By Zachary Faria
Article Source
The Black Lives Matter movement started as a result of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. But the movement’s central contention about its inciting incident is a lie.
On Tuesday, the eight-year anniversary of Brown’s death, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) claimed that Brown was murdered and that “we need to honor Michael’s life with action” and “dismantle white supremacy.” Attorney Ben Crump, the race-baiting ambulance chaser who tries to capitalize off of every high-profile incident in which a black person is killed, claimed that Brown had his “hands up in surrender.”
Today marks eight years since Michael Brown was murdered by police in Ferguson, MO.
We need to honor Michael’s life with action. Let’s keep fighting to dismantle white supremacy, so we can ensure racial justice for all.
— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) August 9, 2022
8 years ago, Michael Brown was killed, with his hands up in surrender, by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Michael's future was stolen from him mere DAYS after he attended his high school graduation ceremony. We’ll ALWAYS remember him! Rest In Power, Mike.🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/8vhnGGgEe0
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 9, 2022
The “hands up, don’t shoot” chant spawned from Brown’s death was spouted by everyone from athletes to legacy media, but it was false. Physical evidence showed that Brown engaged in a physical altercation with a police officer, and investigation after investigation rejected the assertion that Brown had his hands up — and “the majority of witnesses” told federal investigators it was untrue.
Even President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, run by Attorney General Eric Holder, determined that the officer acted in self-defense. The Washington Post called “hands up, don’t shoot” one of the most outlandish claims of 2015. Yet the myth has persisted for years.
The central contention of the Black Lives Matter movement, that there is an epidemic of police targeting and killing unarmed black men, is also false. Since the Washington Post began its police shooting database in 2015, it has listed a total of 143 unarmed black men shot and killed by police. That is an average of just under 18 per year, and not all cases are equal. In some cases, the unarmed individual is assaulting an officer and reaching for his gun. In others, the officers have been charged with a crime.
In total, the database has counted 7,649 people shot and killed by police in the last eight years. Of that number, just 6% were considered unarmed, and 22% were black. Unarmed black people have made up just 2% of police shootings since 2015.
The activist narrative about police shootings is false. The media ran with the “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative without bothering to find out if it was actually true. Black Lives Matter was built on lies and fabrications, and yet it is promoted throughout our liberal culture as activists try to racialize every corner of life.
