The Swamp logo

We are David, the system, Goliath

What we can do to continue the fight to end police brutality

By Nissa TzunPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
2
George Floyd by Jerry Ross

The police murder of George Floyd reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against police brutality, redirecting national attention back on the egregious acts of violence by law enforcement prevalent across America. While every few years instances of police violence flood national headlines, the spotlight eventually fades, and the issue is never seemingly resolved.

George Floyd's murder was different. Occuring in the midst of a global pandemic when many of us were quarantined at home, our eyes were often peeled to the television screen waiting for more updates about the deadly virus. And then on May 25th, 2020, we watched for nearly nine minutes a grown Black man tortured to death while surrounding witnesses pleaded for his life as they filmed the horrific sight with their personal devices.

For many Americans, they were paying attention to this for the first time, and with so many people not working, or working from home with more flexible schedules, the demand to understand what was going on and how one could plug in to support the movement to end systemic racism and state violence reached a historic and unprecedented level.

For us at Forced Trajectory Project - a media and public relations organization advocating for police brutality survivors and families impacted by police homicide, we were bombarded every minute of the day for six consecutive months. As a 12-year old mostly volunteer-run organization focused on police violence, being faced with the disinterest of the general public was our usual challenge. Before Floyd's untimely death I often asked our team, "How can we make police brutality appealing enough so that people will pay attention to the violence our own police departments unleash on our communities?" The murder of George Floyd changed this - and all of a sudden we had to meet the demand of our newly engaged audience locally and nationwide.

Youth of the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn, New York participate in NYPD homicide victim Nicholas Heyward, Jr.'s Day of Remembrance. September 17, 2011. Photo by Nissa Tzun

For the rest of 2020 we organized press conferences, panel discussions, virtual awareness events, mentored new up and coming advocacy organizations, flew groups of impacted families from all over the country so they could engage mainstream media and share their stories of injustice, prepared families to give public testimony in front of legislators, and responded to ongoing police violence and emergencies in our impacted community.

Now, eight months later, my colleagues are coming to me with the questions, "How can we stay engaged? What do I need to do to be a better ally? How can I continue to support and enact change?"

So, I decided to compile an introductory guide on how to support this movement, sourcing our impacted community, our network of advocates, and our own knowledge and experience from doing this work:

1. Keep an open mind. Police brutality is a multilayered issue and the more you learn about it the more you'll realize that things aren't what they seem. Eric Farah, brother of Las Vegas Metropolitan police homicide victim Nicholas Farah, reminds us that we must keep an open mind. "I think one of the most important things for me is people understanding what happens and having an open mind that these things do and can happen in your community. Most people never think it can happen to them or their family. Society trusts that the police will always do what's right and be accountable if they aren't. That's 100% false . . so I think having people listen and understand what is happening is super important." Keep an open mind, be ready to listen and learn, and don't be quick to judge.

2. Identify cases in your own community. While most of us can probably name a few cases due to national media coverage, the reality is most police brutality cases receive little to no media attention - and when they are reported by the media, the news story is just a regurgitation of the police narrative, as professor Regina Lawrence discovered and wrote about in her book, The Politics of Force. Due to time constraints and other job restrictions news reporters often go directly to the police to cover police homicides, and fail to interview witnesses or the impacted family and community members. Due to this, it's incredibly important to investigate police brutality cases in your own city and see if there are impacted people and advocates speaking up about local cases. Keep in mind that what you read in the media about the case isn't always going to be true. Impacted families report that the media and police narratives change multiple times and hardly ever does the media get it right, even after time has passed.

3. Plug into local efforts. Police brutality has been an ongoing issue for generations, so it's likely there are organizations and advocates in your city already working on policing issues. Hopefully - *hopefully* - they are working with directly impacted people and advocating for them. Policing issues are mainly fought locally and statewide, and impacted people need the support of their community in order to fight for justice in their cases. Research local civil and human rights organizations and see how you can plug in.

4. "Share and speak about our stories to your people." Marissa Barrera, the sister of Woodland police homicide victim Michael Barrera, reminds us that this fight against police violence needs to be addressed on a personal level - that means talking to your friends, family and co-workers about what's really happening and making them aware that police violence is happening in their own city. (On a side note, Barrera has been producing a weekly podcast featuring families impacted by police violence nationwide called Voices of Strength. It is a great space to listen, absorb and process these raw, tragic and powerful narratives that speak truth to power. So, go check it out.)

5. Educate yourself about local and state laws. You can't change what you don't know or understand, so one of the first steps is to get familiar with the legislation in your own city and state. Milu Gonzalez, sister of California Highway Patrol homicide victim Cesar A. Gonzalez shares why she feels education needs to be a focus: "I feel it's crucial for [people] to educate themselves on the laws that pertain to their cities and learn about local cases so that they can better understand what is happening near them as well. A lot of people get stuck on the viral cases but sometimes it doesn't sink in because it's so far from them, but if they look at the cases near them I feel it can help them better understand and feel it."

6. "Vote!" says Barrera. "[Vote] locally and on the state levels as well. Researching and knowing who we are putting into positions of power within our community is important. We need strong leaders who are for the people."

7. Widen your perspective. To the rest of the world, it's clear the United States has a policing problem. On average three to five people are killed by U.S. law enforcement per day, which is well over a thousand people per year*. In fact, police killings are so frequent that it has become the sixth leading cause of death for young American men according to a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These numbers are no way near other 'free and democratic' nations that are comparable to the U.S. Canada for example, averages 15-25 police killings per year. "It's also helpful to look and study other countries where things are worse and where things are better in order to understand how bad it can get and how much we can improve on," adds Gonzalez.

*According to researcher Rick Hill, 2,063 people were killed by U.S. law enforcement in 2020.

The families of LVMPD homicide victims Byron Williams, Sharmel Edwards, Rafael Olivas and Joseph Justin participate at a George Floyd protest held in downtown Las Vegas just days after the world watched Floyd take his last breath. May 30, 2020, photo by Nissa Tzun.

8. Connect with impacted people and ask them how you can support them. Many families impacted by police violence are on social media platforms, and many of them utilize their accounts to bring awareness to their cases and share their struggle for truth and justice. While it might feel awkward or forward to reach out, do it anyway. The worse that can happen is they don't respond or refuse your help. New York artist and family advocate Jasmine Eileen Coles of Declaring Justice for Domo encourages us to be brave and to follow our intuition. "I wanted to be helpful and was fearful of failing people that have already been failed by our community. That fear never left and now I just do it anyway, and I move mindfully and strategically and I follow my gut. Every small moment of empathy based action matters and I am consistently on a journey to figure out how I can continue to take small actions that connect and heal us." "Care," says Barrera. "Simply caring, extending condolences, offering that support goes a long way. Impacted families often get little to no support while getting much opposition and hate." If you happen to meet impacted people - online or in person, ask them how you can support. Sometimes it's as simple as sharing their narrative or petition, supporting a campaign they are pushing, or holding space and listening to them. Individual actions, no matter how small, can go a long way.

9. "Show up to the trial hearings to support impacted families. Families desperately need this support. Many families that I've spoken to over the years share their trial experiences with me. Most have experienced harrassment, intimidation from both law enforcement officers and court officials during [their trial,]" shares Barrera. When community packs the courtroom in support of an impacted family or police brutality survivor, court officials become aware that the community is engaged and watching their moves. This can impact their court behavior and decision making, pressuring them to do the right thing as they realize their political reputation is on the line.

10. Be open to really listen to the narratives and experiences of impacted people, and support their struggle for justice. Our main purpose at the Forced Trajectory Project is to uplift the narratives and voices of those directly impacted because they are too often marginalized by the authorities and the mainstream media, leaving them unheard and isolated in their own communities. Unfortunately for most impacted people the stigma of police violence lasts their whole lives, and with less than a .3% nationwide conviction rate for officers who kill civilians (meaning that out of a thousand people killed, maybe two or three officers will be held accountable to some standard), most never experience any semblance of justice. What is unbeknownst to the general public is the subculture of the impacted community - the leadership and power they have when they're together and united for change. Washington, California and New York are just a few states where impacted people are leading the movement for legislative change, working in coalition effort with community organizations to lay the groundwork to hold police accountable, setting an example for the rest of the nation. Here in Nevada we too have been collaborating with organizations to raise awareness of the police violence in our community and calling on our legislators to listen to impacted people. When justice is won for those directly impacted, precedents are set to protect all of us from police violence, so it is imperative for the public at large to be engaged in this movement if we are invested in public safety, real systemic change and the ongoing struggle for human rights and dignity.

Currently, in collaboration with the Desert Arts Action Coalition and our local group of impacted people, Families United 4 Justice Las Vegas, we have an art exhibit at the West Las Vegas Library so that the community can learn about local cases and the grief, trauma and resilience experienced by impacted people. Deeply listening to even one narrative from someone directly impacted by police violence is powerful and transformative, and can deepen our understanding of police violence. If you are not local to Las Vegas you can experience the exhibit online.

It will take an actively engaged and persistent public to truly address police violence. We the people are David, and the system is Goliath. Despite the disparity we face, my optimism is renewed when I see survivors of police violence come together for a collective voice, and a community ready to support. My hope is that this article can serve as seeds for a more humane world that we all deserve. Please share.

activism
2

About the Creator

Nissa Tzun

Nissa is the editor-in-chief of the Forced Trajectory Project. She is an artist specializing in illustration, design, photography, film, public relations, advocacy, and journalism. She is also a vegan, a yoga teacher, and an astrologer.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.