Dearborn Heights Michigan | Be a Seed for Change

Today, … a guest post

A Message from Britain on the Death of Renisha McBride

I am a middle-aged White British man who lives in Harlow, a town approximately 22 miles Northeast of the centre of London. I am a writer (so far without any commercial success).

I read about the tragic case of Renisha McBride last Friday in a British newspaper called The Guardian, and wrote the following verses in response. Anyone who feels that my composition may be useful is free to use it in any form they see fit. I ask only that my authorship is acknowledged.

The following verses are also attached to this email in the form of a Word document, to facilitate their use.

I hope that justice can be served in this case, those responsible punished, and the law changed.

Regards and Best Wishes

Paul T Kegan

== The Dear Folk of Dearborn Heights

There’s a suburb of Detroit City Goes by the name of Dearborn Heights Where householders stand their ground Where they know their Goddamn rights

Their idea of assistance Is a bullet in your head If you’re young and Black and female They’ll probably shoot you dead

The highway of compassion It bypasses Dearborn Heights On blistering August days And cold November nights

Renisha McBride crashed her car At the tender age of nineteen Early one Saturday morning On streets unfriendly and mean

She knocked on his door and asked him for help He picked up his gun and he fired As from his house she turned away And on his front porch she expired

“The local police aren’t racist!” I imagine the outraged cries How then do we explain Their filthy racist lies?

Renisha she was dumped That was what they said On the porch of an innocent man She was already dead

The Prosecutor vetoed arrest In Wayne County it wasn’t a crime To shoot in the back of her head A woman, unarmed, in her prime

Because killing Blacks is legal It’s written in Michigan law They’re free to gun you down If you knock upon their door

Black folk can expect no sympathy In good ol’ Dearborn Heights Where householders stand their ground Where they know their Goddamn rights ■ Paul T Kegan 10 November 2013

In memory of Renisha McBride.

Renisha McBride was killed while seeking help after a car accident, but the man who shot her has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Call on Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the Dearborn Heights police department to fully investigate Renisha McBride’s killing and bring the shooter to justice.

The tragic killing of unarmed 19-year-old Renisha McBride has left her family and supporters across the country seeking answers and demanding justice. More than a week after Renisha’s death the shooter has not been arrested and he may not face proper prosecution because of Michigan‘s so-called “Stand Your Ground” or “Shoot First” law.¹

Shoot First laws have been under intense scrutiny since the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman – who “got away with murder” – because Florida’s Shoot First prevented a proper investigation and controlled the instructions given to the jury.² These laws, when combined with the daily reality of deep-rooted racial prejudice, create a culture of fear and violence where Renisha McBride — a young Black woman perceived as a threat — can be killed without consequence.

Renisha’s family deserves justice and an end to a culture that does not value Black lives. Please join us in calling on Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the Dearborn Heights police department to fully investigate Renisha McBride’s killing and bring the shooter to justice.

Shortly after the news of Renisha’s death broke, local residents of Detroit and nearby areas rallied for justice — condemning racial profiling and violence against women. Demonstrators referred to Dearborn Heights as a “sundown town”, a mostly white suburb outside of Detroit that has a history of being hostile to Black folks.³

Michigan enacted “Stand Your Ground” in 2006 and its law closely resembles Florida’s.⁴ In this case, the law can protect Renisha’s shooter from criminal prosecution if he believes that he was in danger, even if his belief is wrong and rooted in racial bias. But this tragedy and the countless others like it are preventable, if enough of us continue to speak up and demand justice.

Demand that Wayne County Prosecutor and the Dearborn Heights police department fully investigate and bring Renisha’s killer to justice. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Kim, William, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team November 11th, 2013

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References

1. “Michigan’s ‘stand your ground’ law mirrors Florida law more than any other state,” Michigan Radio, 7-15-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3078?t=9&akid=3186.1689899.7lphca

2.”7 Mind Blowing Moments From Zimmerman Juror B37′s First Interview,” ThinkProgress, 07-16-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2799?t=11&akid=3186.1689899.7lphca

3. “Detroit activists demand justice for Renisha McBride,” The Grio, 11-08-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3079?t=13&akid=3186.1689899.7lphca

4. See reference 1.