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It was just another hot summer day. As she and her friends laughed and danced at the pool party, she never expected this.
Police officers showed up and started chasing, tasering, and verbally and physically berating the Black kids – but not the white ones!
Despite their brutal harassment, Dajerria Becton kept her self-respect. In a video that went viral, she calmly asks the officers to call her mother. What happened next was heartbreaking.
Despite her holding up her hands and her repeated requests to “Please, call my mom,” one officer went berserk. He screamed, grabbed her braids, and dragged her!
He slammed her to the ground, pushed his knee into her back, and handcuffed her – all while she cried out for her mother. To make it worse, her swimsuit top fell, exposing her breasts.
She ultimately won a measly $184,850 lawsuit, but no amount of money takes away the trauma and dehumanization she experienced.
The good news? The racist officer was forced to resign, and the experience galvanized the community to fight police brutality.
Like Becton, if we maintain our poise in the face of the worst kinds of oppression and harassment, fighting for our right to be treated with respect, then we can achieve victory over white supremacy – in court and for our people.