1. On Feb. 23, Wanda Cooper lost her baby. But she didn’t have a miscarriage. Her 25 year old son, born on Mother’s Day 1994, was killed in cold blood. An athlete with a gentle soul and humble spirit, Ahmaud never left her without saying, “I love you.”
nytimes.com/2020/05/05/us/…
nytimes.com/2020/05/05/us/…
2. If you ever did anything for him, his mom says, he would say, “Thank you.”
Ahmad ran every day, unless it was pouring rain. But on that sunny Sunday in February, he went running and—as though he were prey to be slaughtered—he was hunted down.
Ahmad ran every day, unless it was pouring rain. But on that sunny Sunday in February, he went running and—as though he were prey to be slaughtered—he was hunted down.
3. Two men have been named, but I will not say those names here. They don’t deserve publicity. However, their crime deserves punishment. The fact that they have not been charged with murder is a miscarriage of justice.
4. They saw Ahmaud running, they went in their houses and armed themselves with a shotgun and a .357 magnum revolver. They got in their truck and followed him.
These men lynched him: They shot Ahmaud solely for the "crime" of being Black and daring to run in public.
These men lynched him: They shot Ahmaud solely for the "crime" of being Black and daring to run in public.
5. A grieving Wanda Cooper told @ShaunKing, “He was killed in the street, after he was chased down. No one went to jail. They were able to go home and my baby was put in a body bag…All hands responsible for the death of my baby boy? They did a crime. They need to be arrested."
6. Ahmaud was chased down, hunted as though he was prey, and murdered in cold blood.
And the sickening truth is this case might never have reached a grand jury if cell-phone footage hadn't surfaced almost three months after his death—leaked by someone who knew it must be seen.
And the sickening truth is this case might never have reached a grand jury if cell-phone footage hadn't surfaced almost three months after his death—leaked by someone who knew it must be seen.
7. It's grotesque that a lynching barely makes the news until video of the crime appears—a horrifying testament to ongoing public disregard for Black lives.
8. I feel hella angry, sick to my stomach at yet another lynching. What can we do, besides yell at the top of our lungs, “This shit has got to stop!”
9. Go to RunwithMaud.com to find ways to get engaged:
- Sign the petition
- Make a donation on the Go Fund Me page to help his family pursue justice
- But also: Resist racism in your circles every day, as a spiritual practice.
- Sign the petition
- Make a donation on the Go Fund Me page to help his family pursue justice
- But also: Resist racism in your circles every day, as a spiritual practice.
10. Tell your friends over and over again: This is Emmett Till, this is Eric Garner, this is Tamir Rice, this is Trayvon Martin.
This is what it means when people shout #BlackLivesMatter—it is a prayer, because right now we're treated as if we don’t!
This is what it means when people shout #BlackLivesMatter—it is a prayer, because right now we're treated as if we don’t!
