April 20 Reminds Us How Far We Have to Go

This week, I had the opportunity to present my research project titled “Mass Shootings in the Media: Framing of Perpetrators” at the Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College. Although having the chance to discuss my analysis of gun violence would have been significant regardless of the date, the April 20th presentation was more poignant than expected.

The opening slide of my research presentation

The Anniversary of America’s Gun Control Consciousness

My presentation for Whalen took place on the 22nd anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting in Littleton, Colorado, which was perpetrated the day before I was born. In my lifetime, mass shootings have been perpetrated at increasingly higher rates, with six of the 10 deadliest incidents in U.S. history taking place since 2012 – several of which I analyzed during the research process.

Derek Chauvin’s Conviction

Just as the awards ceremony for Whalen was starting, we received a breaking news alert that the verdict from the Derek Chauvin trial was about to be read. Rather than continuing with the program, we paused at 5 p.m. to hear the results of the jury’s deliberation.

Staring at the webinar screen, I breathed a sigh of relief as we heard, one-by-one, that Chauvin was convicted of:

• Second-degree unintentional murder

• Third-degree murder

• Second-degree murder

George Floyd's family responds to Chauvin's conviction

Police Fatally Shoot Ma’Khia Bryant

Less than 30 minutes before the Chauvin verdict was delivered, police responded to a 16-year-old girl’s call for help as she allegedly was afraid of being assaulted by a group of older girls.

Rather than helping her, however, police fatally shot Bryant, who was holding a knife when police arrived on the scene.

“He didn’t try to de-escalate anything.” – Byron Potts, Ohio attorney

“Justice Too Long Delayed Is Justice Denied”

Ma’Khia Bryant’s death demonstrates that law enforcement need to be brought into the conversation about gun violence – not as assumed harbingers of justice, but as potential threats to the American public.

All too often, mass shootings and gun violence disproportionately impact Black Americans, and Ma’Khia Bryant is only one heartbreaking example of the grief that follows the discharge of bullets. It is more important than ever to work to hold everyone who carries a weapon accountable for their actions.

Visit AccountabilityNowOhio.com to learn more about grassroots efforts to hold police accountable while working to restore the principle of “equal protection and equivalent privileges under the law.”