Black Lives STILL Matter

From the Huffingtonpost:

New York City residents took to the streets on Wednesday after a grand jury said it would not bring charges in the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died in July after a police officer placed him in a chokehold.

Garner, 43, was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on July 17 when New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in an illegal chokehold. The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide, but the grand jury said Wednesday it would not indict Pantaleo.

Locally, as reported by the Trib:

More than 100 protesters — shouting “Hands up! Don't shoot” and “no justice, no peace” — marched through the streets of Oakland on Wednesday night to show their displeasure at a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the choking death of an unarmed black man in New York.

Although the protesters — their numbers changing from about 75 to possibly 200 or more during the hourlong march — lay down to block several intersections for minutes at a time, prompting several motorists to honk their horns in anger, there did not appear to be any confrontations with the police officers, who watched silently. There was no immediate word of any arrests.

And the P-G:

As protesters marched down Forbes Avenue, Halket Street and Atwood Street, weaving in and out of traffic, they were met by support. One man high fived them as they passed by. Another woman gave a thumbs up and another clapped her hands. Several bystanders joined in the march or took photos and videos on their phones.

University police stood nearby but did not interfere, even moving their vehicles to block off three intersections in which protesters lay down in for 4 1/2 minutes each.

Why 4 1/2 minutes?

Here's why:

Shortly after 7 p.m., a woman in a colorful scarf read the last words uttered by Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and others who have been killed by law enforcement. Then, for 4 1/2 minutes, the group joined hands and bowed their heads in silence.

Julia Johnson, 22, of the South Side, asked the crowd to think about something during those moments, reflective of the number of hours Michael Brown's body lay on the street.

Black lives matter.

And I shouldn't have had to write that last sentence.  I shouldn't.

I can't breathe.