Twenty years and counting

I’d forgotten the name Amadou Diallo. Twenty years is a long time. In 1999 Amadou was gunned down on the doorstep of his house in the Bronx by four white New York policemen.

They pumped 41 bullets into the young African’s body pinned in a narrow hallway. He had no guns, was not high on drugs and was not wanted for any crime. He had arrived from Guinea on a student visa, his papers were in order.

Kadiatou Diallo

In spite of extensive media coverage and daily peaceful protests (“No Justice, no Peace”) in spite of his mother entreaties –Kadiatou had flown in to seek justice for her son- the four cops were found innocent. Called to the stand they cried, declared they had feared for their lives; one told that as Diallo lay on the floor he held his face and implored him, “Please don’t die, man”.

Hard to comply when they’ve shot you 41 times.

The defense always alleged to the incident as “an unfortunate accident”. 41 shots? An accident? Gimme a break.

Fast forward to 2020. Four white policemen respond to a complaint about a guy trying to pass a 20 dollar counterfeit bill. They find the suspect inside his car, pull him out and cuff him. George Floyd is not armed. Somehow one of the cops concludes that unarmed and handcuffed he still represents a credible danger, throws him to the ground and presses his knee against his neck for 9 minutes. After 6 minutes Floyd does not have a pulse but the cop is still not sure about letting go. Handcuffed AND DEAD Floyd still poses a danger. The other three policemen do not intervene, nor do the passersby. Instead they shoot a video (do not recommend viewing it) which is what passerby do and which will put the four cops on trial. The District Attorney’s Office will still have to prove that it was the knee that killed Floyd. Hello? You press your knee against A CAT’S neck and what do you think happens? Cat dies, that’s what happens.

So a new round of protests began all over America and the world (“No Justice, No Peace”) only this time not so peaceful, not so nice. There was extensive burning, looting, rampage, vandalism, anarchy and casualties.

Now the white folks are furious. They don’t want to press a knee into someone’s neck they want to go out shooting. So we are worse than before. Trump’s base and the white supremacists that back him don’t help either.

Wasn’t it easier, cheaper, to get some justice for Diallo 20 years ago and save everybody a lot of grief? Educate the police who should act from conviction not fear –if you are so afraid best sell insurance- on how to protect us? Racism is not about fear. It is about not seeing the other person as a full human being. It is about the depraved indifference to human life.

P.S. Kadiatou Diallo, Amadou’s mother chairs the Amadou Diallo Foundation. She is a charismatic speaker dedicated to advancing education for young blacks in America and Africa. She graduated in Guinea and runs a successful company in Bangkok. Her books, My Heart will cross This Ocean, My Story and My Son, Amadou have received several awards.