, we breathe the same air. It just bothers me so much. It honestly seems like most people who are racist are trying to act younger than me. (I'm 13) And I wish people would GROW UP and realize that WE ARE ALL HUMAN!!
Or they could pose their sons in graduation gowns which is approximately a million times more likely to happen than this.
My white privilege has allowed me to raise my son without much thought of his being murdered in the streets. I can't fathom the pain of living with this. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I am crying its not fair that people have to fear for their lives over the color of their skin
So powerful. I am Latina and my mom had to give my brother the “police talk” and she told him it is important to respect police officers because his skin is brown. This should not happen.
One of the few bored pandas that made me cry. I don’t have any sons. But I have daughters and granddaughters, all headed down the wrong road. Death of a child is the ultimate agony.
Just because Black Lives Matter people say that black men are being killed by police because of being black doesn't make it true. The studies do NOT back it up. So, you ask why every time you hear about a shooting, it's always a black guy. That's because BLM specifically states they will take care of black people first, and worry about other people later, so they make a fuss about the death of nearly every black person (whether justified by the situation or not), and so that's all people see. Did you all care about the 14yo autistic boy who was shot after his mother called for help with a mental health care crisis earlier this year? There IS evidence of higher rates of non-lethal force by police towards black people, but not lethal force. Keep in mind: white men are TWENTY times as likely to be killed by police as black women, but black women say they are terrified of being pulled over because they don't want to be killed. Their fear is real, I'm sure, but it is baseless fear.
Yes and another example is i was watching the news and heard A sentence about a white 15 year old girl shot at a BLM riot, the news didnt even care enough to say more than one sentence, but oh, the poor black people ruining buildigs and stealing s**t, oh no poor them. Give me a break.
Load More Replies... These photo are heartbreaking, and if you have time please watch the video he's talked about the issues. https://youtu.be/mrUTJfFLuJ0?t=1
I don't understand this. It doesn't HAVE to be 'acted out" - it is really happening.
This is so stupid. Pretending you child is dead and making them pose shirtless in public.. sometimes in snow... on the road. reeks of manipulation and melodrama.
Let me just ask: If you going to "white" neirbohood are you affraid? How about "black" neirbohood? I bet you do not crossing even if you hurry... That is it.
This myth of Black victimhood is so rare that Jussie Smollett had to make it up. And when caught there were NO CONSEQUENCES.
I got a heart cramp when I saw they were all titled ''untitled''...
I am sat with my (white) baby girl sleeping in my arms with tears running down my face. I cannot fathom this being an actual possibility for my baby and my heart breaks for all the families that have experienced this or will experience it. Black lives matter
These beautiful people should be under terrible duress to be able to do this kind of photo-shoot. I'm deeply saddened by the state of 'the greatest country in the world'...
Wow, I didn't realize how bad it really is in America, not just the post itself but the comments as well, I don't think I can read any further
Colors don’t matter n too many people don’t understand that. Everyone needs to remember that saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover....” I’m white, but I still feel sorry for the blacks. Just cuz their skin is different, doesn’t mean they are, so why does color matter to people? Sorry to all blacks for this aggravation/stress caused by other races.
Not many people understand yhis post! This series of pictures show how black mothers see the future of their sons! Besides them all being dead, their potential To make a life, is gone! Murdered, accidental death, poor health care, racial profiling, police brutality, complete inequality , because of the color of their skin, and what white people see and feel about their superiority. Death is the future and it looks like to them, that it will never change.. this is inequality at its worst. What do you think now?
A better title for this would be BLACK MOTHERS ACT OUT THE PROBABILITY OF The Future Of Their Sons In The US
USA please listen: Fix your gun laws Fix your drug laws Fix your employment laws Fix your abortion laws All will soon be well The world
Stop being so f*****g dramatic. Turn off the media and get a life.
Here's a neat idea. Get married to the guy you plan to have impregnate you. The statistics show, white or black, you and your children are so screwed when you have a child out of wedlock.
Maybe black people should stop killing each other. When approximately 3% of the population commit over 50% of the homicides, something should be done. That’s where BLM should focus its efforts, rather than focus on the tiny percentage that are killed by cops. (I’m sure this will just get downvoted to hell, rather than realizing it’s the truth)
1. Look at the percentages. 2. Yes. Disproportionate police violence is a serious problem in the US, and people of other races are killed, too.
Load More Replies... More like 3%. 13% is the total of black people. But mostly men 6.5% and baby and grandpa aren’t out murdering, so about half 3% are responsible for over 50% of murders.
Load More Replies... There is no "race war" you buffoon. Racist white people love pretending the big bad blacks have been coming to get them forever. The truth is this is overwhelmingly one-sided: State power is used to murder black men and women in completely disproportionate numbers.
Load More Replies... So you don't like violent protests and you don't like peaceful art... So people should just shut up and let the world run over them quietly?
Load More Replies...