In recent years, actor Jesse Williams has been vocal about expressing his frustration surrounding police misconduct and the “criminalization of the black body.”
In response to the April 2 death of Eric Harris — who was fatally shot by a reserve sheriff’s deputy as he lay on the ground — the “Grey’s Anatomy” star on Monday took to his Twitter account to outline various points to Americans who constantly use excuses to justify the killing of black people.
ATTN: all of you justify-anything “patriots” who reflexively spout excuses great & small for ANY & ALL violent death of Black/African people
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
Kindly provide a list of offenses that are punishable by violence & public execution at the hands of men uniformed by gov’t &/or whiteness.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
3) We will [not] wait.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
4) You will not answer. You never do.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
5) We’ve been taking voracious notes and are well acquainted with the list you won’t show us.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
6) Despite centuries of changing variables & compounding offenses, your every [in]action reveals a list holding only two words: BE BLACK
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
You know what’s worse than living under constant siege by inane, anti-intellectual, contortionist sloganeering & policy? Being KILLED by it.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
8) You never demand “balance” or “all sides” represented when vilifying blackness before, during or after killing those wearing it.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
9) But how dare we say “Stop, you’re hurting me.” Without also showering our assailant w/ high praise.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
10) Keep TELLING us what America stands for, while we WATCH her fall for it.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
11) America stands for exactly what Americans will stand for. History doesn’t write itself, it must be lived and practiced. #Try
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) April 13, 2015
The videotaped deaths of Harris, who was shot by reserve sheriff’s deputy Robert Bates in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Walter Scott, who was killed by then-police officer Michael T. Slager in Charleston, South Carolina, mark the latest fatal shootings of unarmed black Americans to draw national attention.
In addition to his recent string of tweets, last year Williams questioned the media’s coverage of the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri, which then focused on video footage showing Brown involved in strong-arm robbery at a convenience store.
“You’ll find that the people doing the oppressing always want to start the narrative at a convenient part, or always want to start the story in the middle,” Williams said during an August 2014 interview on CNN. “This started with a kid getting shot and killed and left in the street for four hours.”
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