8:46 Memorial June 26th at noon
We will be holding a memorial with students, Dr. Kevin Ahern and Dr. Mehnaz Afridi. This is in memory of our many black brothers and sisters we have lost over the years to the Police. We will say their names because we want to focus on their individual humanity and spirit.
2012-Trayvon Benjamin Martin a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman.
When Martin was nine years old, he saved his father's life by pulling his father out of a fire in their apartment. Martin enjoyed sports and video games. He washed cars, babysat, and cut grass to earn his own money. Martin's former football coach said “Martin had been one of the best players on their and he was a shy child that always walked with his hoodie and headphones listening to music”.
2014- Tamir Rice, a 12-year old African-American boy, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio by Timothy Loehmann, a 26-year-old White American police officer.
Tamir Elijah Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was athletic, enjoying basketball, football, and ping-pong. He was involved in arts programs in his community, sculpting pottery and crocheting embroidery for his mother. He was described as a "pleasant young man."
2014- Michael Brown Jr., an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by 28-year-old white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
Michael O.D. Brown Jr. graduated from Normandy High School in St. Louis County eight days before his death, completing an alternative education program. At the time of his death, he was 18 years old. He was an amateur musician who posted his songs on Soundcloud under the handle "Big ‘Mike". He was two days from starting a training program for heating and air conditioning repair at Vatterott College technical school.
2014- Eric Garner died in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department officer, put him in a chokehold while arresting him.
Eric Garner was a 44-year-old African-American man. He was a horticulturist at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation before quitting for health reasons. Garner has been described by his friends as a "neighborhood peacemaker" and as a generous, congenial person. He was the father of six children, had three grandchildren, and at the time of his death had a 3-month-old child.
2016- Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by Jeronimo Yanez, a 28-year-old Hispanic-American police officer from St. Anthony, Minnesota.
Philando Divall Castile was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School in 2001 and worked for the Saint Paul Public School District from 2002 until his death. He was promoted to nutrition services supervisor at J. J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, in August 2014.
2020- Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American emergency medical technician, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers.
Taylor, 26, an EMT and aspiring nurse, was shot eight times by police. According to a lawsuit filed by her family, her killing was the result of a botched drug-warrant execution. ... “She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family.
2020-George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down, begging for his life and repeatedly saying "I can't breathe"
Floyd, 46, grew up in Houston's Third Ward, one of the city's predominantly black neighborhoods, where he and Harris met in middle school. At 6 feet, 6 inches, Floyd emerged as a star tight end for Jack Yates High School and played in the 1992 state championship game in the Houston Astrodome. Quiet personality but a beautiful spirit.
2020- Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old African American man, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rayshard Brooks was a 27-year-old African American restaurant worker who lived in Atlanta. He had been married eight years and had three daughters and a stepson.
5 minutes
Mehnaz Afridi Closing statement.
1:46 seconds
Students:
Rabea Ali, Nicole Nunez, Christina Trichilo, Jilleen Barrett, Madison Smith, Ashley Delacruz, Daniel Aguirre, Ireland Twiggs
