“Hands Up.
Don’t Shoot!” – Ferguson remembers Michael Brown
Who/What: Although witness
testimonies were inconsistent (one factor resulting in the lack of sentencing
of the police officer involved), it was reported that 18-year-old Michael Brown
was told by the police officer on the scene “Hands up.” And Brown did so while
saying, “Don’t shoot.” before he was shot.
This became a call to action for the residents of Ferguson, they
took to streets in protest, throwing their hands in to the air. It quickly
became a symbol in the rally cry.
Where: The gesture
used in an act of defiance referring to the unjust shooting was initially used
in the streets in protest in Ferguson, and has since then spread to other areas
in instances of police shooting/brutality involving African-Americans.
When: The shooting
occurred in August 2014. The protests followed almost immediately thereafter,
and the “Hands up. Don’t Shoot!” slogan of the movement is still used today in
flare ups of racial violence.
Why (is it
interesting/relevant): The “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot!” cry is a subtle yet powerful
symbolic gesture. The physical nature of the gesture, would under other
conditions would suggest cooperation with authorities. However, it has taken on
a new meaning as it became the symbol of the protest.
Since this shooting, there have been multiple others of a somewhat
similar nature (i.e. involvement of physical injury to an African-American by
an authority figure that is deemed unjust by the public), and although this
gesture may not pertain to the specifics of these scenarios, the “Hands
Up. Don’t Shoot” is the outraged reply of the public. The injustice in Ferguson
may well have been a tipping point for a new racial movement in the United
States, as the gesture/phrase spread from a protest to a symbol under which a
collective identity has formed.
Works Cited:
Hee Lee, Michelle. “’Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Did Not Happen in
Ferguson.” Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2015. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment