KOMPLEXIFY!

Antwon Rose Jr had a million-dollar smile and a brain to match. The 17-year-old kid from Pittsburgh was the honor roll AP student all the teachers at Woodland Hills High School hoped to get in their classes. He spent his summers volunteering with Free Store 15104, a nonprofit organization that donated goods to community members in need – a job he got by interviewing in a three-piece suit to make a good impression. His work ethic so impressed the nonprofit’s director that she got Antwon an appearance in a campaign video for the mayor of Braddock during his bid for Governor. Antwon was also a skater, and when he wasn’t volunteering at Free Store, he was probably at the Switch & Signal Skate Park.

Antwon Rose Jr was murdered by police on June 19, 2018, for running away from them. Responding to reports of a drive-by shooting east of Pittsburgh, cops stopped a silver Chevy Cruze matching a description of the vehicle. The car was a jitney — an unlicensed taxi popular in the area — with two passengers: Antwon in the front seat, and another passenger in the back. As the cops handcuffed the driver, the two passengers opened their doors and bolted. They made it to the other side of the street when one cop – who had just been sworn into the department just a few hours prior – opened fire, shooting the unarmed Antwon in the back three times, killing him. He was 23 days from turning 18. (It would turn out that the other passenger was the drive-by shooter. He would be captured unharmed a week later.) The cop would be acquitted of all charges.

I AM NOT WHAT YOU THINK
–by Antwon Rose Jr, 2016
I am confused and afraid
I wonder what path I will take
I hear that there’s only two ways out
I see mothers bury their sons
I want my mom to never feel that pain
I am confused and afraid
I pretend all is fine
I feel like I’m suffocating
I touch nothing so I believe all is fine
I worry that it isn’t though
I cry no more
I am confused and afraid
I understand people believe I’m just a statistic
I say to them I’m different
I dream of life getting easier
I try my best to make my dream come true
I hope that it does
I am confused and afraid

Black lives matter.

Ezell Ford had big dreams and an uphill fight for them. The 27-year-old suffered from asthma but didn’t let that stop him from playing basketball growing up. Indeed, “Easy” had a plan – professional basketball player by 20, and then a doctor by 50 – and he was working towards it, earning a scholarship to the prestigious Verbum Dei school in LA. Though he grew up in a Florence, California, neighborhood plagued by constant gang warfare, Ezell never joined a gang. Unfortunately, he couldn’t escape gang violence: at age 18, he was struck in the leg as a bystander in a drive-by shooting between two rival Crips gangs. After this, he became markedly and increasingly withdrawn socially and emotionally. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and put on a medication regimen that left him listless and confused. He used weed to help, and his family and neighbors watched after him – “the whole neighborhood took care of him.” Ezell would often go for out for walks, sometimes hours at a time, to clear his head.

Ezell Ford was murdered by police on August 11, 2014, for taking one of these walks. Two cops spied him and, presuming him armed for walking in “a gang area,” approached him with weapons drawn. They pinned Ezell on the ground, with one cop pushing his knee into back. Ezell tried to get the cop off his back, and in response they both shot him, once in Ezell’s side and once in his back. The entire altercation took 13 seconds. The cops would claim that Ezell reached for a gun or tried to ditch drugs, tough neither was ever found at the scene. As they handcuffed Ezell’s prone body, neighbors began to crowd the scene, yelling at the cops for shooting black kids (Michael Brown had been murdered by the police only two days prior in Missouri), though many dispersed once one of the cops drew his weapon on the crowd. The cops were never charged with a crime.

Black lives matter.

Michael Lorenzo Dean was a jokester, according to his brother. The 27-year-old Texan was witty and was always finding new ways make people laugh. He was a devoted Christian, priding himself on his role as shepherd of his three daughters, and known for typical his response to any good news: an exuberant “Praise God, praise God!” that made people smile and laugh. He was working two jobs AND pursuing a business degree from Temple College but was never too busy to call his friends and family, and never too proud to tell them “I love you.”

Michael Lorenzo Dean was murdered by police on December 2, 2019, for speeding. A cop pulled behind his car and turned on the cruiser’s lights. Michael continued driving for a while, but eventually pulled over at an intersection. According to the police dashcam (which has not yet been made public), the cop approached the still running car with his weapon drawn and finger on the trigger. He reached into the passenger window to turn off the vehicle and shot Michael in the head. The cop has been arrested for manslaughter, though the case has not been presented to a grand jury yet.

Black lives matter.

Elijah McClain was quiet, quirky, and kind. The 23-year-old Coloradan was a shy and introverted massage therapist. He was slight and anemic, but he kept fit by running. He was passionate about music and taught himself to play the guitar and violin. Elijah was deeply spiritual, committed to peace and pacifism. That included animals too: he was a vegan who spent his lunch hours playing music for stray cats at local Aurora animal shelters so they wouldn’t be lonely.

Elijah McClain was murdered by police on August 24, 2019, for wearing a ski mask. He was returning home from the store with a drink for his cousin, dancing as he walked, bundled up to stay warm (he often felt cold). A 9-1-1 caller reported him as suspicious but not dangerous. Three cops immediately confronted and grabbed him. Elijah tried to wiggle free, telling them he was just walking home and asking to be left alone. They forced him to the ground, threatening to use their dogs and Taser on him. At this point, all the cops’ bodycams fell into the grass; they would constantly remind each other not to retrieve them. One cop put Elijah in a chokehold, twice asphyxiating his brain to the point of vomiting, all while Elijah apologized to the cops, told them he loved them, and pleaded his innocence. Paramedics sedated him. He arrived at the hospital covered in bruises and having suffered two cardiac arrests from the sedative; he would be pronounced brain dead days later. No charges were filed against the cops.

Elijah’s last words are a testament to his commitment to peace.

I can’t breathe.
I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain.
That’s my house. I was just going home.
I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all.
I’m so sorry.
I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting.
Why are you attacking me?
I don’t even kill flies. I don’t eat meat.
But I don’t judge people, I don’t judge people who do eat meat.
Forgive me.
All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything.
Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. I’ll do it.
You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you.
Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
Ow, that really hurt.
You are all very strong.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
* Elijah vomits *
Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to do that.
I just can’t breathe correctly.

Black lives matter.

Samuel Dubose “just liked being around people,” according to one of his sons. The 47-year-old Cincinnati entrepreneur had been a rapper and music producer under the Forever Entertainment record label. He was crazy about motorcycles, so he started a motorcycle club. Like many Black men, he had been caught in the vicious cycle of being nickel-and-dimed over endless traffic citations. He was the father of thirteen kids aged from 4 to 23, who described him as “full of love” and who made them feel “amazing, like you’re on top of the world.” On July 17, he proposed to his girlfriend of 16 years.

Samuel Dubose was murdered by police two days later, on July 19, 2015, over a missing front license plate. Spotted by a campus cop patrolling near the University of Cincinnati, he pulled Samuel over. The cop, who had a history of pulling over Black drivers (sometimes unlawfully), asked for Samuel’s license, but Samuel was driving without his. When the cop opened Samuel’s door and told him to exit the vehicle, he closed the door and put the car into drive, preparing to flee. The cop shot him in the head before he could. He would lie that he had been dragged by the car and fired in self-defense, though this was disproved by his bodycam. The cop was fired and indicted for murder and manslaughter, though after two mistrials all charges were dismissed. He was compensated $350,000 for his firing.

Black lives matter.