Lifestyle

These Powerful Images Immortalize The Last Words Of Young Black Men Murdered By Police

by Lauren Martin
I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man. -- Che Guevara

Famous last words, like those of Che Guevara and Josephine Baker, are many times immortalized as we pair them with the witty, cunning and elusive status of their owners.

But when the words are spoken too close to home, they hit us with a different effect.

Like those of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, the last words of the unjustly murdered sit cold on the page, not yet ready to be seen with enlightenment and wisdom. Dark tragedy holds a power different from those whose deaths we were not around to witness.

They are words that haunt us and hurt us, as we sadly realize that when we're not looking at it as history, it's tragedy.

This chilling Tumblr account, which showcases the last words of victims before they were murdered by vigilantes or policemen, awakens a different type of pulse in our hearts.

In the free world in which we live, these quotes make us wonder how far we have come since those years when words were meant to bring change.

In the wake of the events surrounding Ferguson, this brutal testimony should be a reminder that injustice still exists in this world and last words shouldn't mean lost battles.

Eric Garner was 43 when he was brutally choked and murdered by a Staten Island police officer when trying to break up a fight.

John Crawford was fatally shot by a policeman in an Ohio Walmart for holding a toy gun.

Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer although he was unarmed and standing at a distance from the cop.

Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, for having a hood on and "looking suspicious."

Sean Bell was fatally shot in Queens, NY, by undercover NYPD officers on the morning of his wedding.

He was attending his bachelor party at a strip club that was being investigated by undercover police when the cops misinterpreted a conversation and thought a shooting would take place.

Oscar Grant was fatally shot in Oakland, California, when police arrived on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station after calls of a fight.

They detained him, threw him on the ground and shot the unarmed Grant in the back, stating that he "resisted arrest."

Kendrec McDade, a California college student and football star, was fatally shot seven times at close range by Pasadena cops responding to a false robbery claim that he had stolen a store worker's backpack.

Amadou Diallo was fatally shot after four New York City police department officers fired 41 shots outside his apartment. He was unarmed.

Kimani Gray was fatally shot seven times after sparking mini street riots. There were three bullets in his back, suggesting he was running away.

Jonathan Ferrell was fatally shot after getting into a car accident, dragging himself to the nearest house and asking for help from the home of a woman who subsequently closed the door on him and called the cops.

He was shot for not having his hands in the air when confronted by the police.

Photos Courtesy: Tumblr