Brief Summaries of Recent High-Profile Cases
Michael Brown and the Hands Up Don’t Shoot Movement
On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, an 18 year old African American male, was shot dead by officer Darren Wilson after an altercation on the street. Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson had been walking back home after shoplifting cigarillos from a convenience store. After being told to “Get the f*** out of the street” the two young men refused telling the officer they were almost to their destination.
A confrontation then occurred when the officer tried to restrain Brown and Johnson. According to Johnson Officer Wilson had grabbed Brown by the neck as he attempted to pull away.
Wilson then warned Brown he was going to shoot before pulling the trigger in close quarters. Brown was shot in the arm during the altercation and began to run away.
Officer Wilson pursued Johnson and Brown until Brown turned around and faced Wilson. Accounts originally claimed that Michael Brown raised up his hands in a gesture of “don’t shoot” but none have been proven true. What is known is that when Brown turned back and approached officer Wilson he was then fired upon with the final shot, a blow to the head, being fatal.
The Michael Brown case demonstrates an example of the hostilities and uneasiness found in the interaction between the black community and law enforcement. The incident has many layers and is in no way black and white, but it does show that for African Americans even a routine non-armed altercation with the police can end up deadly.
The outrage and media interest this case garnered is important to note as well. The “hands up, don’t shoot” movement that came about after this incident used the unproven narrative of Browns hands coming up in a gesture of surrender to make a bigger point of how unarmed black men are still perceived of as a danger to the police and how many times these interaction turn deadly.
Race and Justice in Black America 
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