Here's what you can do!
Jo Ann Hardesty, speaking at a rally in solidarity with Ferguson, MO, listed some things we can do about racist profiling by a militarized police force.
1. If you see police stopping, harassing, or arresting young people, step forward, bear witness, and take pictures. Even if it's only a cell phone camera. Make sure the police know they are being watched and recorded. Your camera could save a life.
2. If you see young people engaging in risky behavior in a public place, step forward and make eye contact, speak to them, tell them their lives matter to you, and that because you don't want to see them killed, you advise them to take that behavior to a safer space.
3. Any time you see young people of color, make eye contact. Say hello. Let them know you see them, you value their lives. Tell them their lives matter to you.
She said she is tired of these rallies, tired to the bone of young people of color being killed. She said more, all of it powerful. But these are the points I remember most clearly, the points I think all of us can take to heart. We cannot vanquish violence with violence. We might not be able to vanquish violence with political action. But we can vanquish violence with our love for the children and for each other. Our cameras can be part of that.
More pictures of the rally, which included some beautiful faces and some powerful signs, are here.
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