New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries makes the 'hands up don't shoot' gesture on the House floor on Monday night as he kicked off an hour of Congressional Black Caucus speeches on the shooting of Ferguson, Missouri, resident Michael Brown.
'Hands up, don't shoot.'
Those were the first words out of Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries mouth last night as he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus took over the House floor for an hour to discuss the August shooting of 18-year-old Ferguson, Missouri, resident Michael Brown.
"It's a rallying cry of people all across America who are fed up with police violence," the New York representative said as he kicked off the speeches.
"In community, after community, after community, fed up with police violence in Ferguson, in Brooklyn, in Cleveland, in Oakland, in cities and counties and rural communities all across America."
Rep. Jeffries led the charge on behalf of the African-American lawmakers, explaining that they wanted to set aside time to consider what recent events in Ferguson "say about where we are and where we need to go."
"People are fed up all across America because of the injustice involved, continuing to see young, unarmed African-American men killed as a result of a gunshot fired by a law enforcement officer," he said in his opening remarks.
"People in America are fed up with a broken criminal justice system that continues to fail to deliver accountability when law enforcement officers engage in the excessive use of police force.
"People are fed up with prosecutors who don't take seriously their obligation to deliver justice on behalf of the victims of police violence. Instead, as we recently saw in Ferguson, Missouri, choose to act as the defense attorney for the law enforcement officer who pulled the trigger and killed Michael Brown," he accused.
Continuing, Jeffries said, "this is a problem that Congress can't run away from."
"The CBC stands here today to make sure that Congress runs toward the problem," he explained. "That we come up with constructive solutions to breaking this cycle, this epidemic, this scourge of police violence all across America."
In remarks following Jeffries', Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge said, "We are running out of patience" to see justice for the black community.
Fudge said the nation hoped that last week when the grand jury made its decision in the case of Brown's shooter, former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, "justice would finally be served."
"We waited to hear our country say loud and clear, there are consequences for taking the lives of others. We waited to hear loud and clear the reassurance that black and brown boys' lives do matter. But again, we were terribly discouraged," the Democratic lawmaker said, calling it "yet another slap in our face."
The grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson, who is white, for shooting Brown six times and killing him is a "painful reminder that just like with Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice, and so many others, that law enforcement officers kill our black and brown men and boys without repercussions," Fudge added.
"Where is the closure for Michael Brown's parents? Where is the understanding for the outrage and desperation of the black community?" she asked.
"The fact that our country, the greatest country in the world, remains mired in race relations issues in the year 2014 is an embarrassment," Fudge charged.
"We really should taking a long look in the mirror before we go to other countries lecturing to them about democracy and tolerance when here at home, we are unable to fully address our own issues."
Green is pictured here mimicking the St. Louis Rams' hands up, don't shoot protest during his remarks yesterday on the House floor.
According to
Politico, Texas Rep. Al Green later took to the floor to laud St. Louis Rams players who came onto the field before their game on Sunday night with their hands in the air.
During his remarks last night on Ferguson Texas Rep. Al Green lauded the St. Louis Rams players who came onto the field before their game on Sunday evening with their hands up in the air. From left they are: Stedman Bailey (12), Tavon Austin (11), Jared Cook, (89) Chris Givens (13) and Kenny Britt (81).
"This has become the new symbol, a new statement, a statement wherein people around the country now, are calling to the attention of those who don't quite understand that this is a movement that will not dissipate, it will not evaporate. It is a movement that is going to continue," Green reportedly said while mimicking the gesture himself.
'Hands up, don't shoot': Congresswoman Yvette Clark also began her speech with the mantra on Monday night. 'Young people of color refuse to live in a democratic society in a state of fear,' she told her colleagues.
New York Congresswoman Yvette Clarke also began her speech with the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture.
"We cannot an will not accept the devaluation of African-American lives. We have seen this scenario play out too many times in recent years," she said.
"Young people of color refuse to live in a democratic society in a state of fear. And we have an obligation as a nation to rid ourselves of the scourge of racially-biased state sanctioned terrorism," she said moments later.
Brown never made the 'hands up, don't shoot' statement to police officers but it has become the mantra of his supporters.
It stems from a friend's claim that Brown put his hands in the air and said, "I don't have a gun, stop shooting" before being fatally wounded.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Charles Ramsey, center, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Dept., following his meeting with elected officials, law enforcement officials and community and faith leaders at the White House on Monday. Obama said that in the wake the Brown shooting he wants to build better trust between police and the communities they serve.
Monday speeches in the lower chamber followed a day of meetings at the White House between President Barack Obama and civil rights and faith leaders, law enforcement officials, mayors and young activists, two of whom came on behalf of the town of Ferguson.
In remarks to the press afterward Obama pledged not to let the national conversation started by the events in Ferguson die and promised to keep fighting to improve the relationship between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve until the end of his term.
"I think there's a maturity of the conversation right now that can lead us to actually getting some concrete results," he said, and "I'm going to make sure that we follow through. Not to solve every problem, not to tear down every barrier of mistrust that may exist, but to make things better," he said.
