Memoir on a Sunday of 41 Shots
Today is the day on which an immigrant named Amadou Diallo was asked to show his ID as he climbed the steps to his apartment in Harlem after a long day at work. As he reached into his pocket, the officers shot him 41 times. As he reached into his pocket, the officers shot him 41 times. His wallet still in hand, he dropped his knees- a bleeding carcass on that brownstone stoop. There was no resuscitating him. But his wrongful death was a catalyst to my walking out of LaGuardia high school along with the students of three other specialized high schools in New York to participate in a sit-in at the mayor's office by City Hall organized within just two days. My Social Action Club was belittled by the administration who threatened us and our peers saying we only thought we knew what we were fighting for, but all we just wanted was to cut classes and skip school. Perhaps that motivated some of those that followed us, who did not yet know the details of the events that...