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♪ solemn music playing ♪
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NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES:
A few years ago,
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I visited my dad's home state
of Mississippi for the first time.
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Mississippi is at once my ancestral land,
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and the sinister setting
of any number of Hollywood movies,
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a villain in our national narrative.
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The place where
a Black boy named Emmett Till
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was tossed into the Tallahatchie River
with a cotton gin fan around his neck.
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And while I was there visiting,
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my family told me
a story of fear and terror
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that so many Black families
in the Deep South share.
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My great uncle Milton, my dad's namesake,
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just a boy at the time,
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committed the sin of walking
through a white neighborhood
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that he wasn't working in.
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Two white teenagers in a car gave chase,
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trying to run him down.
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To escape, he jumped
into the murky Tallahatchie.
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When he returned home, muddy and wet,
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chest heaving from panic and exertion,
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his mother was livid, consumed by fear.
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"You're going to get
yourself killed," she said.
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That day, the Tallahatchie
had been his escape.
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But for so many Black people,
that same river had become
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the watery grave for those
who dared breach the social order.
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Fear defined the Mississippi Delta,
and all those who lived within it.
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But Black people's
everyday fear of white violence
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was itself the product
of another type of fear: white fear.
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White fear of Black progress,
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prosperity and freedom.
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♪ somber theme playing ♪
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NIKOLE:
This is The 1619 Project.
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♪ tense music playing ♪
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NIKOLE:
In 2017, a little more
than two years before
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Ahmaud Arbery was murdered
by white vigilantes,
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he was at a park
sitting in his car on his day off
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when Glynn County police approached him.
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OFFICER: What's your name?
- Ahmaud.
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OFFICER: What is it?
- Ahmaud.
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OFFICER: Ahmaud?
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Whatchu doin' out here, man?
[crosstalk]
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NIKOLE:
The officer ran Ahmaud's ID
through the system,
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questioned him,
and searched him for weapons.
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- You botherin' me for nothin'.
I work at Blue Beacon, bro.
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OFFICER: Where's Blue Beacon?
- Blue Beacon is on Exit 29, man.
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OFFICER: Okay. Listen, man. I'm not--
- Fuck you talkin' about?
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OFFICER:
I'm not here to ruin your day.
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I'm here to look
for any kind of criminal activity.
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That's all I'm doing.
- Criminal activity?
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I'm in a fuckin' park! I work!
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The fuck is you talkin' about?
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I fuckin' work. Check my damn history.
OFFICER: Okay.
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- Go to my job.
OFFICER: Okay.
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- Shit, call my job right now.
I go to work!
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OFFICER:
I don't need to call your job, man.
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[crosstalk]
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NIKOLE:
A second officer arrived on the scene
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and tried to tase Ahmaud.
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[taser crackling]
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- Down!
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NIKOLE:
But it malfunctioned.
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- I'm tryna chill on my day off, bro.
OFFICER: I gotchu.
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- I'm up early in the morning
trying to chill.
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OFFICER: I see, and I get that.
I want-- I get wantin' to chill, too.
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But we get a lot of
bad stuff happens out here.
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We get gang and drug activity.
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We get all kinds of stuff out here.
- My name tied up in any of that?
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OFFICER:
No, it is not.
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NIKOLE:
Eventually, with no reason to detain him,
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they let him go.
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But the officer made clear
why he stopped Ahmaud in the first place.
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OFFICER:
But when you get up and start actin'--
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When you get up
and start gettin' all crazy on me,
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it gets me-- it makes me
a little bit nervous,
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you know what I mean?
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I'm not here to mess--
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NIKOLE:
As I watched this earlier video of Ahmaud,
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I wondered how many times
he encountered this exact same experience
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of being questioned by white people
who believed him suspicious,
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until, finally, in 2020,
it cost him his life.
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These interactions constitute
a part of daily life for Black Americans.
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Suspicion, mistrust,
and fear of Black people,
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and in particular, Black men,
is a phenomena as old as this nation.
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GEORGE ZIMMERMAN:
This guy looks like he's up to no good,
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or he's on drugs or somethin'.
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It's raining, and he's just
walking around, looking about.
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OFFICER: Are you following him?
ZIMMERMAN: Yeah.
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OFFICER:
Okay, we don't need you to do that.
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- Get out the car!
OFFICER: Get out now!
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- I have not committed any crimes.
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- What are you, a specialist, corporal?
What are you?
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- I'm a lieutenant.
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NIKOLE:
And in so many devastating cases,
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we've seen how it can be fatal.
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REPORTER 1:
Michael Dunn is charged with murder.
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Dunn admitted to firing his weapon,
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but said he did it in self-defense
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after he says he was
threatened by the teens.
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REPORTER 2:
Officer Shelby's attorney says
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she thought Crutcher
was reaching into his vehicle
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while refusing to comply
with her orders to "get on the ground."
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REPORTER 3:
Officer Yanez took the stand
in his own defense
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saying, "I did not want
to shoot Mr. Castile.
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"It was not my intention.
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I was scared to death
and I thought I would die."
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He said Castile matched
the description of a robbery suspect,
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that he smelled marijuana,
and saw Castile reach for a gun.
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NIKOLE:
Today, we are inundated with scenes
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of police and vigilante violence
against Black Americans.
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And we can trace this
epidemic of brutality to slavery,
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when white people desperately sought
to control those they enslaved
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out of fear they would rise up
and fight for their own freedom.
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It's a fear that has shaped
our nation's politics, culture,
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and systems of justice ever since.
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From modern-day policing,
surveillance, and mass criminalization
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to white vigilante violence,
and "know your place" aggression.
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REPORTER:
Teresa Klein accused a nine-year-old boy
of sexual assault.
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NIKOLE:
Reflecting a deeply rooted fear,
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not merely of Black crime
or Black people...
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- I am not an animal!
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NIKOLE:
...but of Black liberation and equality.
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And that fear stretches
all the way back to the colonial era,
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before our nation's founding.
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So, Professor Alexander,
I want you to help us
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understand the atmosphere of, of fear.
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- The colonists are incredibly fearful
of a variety of things, right?
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They are fearful
of what they consider to be,
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sort of, foreign enemies,
Native Americans,
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but their primary fear is centered
towards the enslaved African population
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because understandably and justifiably,
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enslaved people
do not want to be enslaved.
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As much as white colonists
tried to pretend that slavery
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was a reasonable
and justifiable institution,
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they knew very clearly
that the system was wrong,
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that it was immoral.
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In their minds, they even understood
that it violated the Law of God.
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And they knew that some type of reckoning
was eventually going to come.
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♪
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NIKOLE:
In August of 1791,
that fear of a reckoning
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that so terrified
white Americans came true
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when a slave revolt on the island
of Saint-Domingue, now present-day Haiti,
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quickly grew to a full-fledged revolution.
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The French had enslaved
nearly half a million Africans there,
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and within weeks, almost every plantation
on the island had burned.
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- Now, this creates, as you might imagine,
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terror, not just in the Caribbean
and in the other French holdings,
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but across the entire Atlantic world
and certainly into the United States.
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George Washington is panicking.
Alexander Hamilton is panicking.
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Thomas Jefferson is panicking...
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- Why are they panicking, because they--
- ...about what this revolt might mean.
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- they believe in rising up,
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um, and revolting
against your oppressors.
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The Black people of Saint-Domingue
won their revolution,
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becoming the first enslaved people
in the history of the world
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to successfully overthrow their enslavers
and establish their own nation.
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In 1804, they founded Haiti
as the world's first Black republic,
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and became the first country
in the Americas to abolish slavery.
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The existence of a free Black society
so close to our slave-holding republic
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consumed many white Americans with fear.
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As Thomas Jefferson wrote,
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"We have the wolf by the ear,
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"and we can neither hold him,
nor safely let him go.
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Justice is in one scale,
and self-preservation in the other."
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The Haitian Revolution
provides that inspiration
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that the white colonists feared.
- It absolutely does.
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The founding fathers
are imagining revolt and rebellion
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as this contagious, cancerous disease
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that is not going to be contained
within the boundaries of Saint-Domingue,
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but is going to spread.
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So, in the United States, during
and following the Haitian Revolution,
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we see a wave,
a crackdown of laws taking place
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trying to repress the enslaved population.
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NIKOLE:
In an effort to maintain
the social and economic order,
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and to stifle the potential for revolt,
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white Americans enacted harsh slave codes
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to police the behavior
of the Black population,
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enslaved and free alike.
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Codes that restricted
the movements of Black people,
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prohibited them from owning
weapons of any kind,
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and outlawed their right to assemble
and worship in various ways,
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the very freedoms
at the heart of our democracy.
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- One of the laws that
has struck and haunted me
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since the time I first encountered it
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is a law that was passed in Charleston
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essentially saying that
enslaved and free Black people
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are not allowed to participate
in any kind of expression of joy.
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So, every imaginable aspect
of enslaved people's lives
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is being surveilled,
policed, and controlled.
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- So, the white politicians
are passing all of these laws
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and all of these
restrictions on Black life,
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but they don't do any good
if you don't have anyone to enforce them.
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- Right.
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- So you also then see the establishment
of a new system of law enforcement
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that would come to be
known as the slave patrols.
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Slave patrols began as an informal means
of policing the enslaved,
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but as white fears
of the enslaved population grew,
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the patrols became government-sponsored,
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and officials made
white participation mandatory.
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These patrols helped form
the foundation of modern policing.
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- If you were a white person,
a free citizen in the colonies,
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if you refuse to participate
in the slave patrol,
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you would have to pay heavy fines.
- Mm.
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- So, it's literally
an indication, right,
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of citizenship and of whiteness...
- Mm-hmm.
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- ...to participate in the slave patrols.
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- So, what we're seeing is really
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the imprinting of this
on the American psyche.
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That... any type of gathering
of Black people, they could be plotting.
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If they're going to church,
they're plotting in the church.
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If there's three people gathering...
- Yes.
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- ...they're plotting,
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so that we begin, collectively, to think
every time you see Black people
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doing something,
you should be watching them.
- Yes.
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REPORTER:
New video from the NYPD shows that woman
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tackling that 14-year-old boy
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she falsely accused
of stealing her cell phone.
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WOMAN: She callin' police
on a 8-year-old little girl.
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You can hide all you want.
The whole world gon' see you, boo.
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- Yeah, and, um, illegally selling
water without a permit.
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Yeah.
WOMAN: On my property.
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- It's not your property.
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CHRISTIAN COOPER:
Please call the cops.
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- I'm gonna tell them there's
an African-American man
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threatening my life.
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CHRISTIAN:
Please tell them whatever you like.
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NIKOLE:
The slave patrols deputized white people
and conditioned them
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to see all Black people
and their behavior as suspicious.
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And today, we see example after example
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of how American society
has internalized this distrust.
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- [indistinct]. I'm being threatened
by a man in The Ramble.
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Please send the cops immediately.
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NIKOLE:
People of all races and backgrounds
233
00:11:57,217 --> 00:11:59,303
have been conditioned
to fear Black people.
234
00:11:59,303 --> 00:12:01,597
MAN:
There's a suspicious person in the yard,
235
00:12:01,597 --> 00:12:03,473
and if you're not
gon' to identify yourself--
236
00:12:03,473 --> 00:12:05,184
- I don't have to identify myself.
237
00:12:05,184 --> 00:12:07,102
I live right over there across the street.
238
00:12:07,102 --> 00:12:08,854
NIKOLE:
But it is mostly white Americans
239
00:12:08,854 --> 00:12:13,233
who take it upon themselves,
again and again, to police Black lives.
240
00:12:13,233 --> 00:12:15,277
MAN: Get out my face. Get out my face.
- I'm not in your face!
241
00:12:15,277 --> 00:12:17,905
Get outta my neighborhood, fuckwad!
MAN: Who got a gun? Who got a gun?
242
00:12:17,905 --> 00:12:20,866
Who got the gun?
- The guy who's got a permit to carry.
243
00:12:20,866 --> 00:12:23,202
MAN: You got a gun?
- You're the one that would get a gun!
244
00:12:23,202 --> 00:12:23,952
MAN: All right.
245
00:12:23,952 --> 00:12:26,079
PROFESSOR LESLIE ALEXANDER:
It's a legacy of the colonial era,
246
00:12:26,079 --> 00:12:30,876
but it's one that extends
long beyond the American revolution,
247
00:12:30,876 --> 00:12:34,379
that every white person
should be participating in the policing
248
00:12:34,379 --> 00:12:40,093
and surveilling of en--
the enslaved and free Black population.
249
00:12:40,093 --> 00:12:43,722
Being a good member of the white community
250
00:12:43,722 --> 00:12:46,767
is to be constantly on the lookout
251
00:12:46,767 --> 00:12:50,771
for any type of suspicious behavior
among Black people.
252
00:12:50,771 --> 00:12:55,859
And it has become a type
of historical memory, right,
253
00:12:55,859 --> 00:12:58,779
that consciously and unconsciously,
254
00:12:58,779 --> 00:13:01,448
gets passed down
from generation to generation.
255
00:13:01,448 --> 00:13:03,450
♪
256
00:13:06,119 --> 00:13:08,539
- Father and son are now
facing murder charges
257
00:13:08,539 --> 00:13:12,292
after the death of a man
who was running in Georgia.
258
00:13:12,292 --> 00:13:15,295
NIKOLE:
We all know how
Ahmaud Arbery's story ends.
259
00:13:15,879 --> 00:13:18,924
In 2020, he went on a run
through the mostly white neighborhood
260
00:13:18,924 --> 00:13:23,262
of Satilla Shores, just two miles
from his house in Brunswick, Georgia.
261
00:13:23,262 --> 00:13:26,682
A resident saw him
and began to chase him in his truck.
262
00:13:26,682 --> 00:13:27,891
REPORTER:
According to a police report,
263
00:13:27,891 --> 00:13:31,478
the father, Gregory McMichael,
said there had been several break-ins
264
00:13:31,478 --> 00:13:32,479
in the neighborhood,
265
00:13:32,479 --> 00:13:37,109
and a man he viewed as "the suspect"
was running down the street.
266
00:13:37,568 --> 00:13:39,778
NIKOLE:
A jury found Travis and Gregory McMichael
267
00:13:39,778 --> 00:13:41,697
guilty of his murder,
268
00:13:41,697 --> 00:13:44,700
but that accountability is
the exception, not the rule,
269
00:13:45,158 --> 00:13:48,787
particularly when Black people die
at the hands of police.
270
00:13:52,583 --> 00:13:54,585
♪
271
00:13:59,381 --> 00:14:01,800
CECIL HAYES:
Black people love harder
272
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,971
on the strength that we're so devalued,
273
00:14:05,971 --> 00:14:07,764
it's almost like we love harder
274
00:14:07,764 --> 00:14:11,393
because it's a lot harder
for us to be loved.
275
00:14:13,145 --> 00:14:16,106
Every time I leave the house,
I tell my wife and my kids I love 'em.
276
00:14:16,106 --> 00:14:20,194
They tell me they love me
because what we do understand is
277
00:14:20,194 --> 00:14:23,405
we could walk out this door
and never see each other again.
278
00:14:24,072 --> 00:14:27,826
As a Black father,
you don't ever wanna get that call.
279
00:14:27,826 --> 00:14:31,580
I let my kid walk down the street,
I let my kid go over here,
280
00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:36,251
and, you know, for whatever reason,
the police came through and killed him.
281
00:14:36,251 --> 00:14:40,255
I think about that every single day.
282
00:14:40,255 --> 00:14:42,174
Because, just looking at all the video,
283
00:14:42,174 --> 00:14:45,427
the police don't shoot once,
they don't shoot twice.
284
00:14:45,427 --> 00:14:49,515
REPORTER 1: Police officers
shot an unarmed Black man 20 times.
285
00:14:49,515 --> 00:14:52,559
REPORTER 2: Sixteen times.
REPORTER 3: At least 60 times.
286
00:14:52,559 --> 00:14:54,436
CECIL:
They unload entire clips,
287
00:14:54,436 --> 00:14:56,563
and then they look and see what they did.
288
00:14:57,856 --> 00:14:59,066
And that's the fear.
289
00:14:59,066 --> 00:15:00,651
It's not just the fear of gettin' shot,
290
00:15:00,651 --> 00:15:03,278
it's the fear of getting
your body obliterated.
291
00:15:04,696 --> 00:15:09,701
Every day is like playing chess
when you walk out the house.
292
00:15:16,416 --> 00:15:18,418
♪
293
00:15:27,678 --> 00:15:29,680
REPORTER 1:
We are continuing to push for answers
294
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,558
about the security guard
shot and killed by a police officer
295
00:15:32,558 --> 00:15:33,934
in South Suburban Robbins.
296
00:15:33,934 --> 00:15:36,687
REPORTER 2:
A 26-year-old father was working security
297
00:15:36,687 --> 00:15:38,105
at Manny's Luxury Lounge.
298
00:15:38,105 --> 00:15:39,189
REPORTER 3: People in the crowd
299
00:15:39,189 --> 00:15:42,609
yelled to arriving police
that Roberson was a guard.
300
00:15:42,609 --> 00:15:45,904
Still, one responding officer shot him,
301
00:15:45,904 --> 00:15:48,448
who later died at the hospital.
302
00:15:48,448 --> 00:15:49,867
- You shot him and he with us!
303
00:15:49,867 --> 00:15:52,828
- You a racist muthafucka. Take your ass--
- Him right here!
304
00:15:52,828 --> 00:15:55,038
I told him. He with us!
305
00:15:55,038 --> 00:15:57,165
NIKOLE:
On November 11, 2018,
306
00:15:57,165 --> 00:16:00,127
Jemel Roberson's life
was tragically cut short
307
00:16:00,127 --> 00:16:03,547
when a police officer
made a split-second decision.
308
00:16:03,547 --> 00:16:05,549
[indistinct chatter]
309
00:16:08,552 --> 00:16:12,139
That fatal night began
when a fight between patrons broke out,
310
00:16:12,139 --> 00:16:14,558
and gunfire erupted in the club.
311
00:16:15,267 --> 00:16:17,102
DISPATCHER 1:
911, what's your emergency?
312
00:16:17,102 --> 00:16:19,438
PERSON 1: We need the police
to the Manny's Blue Room.
313
00:16:19,438 --> 00:16:20,689
There's been shots fired.
314
00:16:20,689 --> 00:16:21,940
DISPATCHER 1: Okay.
PERSON 1: Inside the club.
315
00:16:21,940 --> 00:16:22,816
DISPATCHER 1: Okay.
316
00:16:22,816 --> 00:16:24,902
DISPATCHER 2:
911, what's your emergency?
317
00:16:24,902 --> 00:16:27,571
PERSON 2: Hello, I've been shot! Please!
DISPATCHER 2: Where are you at?
318
00:16:27,571 --> 00:16:30,282
Where are you at?
PERSON 2: I'm at Manny's Blue Room!
319
00:16:30,282 --> 00:16:32,910
- I didn't know what was goin' on.
I just seen the op-- altercation.
320
00:16:32,910 --> 00:16:34,119
I just heard it.
321
00:16:34,661 --> 00:16:37,456
You have Jemel and, like,
three other security guards
322
00:16:37,456 --> 00:16:39,333
who had to grab three people.
323
00:16:39,333 --> 00:16:41,335
It was so many people
they was tryin' to put out.
324
00:16:41,335 --> 00:16:43,337
[person shouting]
325
00:16:44,129 --> 00:16:45,631
- Another guy reaches over me.
326
00:16:45,631 --> 00:16:48,926
I didn't see his face,
I didn't see his hair, none of that.
327
00:16:48,926 --> 00:16:50,594
And he starts shooting.
328
00:16:50,594 --> 00:16:52,179
[gunshots]
[person screams]
329
00:16:52,179 --> 00:16:53,222
- He just shot into the club.
330
00:16:53,222 --> 00:16:55,516
He didn't give a fuck
who he was shootin' at.
331
00:16:55,516 --> 00:16:59,144
He didn't give a damn 'bout
nobody life at that time or nothing.
332
00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,772
I tried to wrestle a gun from him.
333
00:17:01,772 --> 00:17:04,942
Well, that's how I end up
gettin' shot in my thumb and my forearm.
334
00:17:05,859 --> 00:17:08,946
NIKOLE:
In the midst of the chaos,
Jemel bravely borrowed a firearm
335
00:17:08,946 --> 00:17:10,572
from a fellow security guard,
336
00:17:10,572 --> 00:17:13,200
and apprehended a suspect
in the parking lot.
337
00:17:14,701 --> 00:17:17,704
LEE MERRITT:
The other security guards
began to clear the scene,
338
00:17:17,704 --> 00:17:20,415
officers who were present
at the scene began to respond.
339
00:17:20,415 --> 00:17:22,835
These are officers from Robbins, Illinois.
340
00:17:22,835 --> 00:17:25,796
And then other officers
were being called to the scene.
341
00:17:27,172 --> 00:17:30,259
NIKOLE:
Ian Covey, a white officer
from a nearby town,
342
00:17:30,259 --> 00:17:32,469
was among those who responded.
343
00:17:33,178 --> 00:17:36,223
LEE:
All accounts say that
by the time that Ian Covey,
344
00:17:36,223 --> 00:17:39,184
who was with the Midlothian
Police Department, arrived,
345
00:17:39,935 --> 00:17:43,939
the scene, in and of itself,
was beginning to calm down.
346
00:17:45,107 --> 00:17:47,442
- As I'm at the bar with my hand
wrapped up and everything,
347
00:17:47,442 --> 00:17:52,239
a police officer, I don't know what, uh,
station or city he was from at the time,
348
00:17:52,239 --> 00:17:56,785
he came in and got on top
of the bar with a-an assault rifle.
349
00:17:56,785 --> 00:17:58,620
And I'm guessin' it was a AR-15.
350
00:17:58,620 --> 00:18:01,582
I don't know what it was,
but it was an assault rifle, definitely.
351
00:18:01,582 --> 00:18:04,084
- Covey's not interacting
with the other officers who are there.
352
00:18:04,084 --> 00:18:06,044
This is his opportunity to learn that
353
00:18:06,044 --> 00:18:08,422
those law enforcement officers
who are present
354
00:18:08,422 --> 00:18:11,341
are coordinating with the security guards
to secure the scene.
355
00:18:11,341 --> 00:18:14,469
Instead, he sort of
takes matters into his own hands.
356
00:18:14,469 --> 00:18:16,138
He's looking around for a shooter,
357
00:18:16,138 --> 00:18:19,391
or for somebody
to direct his energy towards.
358
00:18:19,391 --> 00:18:23,145
- We like, "All the trouble's outside.
You in the wrong area."
359
00:18:23,145 --> 00:18:25,856
So, at the time,
he goes out to the side door,
360
00:18:25,856 --> 00:18:27,399
and that's where he sees Jemel.
361
00:18:27,399 --> 00:18:31,028
So, when I went out there, he sees Jemel,
he has his gun pointed at Jemel.
362
00:18:31,028 --> 00:18:34,323
Jemel has someone on the ground
with a gun to his back,
363
00:18:34,323 --> 00:18:37,451
just holdin' him
'til he has his security team
364
00:18:37,451 --> 00:18:40,537
or the actual police come
and help him, assist him.
365
00:18:40,537 --> 00:18:43,373
- And Officer Ian Covey
approaches him from behind.
366
00:18:43,373 --> 00:18:46,251
From the descriptions
that I've been able to gather,
367
00:18:46,251 --> 00:18:51,423
he's about, maybe, 10 feet away from Jemel
when he shouts, "Drop the weapon."
368
00:18:51,423 --> 00:18:53,175
- And I hear everybody,
"He's security, he's security."
369
00:18:53,175 --> 00:18:54,593
I'm standin' up right there.
370
00:18:54,593 --> 00:18:55,928
I'm yellin' the same thing.
"He's security."
371
00:18:55,928 --> 00:18:58,055
He has his AR-15 pointed at him,
372
00:18:58,055 --> 00:19:00,516
"Freeze, drop the gun, drop the gun."
373
00:19:00,516 --> 00:19:02,684
We're yellin',
"He's security, he's security."
374
00:19:02,684 --> 00:19:06,021
- But Officer Ian Covey opens fire
on Jemel Roberson strikin' him
375
00:19:06,021 --> 00:19:07,814
in his back several times.
376
00:19:07,814 --> 00:19:11,944
- I don't think he gave Jemel
enough time to respond to him
377
00:19:11,944 --> 00:19:15,697
far as givin' up,
releasing the gun and everything.
378
00:19:15,697 --> 00:19:17,699
Hell, it wasn't even 10 seconds.
379
00:19:18,367 --> 00:19:22,371
Didn't even feel like it was 10 seconds.
It just happened so fast.
380
00:19:23,997 --> 00:19:28,293
He, he died right in front of me.
He, he got shot right in front of me.
381
00:19:28,293 --> 00:19:30,295
We all was in shock.
382
00:19:30,587 --> 00:19:32,589
PERSON:
Why do you got your rifle out right now?!
383
00:19:32,589 --> 00:19:35,509
What threat do you see?
Everything was clear.
384
00:19:35,509 --> 00:19:37,427
Everything was down, bro.
385
00:19:37,427 --> 00:19:40,722
He tell him to drop his gun.
I'm tellin' him he workin' with us.
386
00:19:40,722 --> 00:19:43,225
"Cool out. He's workin' with us."
387
00:19:43,225 --> 00:19:48,856
He shot him, four or five times
after we told him he's with us.
388
00:19:50,107 --> 00:19:52,901
- I think he shot Jemel
because he thought Jemel was a threat.
389
00:19:52,901 --> 00:19:54,570
How big he was.
390
00:19:54,570 --> 00:19:56,864
And then he like,
"Oh, he got on black clothes,
391
00:19:56,864 --> 00:19:58,866
so he might be a threat."
392
00:19:59,324 --> 00:20:02,744
REPORTER:
The victim, with a big smile
and an even bigger heart.
393
00:20:02,744 --> 00:20:07,749
This is a case that is starting
to gain international media attention.
394
00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:10,127
NIKOLE:
As is so often the case,
395
00:20:10,127 --> 00:20:12,379
the instant assessment
of Jemel as a threat
396
00:20:12,379 --> 00:20:15,007
had nothing to do
with who he actually was.
397
00:20:15,465 --> 00:20:17,509
DAUGHTER: Mom?
- What?
398
00:20:17,509 --> 00:20:19,261
DAUGHTER: I love you.
399
00:20:19,595 --> 00:20:21,221
AVONTEA BOOSE:
Be careful.
400
00:20:21,221 --> 00:20:24,933
NIKOLE:
For people who won't
be blessed to, to meet Jemel,
401
00:20:24,933 --> 00:20:27,269
just what, what kinda person was he?
402
00:20:27,269 --> 00:20:32,566
- He was a protector, he was funny,
he was charming, lovable.
403
00:20:32,566 --> 00:20:35,194
NIKOLE:
And he also was a musician,
is that right?
404
00:20:35,194 --> 00:20:36,945
AVONTEA: Yeah.
He used to go to church every--
NIKOLE: Tell me about that.
405
00:20:36,945 --> 00:20:39,573
So, he was faithful?
- Faithful, faithful.
406
00:20:39,573 --> 00:20:42,701
Like, every Sunday, I'm like,
"Ooh gosh. He's real good."
407
00:20:42,701 --> 00:20:45,537
'Cause, like, he had the little voice.
Like, 'cause he had--
408
00:20:45,537 --> 00:20:46,997
- Oh, he could sing, too?
- A little bit.
409
00:20:46,997 --> 00:20:48,624
[both laughing]
A little bit.
410
00:20:48,624 --> 00:20:49,666
NIKOLE:
He was a better organ player
411
00:20:49,666 --> 00:20:51,376
than singer, huh? Okay.
AVONTEA: Right, yeah.
412
00:20:51,919 --> 00:20:56,465
- [singing]
♪ Well, I'm singin' happy birthday ♪
413
00:20:56,465 --> 00:21:00,135
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
414
00:21:00,135 --> 00:21:04,139
♪ I'm singing happy birthday,
happy birthday ♪
415
00:21:04,139 --> 00:21:06,767
GARRET TAYLOR:
Every birthday, he always sing it to me.
416
00:21:06,767 --> 00:21:09,520
It was like a, a church hymn
or somethin' like that.
417
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,564
That was like--
That's my favorite video to watch of him.
418
00:21:12,564 --> 00:21:15,317
Me and Jemel been knowing
each other since, like, Pampers.
419
00:21:16,527 --> 00:21:18,195
- Garret, no!
[indistinct]
420
00:21:18,195 --> 00:21:20,989
Garret, no. Garret, it's playoffs, bro.
- I'm grown. I'm in college, I'm grown.
421
00:21:20,989 --> 00:21:23,158
My brother, my best friend.
422
00:21:23,158 --> 00:21:27,871
Like, everything he did was
always lookin' out for the next person.
423
00:21:27,871 --> 00:21:31,166
Really didn't have to worry about anything
with Jemel in the neighborhood
424
00:21:31,166 --> 00:21:33,794
'cause he was just so protective.
425
00:21:35,754 --> 00:21:37,172
NIKOLE:
Jemel was so protective,
426
00:21:37,172 --> 00:21:39,633
that when Avontea's son
Tristan was a baby,
427
00:21:39,633 --> 00:21:41,677
he cared for him as his own,
428
00:21:41,677 --> 00:21:44,429
and just 10 days before Jemel was killed,
429
00:21:44,429 --> 00:21:47,432
he and Avontea
discovered they were pregnant.
430
00:21:47,432 --> 00:21:48,934
- He was excited--
- Was he?
431
00:21:48,934 --> 00:21:51,228
- Yes. He like, "Oh, I hope it's a girl."
432
00:21:51,228 --> 00:21:54,356
'Cause I'm like--
'Cause he already-- He had Tristan.
433
00:21:54,356 --> 00:21:57,776
- So, Jemel was 26 years old.
What were his dreams?
434
00:21:57,776 --> 00:21:58,986
What, what did he want?
435
00:21:58,986 --> 00:22:00,696
- He wanted to be a police officer.
436
00:22:00,696 --> 00:22:02,948
- Why did he wanna be a police officer?
What was it?
437
00:22:02,948 --> 00:22:04,616
- He wanted to take
the bad guys off the street.
438
00:22:04,616 --> 00:22:06,410
He wanted to make
the streets a better place,
439
00:22:06,410 --> 00:22:09,037
wanna make sure the streets
all good for my son.
440
00:22:09,371 --> 00:22:11,373
NIKOLE:
But instead of becoming a police officer,
441
00:22:11,373 --> 00:22:13,166
Jemel was killed by one.
442
00:22:13,166 --> 00:22:15,460
And as it is with so many other cases,
443
00:22:15,460 --> 00:22:19,673
the officer who shot him was not
held accountable for taking his life.
444
00:22:20,549 --> 00:22:24,970
- Officer Ian Covey's defense
was similar to the kind of res-- defense
445
00:22:24,970 --> 00:22:28,932
that we hear in almost
every single officer-involved shooting.
446
00:22:28,932 --> 00:22:30,934
He has to identify a deadly threat.
447
00:22:30,934 --> 00:22:35,147
In this case, he says that, obviously,
Jemel Roberson was holding a gun,
448
00:22:35,147 --> 00:22:39,693
and that firearm was a potential
deadly threat to him and to others.
449
00:22:39,693 --> 00:22:42,321
This is how they avoid accountability.
450
00:22:43,071 --> 00:22:47,117
- Officer Wilson, in his own words,
saying he feared for his life.
451
00:22:47,993 --> 00:22:52,998
- The reason my client, Jason,
fired his weapon that, that evening
452
00:22:52,998 --> 00:22:55,042
back in October 2014
453
00:22:55,042 --> 00:22:58,170
is that, um, he truly
was in fear for his life.
454
00:22:58,170 --> 00:23:00,088
[radio chatter]
[sirens wailing]
455
00:23:00,088 --> 00:23:01,798
NIKOLE:
Those simple admissions:
456
00:23:01,798 --> 00:23:05,469
"I feared for my life,"
or, "I felt threatened,"
457
00:23:05,469 --> 00:23:08,430
have given Americans,
particularly law enforcement,
458
00:23:08,430 --> 00:23:10,265
license to kill.
459
00:23:10,807 --> 00:23:13,810
For police, it's a license
that is protected by law
460
00:23:13,810 --> 00:23:15,979
under what's known
as "qualified immunity,"
461
00:23:15,979 --> 00:23:18,899
a legal rule that shields them
from lawsuits that allege
462
00:23:18,899 --> 00:23:21,318
they violated a citizen's rights.
463
00:23:22,110 --> 00:23:25,656
REPORTER:
The 12-year-old tried
to show the cops his gun was fake,
464
00:23:25,656 --> 00:23:27,908
but the two officers didn't know that,
465
00:23:27,908 --> 00:23:29,618
and feared for their lives.
466
00:23:29,618 --> 00:23:31,828
There will be no indictment.
467
00:23:32,829 --> 00:23:35,916
NIKOLE:
Both the tactics and the culture
of modern-day policing
468
00:23:35,916 --> 00:23:40,254
have been significantly influenced
by the legacy of slave patrols.
469
00:23:40,254 --> 00:23:42,464
Patrollers routinely broke into cabins
470
00:23:42,464 --> 00:23:45,259
searching for contraband,
hunted for fugitives,
471
00:23:45,259 --> 00:23:48,554
and stopped and searched
any Black person they deemed suspicious,
472
00:23:48,554 --> 00:23:51,056
often physically abusing them.
473
00:23:51,056 --> 00:23:54,977
Modern policing employs similar tactics
including no-knock raids,
474
00:23:54,977 --> 00:23:57,563
the seizure of assets,
and stop-and-frisk policies
475
00:23:57,563 --> 00:24:00,774
that were most famously used
by the New York City police.
476
00:24:01,233 --> 00:24:03,235
♪
477
00:24:07,614 --> 00:24:10,951
So, Professor Alexander,
we're standing here in New York City.
478
00:24:10,951 --> 00:24:14,037
This was the place
where a federal judge ruled
479
00:24:14,037 --> 00:24:17,291
that Black people were being
unconstitutionally stopped
480
00:24:17,291 --> 00:24:19,042
in what's called stop-and-frisk.
- Yeah.
481
00:24:19,042 --> 00:24:22,588
- And so, it seems like
from the time of slavery until now,
482
00:24:22,588 --> 00:24:26,675
the role of policing in Black communities
has not been necessarily about serving.
483
00:24:26,675 --> 00:24:30,554
- When it comes to Black communities,
historically and contemporarily,
484
00:24:30,554 --> 00:24:34,558
the role of the police has really
been about surveillance and control.
485
00:24:36,059 --> 00:24:38,061
NIKOLE:
The Civil War ended slavery,
486
00:24:38,061 --> 00:24:40,856
but it didn't reduce
white fear of Black liberation,
487
00:24:40,856 --> 00:24:44,401
or end the perpetual quest
for racial control.
488
00:24:44,651 --> 00:24:45,986
With slavery's demise,
489
00:24:45,986 --> 00:24:48,322
white people across
classes and backgrounds
490
00:24:48,322 --> 00:24:51,658
feared economic ruin,
a disordered social system,
491
00:24:51,658 --> 00:24:55,329
and most importantly,
a loss of white political power.
492
00:24:56,538 --> 00:25:00,042
PROFESSOR ALEXANDER:
After the Civil War, as slavery,
493
00:25:00,042 --> 00:25:04,213
as a social institution,
starts to fade away,
494
00:25:04,213 --> 00:25:08,634
there's a desire across much of the South,
as well as throughout the North,
495
00:25:08,634 --> 00:25:13,096
to make sure that Black people remain
at the bottom of the social order.
496
00:25:13,597 --> 00:25:16,683
So, what you see is
the rise of the Ku Klux Klan
497
00:25:16,683 --> 00:25:19,478
and other types
of white supremacist organizations
498
00:25:19,478 --> 00:25:23,065
that take up the extra-legal approaches
499
00:25:23,065 --> 00:25:27,569
of keeping the Black community
in its place while the police
500
00:25:27,569 --> 00:25:30,489
become a legalized, formalized way
501
00:25:30,489 --> 00:25:33,367
of monitoring
and surveilling and maintaining
502
00:25:33,367 --> 00:25:35,827
control over the Black population.
503
00:25:36,703 --> 00:25:39,540
NIKOLE:
For the next century,
in the period of racial apartheid
504
00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:41,083
known as Jim Crow,
505
00:25:41,083 --> 00:25:45,087
law enforcement acted as the brazen
legal arm of white supremacy.
506
00:25:45,546 --> 00:25:49,633
The white South maintained its social,
economic and political dominance
507
00:25:49,633 --> 00:25:51,510
through wanton acts of violence,
508
00:25:51,510 --> 00:25:56,098
either by, or abetted by,
local and state law enforcement.
509
00:25:56,723 --> 00:26:00,477
To many white Americans,
the success of the civil rights movement,
510
00:26:00,477 --> 00:26:04,231
which ended explicit legal discrimination
against Black Americans,
511
00:26:04,231 --> 00:26:07,568
signaled a turn
into a post-racial society.
512
00:26:07,901 --> 00:26:10,904
But for Black Americans,
what became clear is that
513
00:26:10,904 --> 00:26:14,992
racist structures that ordered
our society for its first 350 years
514
00:26:14,992 --> 00:26:18,620
would not disappear
simply because the laws changed.
515
00:26:18,954 --> 00:26:23,584
They adapted to new forms,
and racism became more covert.
516
00:26:24,042 --> 00:26:29,006
A 2006 FBI assessment warned
of the threat of white nationalists
517
00:26:29,006 --> 00:26:30,757
infiltrating law enforcement,
518
00:26:30,757 --> 00:26:33,927
and a 2022 Reuters investigation revealed
519
00:26:33,927 --> 00:26:37,556
that the presence of white supremacists
and white supremacist thinking
520
00:26:37,556 --> 00:26:41,059
in U.S. law enforcement
is still pervasive.
521
00:26:41,059 --> 00:26:43,687
REPORTER: An internal probe
by the Wilmington Police Department
522
00:26:43,687 --> 00:26:47,941
reveals hate-filled conversations
with three veteran officers.
523
00:26:48,108 --> 00:26:51,904
- So, in many ways, Black people,
and particularly poor Black people,
524
00:26:51,904 --> 00:26:54,865
are still seen as an internal enemy
in the United States.
525
00:26:54,865 --> 00:26:56,408
- I think very much so.
526
00:26:56,408 --> 00:26:59,703
Once slavery was over,
American society has not been
527
00:26:59,703 --> 00:27:03,498
entirely sure what to do
with the Black population.
528
00:27:03,498 --> 00:27:07,419
But we find ourselves, now,
in contemporary society, in which,
529
00:27:07,419 --> 00:27:10,130
when Black people
try to assert their rights
530
00:27:10,130 --> 00:27:12,758
in response to police conduct,
531
00:27:13,091 --> 00:27:17,304
the police respond with more
and more aggressive violence.
532
00:27:21,141 --> 00:27:23,143
♪
533
00:27:23,143 --> 00:27:24,561
NIKOLE:
When Frederick Douglass said,
534
00:27:24,561 --> 00:27:27,439
"If there is no struggle,
there is no progress,"
535
00:27:27,439 --> 00:27:29,149
he understood fully
that Black demands
536
00:27:29,149 --> 00:27:30,609
for equality and justice
537
00:27:30,609 --> 00:27:33,820
to simply achieve the rights
of any other American
538
00:27:33,820 --> 00:27:36,740
would be met with staunch resistance.
539
00:27:36,740 --> 00:27:39,535
He knew that the architecture
of white supremacy
540
00:27:39,535 --> 00:27:42,162
would not come down without a fight.
541
00:27:42,162 --> 00:27:46,500
And so, non-violent, passive resistance,
as a means of protest, was rewarded
542
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:49,545
with the violent murders
of movement leaders.
543
00:27:50,254 --> 00:27:52,756
Black power militancy
was met with government efforts
544
00:27:52,756 --> 00:27:55,425
to destroy and discredit
the organizations,
545
00:27:55,425 --> 00:27:59,054
and an increasingly
militarized response by police.
546
00:27:59,721 --> 00:28:01,557
And yet, despite the high cost
547
00:28:01,557 --> 00:28:04,560
that the fear of Black equality
has wrought on Black people,
548
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,271
our rebellions, our insistence on liberty,
549
00:28:07,271 --> 00:28:08,939
have never ceased.
550
00:28:09,273 --> 00:28:11,900
And it is no accident,
that nearly always,
551
00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:16,029
these rebellions are in response
to an act of police violence.
552
00:28:16,655 --> 00:28:19,658
Because police interact
in Black communities every day,
553
00:28:19,658 --> 00:28:22,870
they are often seen as the face
of larger systems of inequality
554
00:28:22,870 --> 00:28:27,875
in the justice system, employment,
education, and housing.
555
00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,253
- The people have a right,
they're totally justified
556
00:28:31,253 --> 00:28:34,464
in going out into the streets,
takin' up arms,
557
00:28:34,464 --> 00:28:36,466
and dealin' with that situation.
558
00:28:37,426 --> 00:28:39,428
MAN:
And so, this is the reason
I feel the people are doin' this.
559
00:28:39,428 --> 00:28:44,558
they're trying to show that they
are angry against the police brutality.
560
00:28:49,479 --> 00:28:51,481
[birds chirping]
561
00:28:54,234 --> 00:28:57,571
NIKOLE:
The United States sees this wave
of rebellions in Black communities
562
00:28:57,571 --> 00:29:00,991
leading up to the assassination
of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.
563
00:29:00,991 --> 00:29:05,037
And then we see more than a hundred
rebellions in cities, big and small.
564
00:29:05,037 --> 00:29:08,832
What do these rebellions signal
about the limits of
565
00:29:08,832 --> 00:29:11,919
and the frustration
with nonviolent protest,
566
00:29:11,919 --> 00:29:13,462
um, for racial equality?
567
00:29:13,462 --> 00:29:18,509
- The thinking is we have tried
for decades, if not centuries,
568
00:29:18,509 --> 00:29:21,303
through non-violent means,
through direct action protests,
569
00:29:21,303 --> 00:29:24,014
through petitions, through boycotts
570
00:29:24,014 --> 00:29:27,559
to try to...
achieve freedom and liberation,
571
00:29:27,559 --> 00:29:28,769
and that hasn't worked.
572
00:29:28,769 --> 00:29:34,316
So, for the generation that had watched
the civil rights movement unfold,
573
00:29:34,316 --> 00:29:39,029
and were now in 1968
living in very much the same conditions,
574
00:29:39,029 --> 00:29:41,823
their tactics shifted,
and logically so,
575
00:29:41,823 --> 00:29:44,243
to say, "Well, if you're gonna beat me up,
576
00:29:44,243 --> 00:29:48,914
"and I'm not getting any kind
of recourse or justice from nonviolence,
577
00:29:48,914 --> 00:29:50,999
then I'm going to fight back."
578
00:29:50,999 --> 00:29:53,001
♪
579
00:29:53,544 --> 00:29:55,546
[sirens wailing]
580
00:29:59,716 --> 00:30:02,344
REPORTER 1:
Newark, the summer of ‘67.
581
00:30:04,805 --> 00:30:07,057
Detroit, the summer of ‘67.
582
00:30:07,057 --> 00:30:09,852
Regular army troops
moved into the nation's capital
583
00:30:09,852 --> 00:30:12,437
to protect strategic locations
from the violence
584
00:30:12,437 --> 00:30:13,772
spreading through the city.
585
00:30:13,772 --> 00:30:16,275
REPORTER 2:
From the air, the scene looked unreal,
586
00:30:16,275 --> 00:30:21,280
a row of fires in the middle
of an otherwise tranquil city.
587
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,658
- What changes, then, as a result
of this wave of rebellions?
588
00:30:24,658 --> 00:30:26,702
- The major shift that happens in '68
589
00:30:26,702 --> 00:30:29,496
is the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act.
590
00:30:29,496 --> 00:30:34,793
This legislation began what was
several billion dollars, in today's money,
591
00:30:34,793 --> 00:30:39,089
investment into police
and courts and prison systems.
592
00:30:39,089 --> 00:30:42,259
Most of this money going
to the targeted expansion
593
00:30:42,259 --> 00:30:45,929
and militarization of police
in the very same communities
594
00:30:45,929 --> 00:30:50,267
that had rebelled
during the second half of the 1960s.
595
00:30:50,267 --> 00:30:55,272
The Act also begins the transfer
of surplus military technologies
596
00:30:55,272 --> 00:30:58,692
from the army to local law enforcement.
597
00:31:01,904 --> 00:31:02,905
When Ferguson happened,
598
00:31:02,905 --> 00:31:05,449
and we saw all those
armored tanks on the streets,
599
00:31:05,449 --> 00:31:08,577
people were like,
"Where did this come from?"
600
00:31:08,577 --> 00:31:11,663
People assumed that it was
the product of the war on terror.
601
00:31:11,663 --> 00:31:15,334
No, it's actually
rooted in the Vietnam War
602
00:31:15,334 --> 00:31:19,338
and U.S. interventions
in Latin America and the Caribbean.
603
00:31:20,214 --> 00:31:21,548
- Can we pause on that for a second
604
00:31:21,548 --> 00:31:24,176
because I think a lotta people
will be shocked to learn
605
00:31:24,176 --> 00:31:28,597
that the military has all
of this leftover weaponry from Vietnam.
606
00:31:29,223 --> 00:31:30,432
And the decision is
607
00:31:30,432 --> 00:31:35,938
that we will deploy that weaponry
against American citizens who are Black.
608
00:31:35,938 --> 00:31:38,941
What does that say
about the fear of Black people,
609
00:31:38,941 --> 00:31:42,027
and particularly Black rebellion,
610
00:31:42,027 --> 00:31:45,739
that they would transport
weaponry that was used in war
611
00:31:45,739 --> 00:31:49,117
to put down rebellion
amongst American citizens?
612
00:31:49,117 --> 00:31:53,497
- These rebellions are about
access to decent healthcare,
613
00:31:53,497 --> 00:31:56,124
access to educational opportunities,
614
00:31:56,124 --> 00:31:59,545
um, they're demands about living
in decent housing.
615
00:31:59,545 --> 00:32:01,171
They're about jobs.
616
00:32:01,171 --> 00:32:06,426
They're about full political
and economic inclusion in U.S. society.
617
00:32:06,426 --> 00:32:09,346
And in labeling them as "riots,"
618
00:32:09,346 --> 00:32:12,808
then they become
nothing other than criminal acts.
619
00:32:12,808 --> 00:32:14,351
The strategies were not,
620
00:32:14,351 --> 00:32:17,479
"What are the larger
social and economic forces
621
00:32:17,479 --> 00:32:19,898
that are causing
this collective violence?"
622
00:32:19,898 --> 00:32:23,485
The response is,
"We're gonna treat the Black community
623
00:32:23,485 --> 00:32:25,195
like we're treating the Viet Cong."
624
00:32:25,195 --> 00:32:27,406
We're gonna use helicopters,
we're gonna use tanks.
625
00:32:27,406 --> 00:32:29,449
We're gonna have tanks
rolling through Black neighborhoods.
626
00:32:29,449 --> 00:32:30,993
- Like, that's crazy.
- Right.
627
00:32:30,993 --> 00:32:32,953
- Except... it's not.
- Except, it's not
628
00:32:32,953 --> 00:32:37,791
because any threat
to the established order
629
00:32:37,791 --> 00:32:39,042
then becomes a threat.
630
00:32:39,042 --> 00:32:41,837
And the tools that are shored up
to respond to that threat
631
00:32:42,838 --> 00:32:47,176
are militaristic, are violent
in and of themselves.
632
00:32:47,176 --> 00:32:50,179
OFFICER [over speaker]:
You need to disperse immediately
633
00:32:50,179 --> 00:32:53,348
or you will be subject to arrest.
634
00:32:53,348 --> 00:32:54,683
Do it now!
635
00:32:55,726 --> 00:32:57,019
NIKOLE:
The militaristic response
636
00:32:57,019 --> 00:33:00,272
to the 2014 uprisings
in Ferguson, Missouri,
637
00:33:00,272 --> 00:33:03,567
galvanized the newly formed
Black Lives Matter movement,
638
00:33:03,567 --> 00:33:08,238
and motivated a whole new generation
of activists intent on Black liberation.
639
00:33:08,238 --> 00:33:11,325
PROTESTORS [chanting]:
Our streets! Whose streets?
640
00:33:11,325 --> 00:33:13,118
PROTESTORS [chanting]: Our streets!
- Whose streets?
641
00:33:13,118 --> 00:33:14,745
PROTESTORS [chanting]: Our streets!
- Whose streets?
642
00:33:17,873 --> 00:33:19,875
♪
643
00:33:22,211 --> 00:33:24,630
- Hey, Derrick. So, this is
the only time I'll call you Derrick
644
00:33:24,630 --> 00:33:27,466
because I know you,
you go by Dwreck, but.
- All right... I do.
645
00:33:27,466 --> 00:33:31,637
- So, tell me about what was that
experience like protesting in Ferguson?
646
00:33:31,637 --> 00:33:33,180
- So, that was overwhelming.
647
00:33:33,180 --> 00:33:36,517
Um, I'm-- I do well
in, in the middle of chaos.
648
00:33:36,517 --> 00:33:39,102
- Mm.
- But it was really gut-wrenching seeing,
649
00:33:39,102 --> 00:33:42,814
you know, such a small suburb
that is majority Black,
650
00:33:42,814 --> 00:33:44,691
but, usually, pretty peaceful.
651
00:33:46,109 --> 00:33:50,155
With military there,
with tanks, with guns,
652
00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:54,493
with a lot of militant effort
to intimidate Black protestors
653
00:33:54,493 --> 00:33:56,662
and the Black Lives Matter movement.
654
00:33:56,662 --> 00:33:59,289
It was really kind of, like, surreal.
655
00:33:59,289 --> 00:34:01,124
OFFICER:
Get outta here! Go!
656
00:34:01,124 --> 00:34:02,918
[indistinct]
657
00:34:02,918 --> 00:34:05,963
- Most of my formative years,
I was raised in St. Louis,
658
00:34:05,963 --> 00:34:08,090
when I went to school
in the suburbs of St. Louis,
659
00:34:08,090 --> 00:34:10,634
not too far from the Ferguson area.
660
00:34:10,634 --> 00:34:15,264
- What do you remember learning
about police when you were little?
661
00:34:15,264 --> 00:34:18,809
- I've always kind of had an aversion
for authority in general.
662
00:34:18,809 --> 00:34:21,770
I am the rebel of my family--
- Are you a Aries?
663
00:34:21,770 --> 00:34:23,939
- I am.
[both laughing]
664
00:34:23,939 --> 00:34:26,525
- So am I. That's how I knew.
Anyway, go ahead.
665
00:34:26,525 --> 00:34:28,610
- So, yeah, always
just questioned authority,
666
00:34:28,610 --> 00:34:31,238
and, like, why things operate
in the way that they do.
667
00:34:31,238 --> 00:34:35,075
One of my earliest memories
is a officer stopping my dad
668
00:34:35,075 --> 00:34:36,910
in the suburbs of St. Louis,
669
00:34:36,910 --> 00:34:40,789
pulling him over,
and breaking his ID in front of me,
670
00:34:40,789 --> 00:34:43,500
and then giving him a ticket
for driving without a license.
671
00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,461
- How old were you?
- I had to be around nine years old.
672
00:34:46,461 --> 00:34:49,173
Uh, and just seeing that made me question
673
00:34:49,173 --> 00:34:51,800
why does policing operate
in the way that it does.
674
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,468
I don't feel like my story's unique.
675
00:34:53,468 --> 00:34:56,805
There's people throughout the U.S.
that are intimidated by the police,
676
00:34:56,805 --> 00:35:00,434
surveilled by the police,
demonized by the police,
677
00:35:00,434 --> 00:35:02,060
but they don't live to tell their story.
678
00:35:02,060 --> 00:35:05,063
PROTESTORS [chanting]:
Black lives matter!
679
00:35:06,690 --> 00:35:09,985
NIKOLE:
In the spring of 2020,
pervasive police violence,
680
00:35:09,985 --> 00:35:12,988
the tragic consequence
of the legacy of white fear,
681
00:35:12,988 --> 00:35:16,783
once again became undeniable
in the eyes of many Americans.
682
00:35:16,783 --> 00:35:18,785
[all chanting]
683
00:35:21,997 --> 00:35:25,626
George Floyd didn't choose
to be a martyr for racial justice,
684
00:35:25,626 --> 00:35:28,462
yet the collective witness
of his modern-day lynching
685
00:35:28,462 --> 00:35:33,509
spawned a national, multiracial movement
that I have not witnessed in my lifetime.
686
00:35:33,884 --> 00:35:36,345
Between May and August of 2020,
687
00:35:36,345 --> 00:35:40,516
Americans participated in more than
7,000 Black Lives Matter demonstrations
688
00:35:40,516 --> 00:35:42,017
across the country.
689
00:35:42,017 --> 00:35:44,853
Over 93% remained non-violent.
690
00:35:44,853 --> 00:35:47,481
PROTESTORS [chanting]:
NYPD! I can't breathe!
691
00:35:49,525 --> 00:35:51,193
[whistle blows]
[indistinct shouting]
692
00:35:51,193 --> 00:35:53,445
NIKOLE:
But the violent response
of law enforcement
693
00:35:53,445 --> 00:35:55,072
to these peaceful demonstrators
694
00:35:55,072 --> 00:35:57,574
made it abundantly clear
that too many in power
695
00:35:57,574 --> 00:36:00,994
still feel threatened
by protests for Black rights.
696
00:36:01,411 --> 00:36:06,708
So, in response to these massive
Black Lives Matter protests in 2020,
697
00:36:06,708 --> 00:36:10,671
we actually saw
very anti-democratic laws being passed
698
00:36:10,671 --> 00:36:13,590
in certain states
that were criminalizing protest.
699
00:36:13,590 --> 00:36:18,220
Can you talk about some of those laws
and how do laws like that impact,
700
00:36:18,220 --> 00:36:20,973
uh, efforts for Black Americans
to achieve racial justice?
701
00:36:20,973 --> 00:36:23,183
- Immediately after the protests
in the summer of 2020,
702
00:36:23,183 --> 00:36:25,269
Republican-led state legislatures
703
00:36:25,269 --> 00:36:31,024
enacted all kinds of draconian
"anti-riot bills," as they're called,
704
00:36:31,024 --> 00:36:36,655
which are, essentially, about limiting
people's first amendment right to protest.
705
00:36:36,655 --> 00:36:40,951
- Lawmakers are introducing stiff
new penalties for public disorder.
706
00:36:40,951 --> 00:36:46,582
- All kinds of new criminal penalties
introduced making protest a criminal act.
707
00:36:46,582 --> 00:36:48,917
- The law now offers protections
to police officers
708
00:36:48,917 --> 00:36:51,503
while also increasing penalties
for rioters.
709
00:36:51,503 --> 00:36:53,547
- And also, at the same time,
710
00:36:53,547 --> 00:36:57,885
decriminalizing people
who attack protestors.
711
00:36:57,885 --> 00:37:00,637
- Measures granting immunity
to drivers who hit protesters
712
00:37:00,637 --> 00:37:04,266
are gaining steam
in Iowa and in Oklahoma.
713
00:37:04,266 --> 00:37:05,559
[people screaming]
714
00:37:05,559 --> 00:37:07,394
ELIZABETH HINTON:
The legislation in Oklahoma
715
00:37:07,394 --> 00:37:11,523
decriminalized people who would
ram their cars into protestors.
716
00:37:11,523 --> 00:37:14,985
And the fact that so many
of these anti-riot bills
717
00:37:14,985 --> 00:37:17,863
are decriminalizing
violence against protests
718
00:37:17,863 --> 00:37:20,407
while criminalizing
the protests themselves,
719
00:37:20,407 --> 00:37:22,409
I think, says it all.
720
00:37:22,409 --> 00:37:23,452
- What does it say?
721
00:37:23,452 --> 00:37:25,495
- It is a stark reflection
722
00:37:25,495 --> 00:37:29,416
of the way that white supremacy
structures American society,
723
00:37:29,416 --> 00:37:33,587
and who gets to be a citizen,
who gets to protest, and who doesn't.
724
00:37:33,587 --> 00:37:35,881
Who gets to use violence and who doesn't?
725
00:37:36,965 --> 00:37:40,469
NIKOLE:
The state violence deployed
against the Black Lives Matter protesters
726
00:37:40,469 --> 00:37:42,513
had taken a toll on Derrick Ingram,
727
00:37:42,513 --> 00:37:45,599
and despite his visceral reaction
to the George Floyd tape,
728
00:37:45,599 --> 00:37:48,602
at first, he wasn't moved to action.
729
00:37:48,602 --> 00:37:50,145
- I didn't think organizing
would change much,
730
00:37:50,145 --> 00:37:51,647
and I had become really cynical.
731
00:37:51,647 --> 00:37:55,359
But then I had a friend
I had protested with in St. Louis,
732
00:37:55,359 --> 00:37:58,278
literally, knock on my door,
and said, we needed to go outside,
733
00:37:58,278 --> 00:37:59,571
and, uh, that changed everything.
734
00:37:59,571 --> 00:38:02,783
I grabbed my combat boots,
and, um, I was ready to go.
735
00:38:03,617 --> 00:38:05,953
NIKOLE:
Derrick co-founded
the activist collective
736
00:38:05,953 --> 00:38:07,329
Warriors in the Garden,
737
00:38:07,329 --> 00:38:10,958
and their first protest
was roughly 10,000 strong.
738
00:38:11,667 --> 00:38:13,293
So, talk to me, Dwreck, about what was
739
00:38:13,293 --> 00:38:16,213
your particular role
in Warriors in the Garden?
740
00:38:16,213 --> 00:38:17,798
- I was Head of Communications.
741
00:38:17,798 --> 00:38:20,425
So, one of the things
I did was doing teach-ins,
742
00:38:20,425 --> 00:38:22,761
and teaching community on how to be safe,
743
00:38:22,761 --> 00:38:25,305
teaching things about exactly what to do
744
00:38:25,305 --> 00:38:28,433
if they thought there was
social media monitoring going on,
745
00:38:28,433 --> 00:38:31,144
and really just teaching
about surveillance and over-policing,
746
00:38:31,144 --> 00:38:34,314
and, and the worst things
that can happen to protestors.
747
00:38:34,314 --> 00:38:37,234
- When did you begin to suspect
that you were being watched?
748
00:38:37,234 --> 00:38:39,403
- You know, I always kinda had an inkling,
749
00:38:39,403 --> 00:38:41,905
but I thought it was
unjustifiable paranoia
750
00:38:41,905 --> 00:38:44,116
because we had committed
ourselves to nonviolence.
751
00:38:44,116 --> 00:38:47,369
I really was hoping that
we would fly under the radar.
752
00:38:47,369 --> 00:38:49,454
- And what happened?
- After every protest,
753
00:38:49,454 --> 00:38:53,125
we would go to ba-- a bar,
um, in the Lower East Side,
754
00:38:53,125 --> 00:38:55,752
had amazing margaritas.
- Blow off some steam.
755
00:38:55,752 --> 00:38:57,963
- Blow off some steam and decompress.
756
00:38:57,963 --> 00:39:02,426
That night, I went a little too hard,
had at least three or four margaritas,
757
00:39:02,426 --> 00:39:05,679
took a Uber home,
attempted to cook a steak, I think.
758
00:39:05,679 --> 00:39:07,514
[Nikole laughs]
And it just didn't work out,
759
00:39:07,514 --> 00:39:09,933
so I, I went, I went to sleep,
760
00:39:09,933 --> 00:39:13,228
and, uh, I woke up,
and there was a knock at the door.
761
00:39:13,228 --> 00:39:17,691
I saw a Caucasian man
that had on an all-blue outfit.
762
00:39:17,691 --> 00:39:19,693
♪
763
00:39:21,236 --> 00:39:24,573
- When you first hear a knock on the door,
you don't see anything.
764
00:39:24,573 --> 00:39:26,491
You get up, come to the door.
- Get up, yeah. I get up--
765
00:39:26,491 --> 00:39:29,077
- Look through the peephole.
- Look through the peephole.
766
00:39:29,077 --> 00:39:31,705
Ans-- um, answer,
767
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:35,792
and I initially did answer,
and I cracked, cracked the door.
768
00:39:35,792 --> 00:39:37,377
We had--
- Did you have a chain on or no?
769
00:39:37,377 --> 00:39:38,378
- Not at first.
770
00:39:38,378 --> 00:39:39,296
- Oh.
- Not at first.
771
00:39:39,296 --> 00:39:42,216
I, I, I thought it was a delivery person
or somethin' like that.
772
00:39:42,216 --> 00:39:44,092
And then, as soon as he said
he had a warrant for my arrest,
773
00:39:44,092 --> 00:39:46,470
I immediately slammed the door,
774
00:39:46,470 --> 00:39:47,930
deadbolted it,
775
00:39:47,930 --> 00:39:49,598
and that's when I told him
to slide the warrant,
776
00:39:49,598 --> 00:39:51,934
and it, and it just never came.
777
00:39:54,394 --> 00:39:56,396
♪
778
00:39:56,396 --> 00:39:58,607
NIKOLE:
Concerned that this mysterious man
at his door
779
00:39:58,607 --> 00:40:00,150
might be setting a trap,
780
00:40:00,150 --> 00:40:02,069
Derrick refused to leave his apartment,
781
00:40:02,069 --> 00:40:04,196
and immediately told his fellow activists
782
00:40:04,196 --> 00:40:07,241
to communicate with him
over an encrypted chat.
783
00:40:07,241 --> 00:40:11,328
So... you've slammed
the door on the police officer.
784
00:40:11,328 --> 00:40:13,455
No warrants come under the door.
What happened?
785
00:40:13,455 --> 00:40:15,832
- So, it turned into
around a six-hour standoff.
786
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,128
NIKOLE:
In an effort to protect him,
Derrick's fellow activists told him
787
00:40:20,128 --> 00:40:23,590
to document what was
happening on Instagram Live.
788
00:40:23,924 --> 00:40:27,469
Throughout the standoff,
Derrick was simultaneously live streaming,
789
00:40:27,469 --> 00:40:29,137
talking with lawyers on the phone,
790
00:40:29,137 --> 00:40:31,640
and communicating
with the police through the door.
791
00:40:32,432 --> 00:40:34,601
DERRICK INGRAM:
A lot started happening after that
792
00:40:34,601 --> 00:40:36,061
in terms of police involvement.
793
00:40:36,061 --> 00:40:37,938
They started knocking at my door,
794
00:40:37,938 --> 00:40:41,859
calling me abrasive,
saying I was being aggressive.
795
00:40:41,859 --> 00:40:43,443
OFFICER:
You're the one being hostile right now.
796
00:40:43,443 --> 00:40:46,905
- I'm not being hostile.
I'm calm. I'm calm.
797
00:40:46,905 --> 00:40:48,532
I'm very calm, y'all.
798
00:40:49,283 --> 00:40:52,286
I am not being hostile.
He called me hostile.
799
00:40:53,453 --> 00:40:56,248
I am calm... I am chill.
LAWYER [on phone]: Hey, so sorry,
800
00:40:56,248 --> 00:40:57,791
I think I lost you.
801
00:40:57,791 --> 00:41:00,627
Um, hey, Derrick--
PERSON [on phone]: There's no warrant.
802
00:41:00,627 --> 00:41:02,254
LAWYER:
Hello, can you hear me?
803
00:41:03,130 --> 00:41:05,632
- They blocked my peep--
They blocked my peephole.
804
00:41:05,632 --> 00:41:06,800
OFFICER:
We're here to help you.
805
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:08,343
[officer knocking on door]
LAWYER: Okay.
806
00:41:08,343 --> 00:41:10,804
I'm gonna try to add a lawyer--
807
00:41:10,804 --> 00:41:13,432
[officer banging on door]
808
00:41:16,685 --> 00:41:19,188
NIKOLE:
Not only were there police
outside Derrick's door,
809
00:41:19,188 --> 00:41:21,732
there were sharpshooters
positioned across the street,
810
00:41:21,732 --> 00:41:23,734
and helicopters overhead.
811
00:41:25,194 --> 00:41:30,741
So, you have to be thinking,
at some point, like, "I might die."
812
00:41:30,741 --> 00:41:33,535
- I thought that was
a definite possibility.
813
00:41:33,535 --> 00:41:38,040
- Did they finally tell you
why, why they're there?
814
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,667
- This all was allegedly happening
because I was being accused of
815
00:41:40,667 --> 00:41:43,754
yelling at an officer at a, at a protest.
816
00:41:43,754 --> 00:41:47,090
And at that protest,
we were surrounded by officers
817
00:41:47,090 --> 00:41:49,801
on both sides as well as
in front and behind us.
818
00:41:49,801 --> 00:41:52,387
And I took it upon myself
to confront the officers
819
00:41:52,387 --> 00:41:55,807
and tell them that they needed
to, to stop intimidating us,
820
00:41:55,807 --> 00:41:57,893
to let us through,
and let us continue our march.
821
00:41:57,893 --> 00:42:00,187
- So, what was the crime?
- What was the crime?
822
00:42:00,187 --> 00:42:03,065
Allegedly, verbally assaulting an officer.
823
00:42:03,065 --> 00:42:04,608
NIKOLE:
What's verbally assaulting an officer?
824
00:42:04,608 --> 00:42:07,319
Like, just saying
unpleasant things to an officer?
DERRICK: So-- So, no, so--
825
00:42:07,319 --> 00:42:10,113
NIKOLE: Yelling too loud?
DERRICK: Yeah, yelling too loud
via megaphone.
826
00:42:10,113 --> 00:42:11,532
That was the accusation.
827
00:42:11,532 --> 00:42:13,951
- Wow. And all of these officers--
- So--
828
00:42:13,951 --> 00:42:18,288
- How many officers would you say,
at the height that day, were here?
829
00:42:18,288 --> 00:42:20,874
- Thirty-plus officers,
according to my lawyers,
830
00:42:20,874 --> 00:42:22,000
were at the scene.
831
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,002
♪
832
00:42:29,633 --> 00:42:31,134
- Why you gonna sit there
and try to arrest somebody
833
00:42:31,134 --> 00:42:32,219
that's organized a protest?
834
00:42:32,219 --> 00:42:34,012
That's doin' somethin'
for positive things.
835
00:42:34,012 --> 00:42:35,222
PERSON: Yeah!
- You understand? That's--
836
00:42:35,222 --> 00:42:36,932
That right there is bullshit.
837
00:42:36,932 --> 00:42:39,351
- That is bullshit right there, man.
838
00:42:39,351 --> 00:42:41,895
DERRICK:
Hearing my community
outside of my apartment
839
00:42:41,895 --> 00:42:43,522
protesting, organizing...
840
00:42:43,522 --> 00:42:46,149
PROTESTORS [chanting]:
Where's the warrant?
841
00:42:49,319 --> 00:42:51,363
DERRICK:
...screaming for hours,
842
00:42:51,363 --> 00:42:53,532
"Where's the warrant? Where's the warrant?
843
00:42:53,532 --> 00:42:55,033
Let him out. Where's the warrant?"
844
00:42:55,033 --> 00:42:57,452
So, I found solace in that.
845
00:42:58,954 --> 00:43:02,583
NIKOLE:
Inside the apartment,
the standoff continued.
846
00:43:02,583 --> 00:43:05,210
[officer banging on door]
847
00:43:08,005 --> 00:43:09,923
[doorbell rings]
- I'm coming out soon.
848
00:43:09,923 --> 00:43:13,218
I'm coordinating with my lawyers
on how to proceed.
849
00:43:16,305 --> 00:43:19,349
- So, I'm just thinking about
your own experiences growing up,
850
00:43:19,349 --> 00:43:24,021
everything that we've seen about
police interactions with Black people,
851
00:43:24,021 --> 00:43:27,774
and I'm just imagining, like, your heart
has to be thudding in your chest.
852
00:43:27,774 --> 00:43:29,693
What are you feeling at that moment?
853
00:43:29,693 --> 00:43:35,073
- My mind was racing, but physically,
I'm really tryna think, "Okay, calm down.
854
00:43:35,073 --> 00:43:37,117
What do I need to do to address this?"
855
00:43:37,117 --> 00:43:39,620
My biggest fear is that
if I let them in my unit,
856
00:43:39,620 --> 00:43:40,871
they're gonna try to harm me,
857
00:43:40,871 --> 00:43:43,123
and if I leave, I think they're
gonna plant something here.
858
00:43:43,123 --> 00:43:46,877
- So, you're publicly
preparing for violence...
859
00:43:46,877 --> 00:43:47,961
- Definitely.
- ...and a cover-up?
860
00:43:47,961 --> 00:43:48,921
- Definitely.
- Mm-hmm.
861
00:43:48,921 --> 00:43:50,964
- I think that's law enforcement's MO,
862
00:43:50,964 --> 00:43:55,219
especially when it comes to
Black people that they see as radical.
863
00:43:55,219 --> 00:43:57,221
♪
864
00:43:58,972 --> 00:44:00,849
NIKOLE:
Fear of Black liberation
865
00:44:00,849 --> 00:44:03,393
has long motivated
state and federal authorities
866
00:44:03,393 --> 00:44:06,063
to surveil and sabotage Black leaders,
867
00:44:06,063 --> 00:44:08,941
civil rights activists,
and Black-led organizations
868
00:44:08,941 --> 00:44:12,236
attempting to disrupt
the existing social order.
869
00:44:12,236 --> 00:44:15,030
Can you talk about
government surveillance,
870
00:44:15,030 --> 00:44:19,409
and, uh, the targeting
of activists going from the 1960s
871
00:44:19,409 --> 00:44:22,871
and the parallels that we've seen much
more recently with Black Lives Matter?
872
00:44:22,871 --> 00:44:27,709
- If you were seen as
a civil rights leader... or organization,
873
00:44:27,709 --> 00:44:31,046
you were infiltrated by Black informants,
874
00:44:31,046 --> 00:44:35,384
and you were followed,
sometimes harassed, by the FBI
875
00:44:35,801 --> 00:44:39,012
with the idea that
the government needs to keep tabs
876
00:44:39,012 --> 00:44:43,350
on what this internal enemy is doing
and planning in order to squash it.
877
00:44:43,350 --> 00:44:48,230
- A Black activist says he is the first
person to be targeted and prosecuted
878
00:44:48,230 --> 00:44:50,524
under a secretive
U.S. surveillance effort
879
00:44:50,524 --> 00:44:53,694
to track so-called
"Black Identity Extremists."
880
00:44:53,694 --> 00:44:55,696
NIKOLE:
The belief that the federal government's
881
00:44:55,696 --> 00:44:58,323
targeting of Black leaders
died in the '70s
882
00:44:58,323 --> 00:45:01,994
with J. Edgar Hoover's
counterintelligence program is false.
883
00:45:02,411 --> 00:45:04,246
It has never stopped.
884
00:45:04,246 --> 00:45:08,000
- We continue to see Black organizations
885
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:12,045
getting targeted by state and federal
886
00:45:12,045 --> 00:45:14,673
law enforcement agencies to this day.
887
00:45:15,090 --> 00:45:16,717
NIKOLE:
The Department of Homeland Security
888
00:45:16,717 --> 00:45:20,179
began surveilling
Black Lives Matter activists in 2014
889
00:45:20,179 --> 00:45:22,264
after the uprisings in Ferguson.
890
00:45:22,431 --> 00:45:24,016
[indistinct shouting on bullhorn]
891
00:45:24,141 --> 00:45:27,019
NIKOLE:
And just a few years later, in 2017,
892
00:45:27,019 --> 00:45:29,188
leaked documents revealed that the FBI
893
00:45:29,188 --> 00:45:33,650
had created a new threat classification
called "Black Identity Extremists,"
894
00:45:33,650 --> 00:45:38,280
Black activists that the FBI considered
likely to attack law enforcement.
895
00:45:39,364 --> 00:45:42,075
ELIZABETH:
Black Identity Extremists,
that doesn't exist.
896
00:45:42,075 --> 00:45:44,453
BLM does not represent
a terrorist threat...
897
00:45:44,453 --> 00:45:46,997
- Right.
- ...to U.S. society, yet by labeling it
898
00:45:46,997 --> 00:45:49,541
as an extremist group,
as something to be feared,
899
00:45:49,541 --> 00:45:53,879
then the FBI can watch
what people are doing
900
00:45:53,879 --> 00:45:57,007
as they are struggling
and organizing for justice.
901
00:45:57,007 --> 00:45:59,676
- These days, if we watch
the movie on Fred Hampton,
902
00:45:59,676 --> 00:46:02,554
or a documentary on the King tapes,
903
00:46:02,554 --> 00:46:05,641
we say, "Man, I can't believe
our government did that,"
904
00:46:05,641 --> 00:46:08,727
which means we're in denial about
what our government is doing right now.
905
00:46:08,727 --> 00:46:11,563
- Mm-hmm.
- That the things that
we now clearly know,
906
00:46:11,563 --> 00:46:16,818
um, were wrong back then,
we are accepting right now.
907
00:46:18,362 --> 00:46:20,781
As the standoff moved into its sixth hour,
908
00:46:20,781 --> 00:46:23,617
Derrick's determination began to waver.
909
00:46:24,409 --> 00:46:26,119
DERRICK:
I'm thinkin' that it's time to surrender,
910
00:46:26,119 --> 00:46:29,164
and literally my hand's at the door,
911
00:46:29,164 --> 00:46:31,291
and I'm getting messages,
"Don't give up, Dwreck.
912
00:46:31,291 --> 00:46:32,459
They're leaving, they're leaving."
913
00:46:32,459 --> 00:46:33,919
And I'm thinkin',
914
00:46:33,919 --> 00:46:36,046
y'all have been sayin' that
for the last two hours.
915
00:46:36,046 --> 00:46:37,130
My friends are full of shit.
916
00:46:37,130 --> 00:46:39,341
They just don't want me
to leave this apartment.
917
00:46:39,341 --> 00:46:41,885
And I was so close to leaving.
918
00:46:41,885 --> 00:46:45,764
Literally, this is how close
I was to openin' the door.
919
00:46:45,764 --> 00:46:50,143
And all of a sudden, I hear cheerin',
and my name bein' screamed outside,
920
00:46:50,143 --> 00:46:52,771
and I was like,
"Is this-- What's goin' on?"
921
00:46:52,771 --> 00:46:54,189
And then, you know on Instagram Live
922
00:46:54,189 --> 00:46:55,732
when the hearts start comin' up?
- Yes.
923
00:46:55,732 --> 00:46:59,278
- There's hundreds of hearts comin' up,
and I'm like,
924
00:46:59,278 --> 00:47:00,904
"What the hell is goin'--"
- "What happened?"
925
00:47:04,032 --> 00:47:10,038
PROTESTORS [singing]:
♪ Na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, goodbye ♪
926
00:47:13,250 --> 00:47:15,878
- Everybody's like, "They're gone,
they're gone, they're gone."
927
00:47:15,878 --> 00:47:17,838
I still didn't believe it.
- Were you like, "This a trap."
928
00:47:17,838 --> 00:47:20,132
[both laughing]
- This is-- I was like--
I still didn't believe it.
929
00:47:20,132 --> 00:47:21,341
And then, the next thing I know,
930
00:47:21,341 --> 00:47:24,469
I hear one of my friends
outside of the door.
931
00:47:24,469 --> 00:47:27,723
He's like, "It's John, open up."
And I said, "What's our password?"
932
00:47:27,723 --> 00:47:30,267
He gave me the password,
I cracked the door,
933
00:47:30,267 --> 00:47:32,728
he pushes in, gives me a hug.
- Oh, man.
934
00:47:32,728 --> 00:47:36,231
DERRICK:
All of the Warriors start comin' up
and everybody's comforting me.
935
00:47:36,231 --> 00:47:41,361
PROTESTORS [chanting]: Never be defeated!
The people united will never be defeated!
936
00:47:41,361 --> 00:47:42,905
- What democracy looks like!
937
00:47:42,905 --> 00:47:45,157
PROTESTORS [chanting]:
This is what democracy looks like!
938
00:47:45,157 --> 00:47:47,326
NIKOLE:
Despite what the police initially stated,
939
00:47:47,326 --> 00:47:49,620
they never had a warrant
for Derrick's arrest,
940
00:47:49,620 --> 00:47:52,831
and the charges against him
were ultimately dropped.
941
00:47:53,874 --> 00:47:56,710
All that money,
all that resources, all those man hours
942
00:47:56,710 --> 00:47:59,046
when there's actual crime occurring...
DERRICK: Exactly.
943
00:47:59,046 --> 00:48:00,797
NIKOLE:
...in the biggest city in the country,
944
00:48:00,797 --> 00:48:03,300
it doesn't make sense,
and then to just leave?
945
00:48:03,300 --> 00:48:08,597
- Just left, and they left when...
it became really popular.
946
00:48:08,597 --> 00:48:11,266
All these people
were sharing my Instagram Live,
947
00:48:11,266 --> 00:48:12,768
and it was getting media coverage,
948
00:48:12,768 --> 00:48:16,855
and I think if I didn't have
the, the wherewithal to film,
949
00:48:16,855 --> 00:48:18,899
and I didn't get advised to do so,
950
00:48:18,899 --> 00:48:20,025
and I didn't have community
951
00:48:20,025 --> 00:48:21,902
outside filming...
- Right.
952
00:48:21,902 --> 00:48:25,531
- ... oh, there would've been something
way more nefarious that occurred.
953
00:48:29,535 --> 00:48:31,286
♪
954
00:48:31,286 --> 00:48:33,497
AVONTEA:
I miss him bein' around,
955
00:48:34,414 --> 00:48:38,043
bein' able to help me with the kids.
956
00:48:38,919 --> 00:48:41,088
I miss everything.
957
00:48:41,088 --> 00:48:46,301
I miss jokin' around,
I miss somebody to love me,
958
00:48:46,301 --> 00:48:48,929
tell me everything is gonna be all right.
959
00:48:50,013 --> 00:48:52,015
♪
960
00:48:56,061 --> 00:48:57,771
♪
961
00:49:02,276 --> 00:49:05,487
LEE:
I can say that the loss of Jemel
to this family
962
00:49:05,487 --> 00:49:09,074
is devastating in a way
that will never be made up for.
963
00:49:09,074 --> 00:49:12,035
He wasn't only a financial provider,
he was an emotional provider.
964
00:49:12,035 --> 00:49:16,081
Everyone who talks about Jemel
talks about how secure he made them feel.
965
00:49:16,081 --> 00:49:18,584
He was happy that he
was becoming a father,
966
00:49:18,584 --> 00:49:20,836
and that he would be able
to give his children
967
00:49:20,836 --> 00:49:24,256
things in life that he, he didn't
have a chance to experience.
968
00:49:25,007 --> 00:49:28,635
It breaks my heart
to see that kind of loss.
969
00:49:29,052 --> 00:49:34,892
- What does Tristan and even Justice
understand about what happened to Jemel?
970
00:49:34,892 --> 00:49:36,643
Because I-- I'm trying to think
971
00:49:36,643 --> 00:49:39,646
how do you explain this
to very young children
972
00:49:39,646 --> 00:49:41,899
who are asking for their father?
973
00:49:41,899 --> 00:49:43,650
- Yeah. They keep-- They ask me about it.
974
00:49:44,568 --> 00:49:46,987
It's like, "What happened to our dad?"
NIKOLE: Mm-hmm.
975
00:49:46,987 --> 00:49:49,740
AVONTEA:
"Who killed him?" I'm like,
"I'm sorry to tell this to y'all,
976
00:49:49,740 --> 00:49:53,035
but even though he was a hero,
the police shot him."
977
00:49:53,035 --> 00:49:55,037
♪
978
00:50:02,419 --> 00:50:05,172
LEE:
You gettin a fade?
What's up, man?
979
00:50:05,172 --> 00:50:07,299
- I was waiting on you.
- You was waitin' on me?
980
00:50:07,299 --> 00:50:08,842
You knew I was comin'?
981
00:50:08,842 --> 00:50:10,511
Who told you?
- You.
982
00:50:10,511 --> 00:50:12,930
- I told you I was comin'?
- Yeah.
983
00:50:12,930 --> 00:50:14,848
[indistinct chatter]
984
00:50:14,848 --> 00:50:16,850
- Did ya see my haircut?
985
00:50:17,559 --> 00:50:20,187
- What is that?
- What happened to my hair?
986
00:50:20,187 --> 00:50:21,730
[laughing]
987
00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:24,858
- How's it goin'?
- Good.
988
00:50:24,858 --> 00:50:26,109
- Good to see ya.
989
00:50:27,027 --> 00:50:30,739
Watchin' a 4-year-old try
to process death is very difficult.
990
00:50:30,739 --> 00:50:33,075
Uh, he, he often talks about his dad.
991
00:50:33,075 --> 00:50:35,661
He talks about having
conversations with him,
992
00:50:35,661 --> 00:50:38,664
and I'm not sure if those
are dreams or memories.
993
00:50:39,581 --> 00:50:43,085
Tristan has to confront
the reality of death
994
00:50:43,085 --> 00:50:48,924
in a way that is almost impossible
for a child his age to fully comprehend.
995
00:50:49,466 --> 00:50:54,471
And Justice Roberson never
had a chance to meet her father.
996
00:50:54,471 --> 00:50:57,349
She was born months after his murder
997
00:50:57,349 --> 00:51:01,562
into a world that was still fighting
for justice for her dad.
998
00:51:02,271 --> 00:51:04,606
[indistinct chatter]
999
00:51:06,275 --> 00:51:07,276
[laughs]
1000
00:51:11,655 --> 00:51:14,867
NIKOLE:
Following the shooting,
Jemel's mother, Beatrice Roberson,
1001
00:51:14,867 --> 00:51:16,410
filed a wrongful death suit against
1002
00:51:16,410 --> 00:51:19,162
Officer Covey
and the village of Midlothian.
1003
00:51:19,162 --> 00:51:22,040
And after an almost two-year
criminal investigation,
1004
00:51:22,040 --> 00:51:26,962
the Cook County State's Attorney's Office
announced a decision on Jemel's case.
1005
00:51:27,379 --> 00:51:30,465
- No criminal charges
for the Midlothian police officer
1006
00:51:30,465 --> 00:51:34,178
who killed a Black security guard
in the South Suburbs nearly two years ago.
1007
00:51:34,178 --> 00:51:36,930
This morning, Cook County
State's Attorney Kim Fox says
1008
00:51:36,930 --> 00:51:39,558
her office found there
was not enough evidence
1009
00:51:39,558 --> 00:51:43,228
to charge Covey for that fatal
2018 shooting of Roberson.
1010
00:51:43,228 --> 00:51:47,816
- My family and I will never
be able to put this behind us.
1011
00:51:47,816 --> 00:51:51,945
State's Attorney Kim Fox and her office
has let my family down.
1012
00:51:52,613 --> 00:51:55,324
NIKOLE:
Jemel's family, ultimately,
reached a civil settlement
1013
00:51:55,324 --> 00:51:57,367
with the village of Midlothian.
1014
00:51:57,367 --> 00:52:00,329
- More than three years after
security guard Jemel Roberson
1015
00:52:00,329 --> 00:52:02,998
was shot by a South Suburban
police officer,
1016
00:52:02,998 --> 00:52:05,542
the family has settled
with Midlothian Police
1017
00:52:05,542 --> 00:52:08,253
for more than
seven million dollars.
1018
00:52:08,253 --> 00:52:11,215
- The city, Midlothian,
has admitted no wrongdoing,
1019
00:52:11,215 --> 00:52:13,383
there was no criminal accountability,
1020
00:52:13,383 --> 00:52:16,762
uh, or even a, uh,
a presentation to the grand jury.
1021
00:52:17,930 --> 00:52:20,974
It's very difficult to hold
an officer accountable, civilly,
1022
00:52:20,974 --> 00:52:23,185
at all in these circumstances.
1023
00:52:23,185 --> 00:52:28,232
The only remedy available
in civil court is monetary rewards.
1024
00:52:28,232 --> 00:52:34,238
A $7.5 million, uh, recovery
is far above the national average.
1025
00:52:34,238 --> 00:52:37,491
Those funds are placed into a trust
1026
00:52:37,491 --> 00:52:43,497
that will be available to Jemel's
only daughter when she turns 18.
1027
00:52:44,456 --> 00:52:50,045
My goal as a civil rights attorney
is to make police brutality unsustainable.
1028
00:52:50,045 --> 00:52:53,090
We hope that cities
like Midlothian are forced to pay
1029
00:52:53,090 --> 00:52:55,175
these multimillion-dollar settlements,
1030
00:52:55,175 --> 00:52:58,679
so that they're forced to reevaluate
the kind of officers that they have,
1031
00:52:58,679 --> 00:53:00,764
the kind of training that they provide,
1032
00:53:00,764 --> 00:53:03,684
and when force is allowed.
1033
00:53:03,684 --> 00:53:05,686
♪
1034
00:53:11,024 --> 00:53:13,443
NIKOLE:
As long as our country
allows law enforcement
1035
00:53:13,443 --> 00:53:17,239
to escape criminal accountability
when they kill Black citizens,
1036
00:53:17,239 --> 00:53:21,201
civil lawsuits will be the only recourse
families like Jemel's have.
1037
00:53:21,618 --> 00:53:25,122
But settlements can never
repair such a tragic loss,
1038
00:53:25,122 --> 00:53:28,584
and seem to send the message
that officers who take Black lives
1039
00:53:28,584 --> 00:53:30,919
can do so without consequence.
1040
00:53:31,378 --> 00:53:34,798
And for those like Derrick Ingram
who live to tell their stories,
1041
00:53:34,798 --> 00:53:39,553
this tragic understanding remains
the reason he continues to fight.
1042
00:53:42,514 --> 00:53:47,102
Has there been any recourse for you,
whatsoever, for what NYPD did?
1043
00:53:47,102 --> 00:53:49,563
- The police, they have not
been held accountable at all.
1044
00:53:49,563 --> 00:53:52,107
I have a civil rights lawsuit
against the NYPD
1045
00:53:52,107 --> 00:53:55,402
for violating my human rights,
as well as surveilling me.
1046
00:53:55,402 --> 00:53:57,362
What they did to me
1047
00:53:57,362 --> 00:54:01,241
is gonna stick with me for a long time,
and I'm still processing,
1048
00:54:01,241 --> 00:54:04,036
but it's really invigorated me
and a lot of people around me
1049
00:54:04,036 --> 00:54:06,496
to further strengthen the movement,
1050
00:54:06,496 --> 00:54:09,875
um, and to really make me
hyper-focus on, on makin' a difference.
1051
00:54:11,126 --> 00:54:13,629
NIKOLE:
The assumptions made
about Derrick and Jemel
1052
00:54:13,629 --> 00:54:18,550
echo the 400-year-old stereotypes
about who we are as Black Americans.
1053
00:54:18,926 --> 00:54:23,555
Fear of our fathers,
our brothers, our friends.
1054
00:54:23,972 --> 00:54:28,393
Fear of who our children
will one day grow up to be.
1055
00:54:28,393 --> 00:54:30,103
AVONTEA:
He already question police,
1056
00:54:30,103 --> 00:54:33,398
so I'm definitely terrified
for him when he get older.
1057
00:54:33,398 --> 00:54:34,858
So, I think when he get older, like,
1058
00:54:34,858 --> 00:54:37,110
"Oh, so you gonna kill me
like you killed my dad?"
1059
00:54:37,110 --> 00:54:38,529
I don't want him to feel like that.
1060
00:54:38,529 --> 00:54:40,280
I don't want him
to be scared of the police,
1061
00:54:40,280 --> 00:54:42,115
even though I know he is.
1062
00:54:44,910 --> 00:54:46,912
♪
1063
00:55:07,140 --> 00:55:09,226
NIKOLE:
Four hundred years of white fear
1064
00:55:09,226 --> 00:55:11,353
that begets Black fear.
1065
00:55:11,353 --> 00:55:16,984
Four hundred years of racism constructed
to take opportunity and to steal wealth.
1066
00:55:18,861 --> 00:55:22,573
What must this nation do
to make things right?
1067
00:55:22,573 --> 00:55:25,617
- They started in slavery,
you had nothin'.
1068
00:55:25,617 --> 00:55:27,369
Z-- You were a zero.
1069
00:55:27,369 --> 00:55:28,704
So, now you have these things,
1070
00:55:28,704 --> 00:55:31,206
so you begin to accumulate
and, uh, build wealth
1071
00:55:31,206 --> 00:55:32,916
for your children and your grandchildren.
1072
00:55:32,916 --> 00:55:36,003
And all of a sudden,
in-in two weeks, it's gone.
1073
00:55:36,378 --> 00:55:40,591
- What is this community
owed for what happened?
1074
00:55:41,884 --> 00:55:46,221
- There's no, uh, ah, that's--
There's not a price you can put on that.
1075
00:55:48,015 --> 00:55:50,642
♪
1076
00:56:29,223 --> 00:56:31,225
♪