The police shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina touched off another series of protests and subsequent militarized police response. To address the ongoing conflict, the Charlotte City Council held a meeting on Monday night. Various members of the community spoke about their fears and their anger at the injustices in their city and across the country. But of the more than 50 people who spoke at the podium, it was a young girl, Zianna Oliphant, whose plea for justice hit the deepest chord:
I came here today to talk about how I feel, and I feel like we are treated differently than other people … and I don’t like how we are treated. Just because of our color doesn’t mean anything to me.
Zianna took a deep breath and began:
I believe that …
Overcome with emotion, Zianna paused, and frankly, she didn’t need to say anything more. Her point was made as clear as crystal, and with the clarity only honest pain can bring. But Zianna persevered through tears:
We are black people, and we shouldn’t have to feel like this. We shouldn’t have to protest because y’all are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to, and have rights.
I’ve been born and raised in Charlotte, and I never felt this way until now. And I can’t stand how we are treated. It is a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed and we can’t even see them anymore. It’s a shame that we have to go to the graveyard and bury them. And we have tears and we shouldn’t have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side.
No justice. No peace.