Source: Frederick M. Brown / Getty
Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Ohio police, became one of the faces of the movements in regards to the protection and elevation of Black lives. Rice’s mother, Samaria Rice, called out Black activists and leaders in that space in times past and continues to do so by way of a new interview.
Rice, 44, sat down for an exclusive chat with The Cut and appears to be her most extensive interview. The raw emotion of a mother’s pain over the loss of a child is difficult to witness and impossible to ignore. Ms. Rice’s passion has been documented and she’s been clear that she’s no fan of the Black Lives Matter movement, attorney Benjamin Crump, and activist Tamika Mallory.
Princeton professor Imani Perry conducted the interview, noting that Rice is both critical of Black activists and celebrities using her son’s life as a talking point and also those within the movement who have raised significant amounts of money but have failed to work in tandem with families of the victims.
From The Cut:
Eventually, Rice would take issue with the national leaders in the movement for Black Lives — from Black Lives Matter to Crump, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and the controversial activist Shaun King — as self-serving in the ways they dealt with her and with other families of people killed by police officers. Rather than helping family members develop a public voice, she says, many of the prominent organizers have become the only voices. “They should not be standing on the front line like this was they child,” she says. “You supposed to be uplifting the family, the community, teaching us how to love on each other, not bickering and fighting about who gon’ get the next case or who gon’ be on TV next. It’s a mess.”
The entire interview is fascinating, highlighting that Rice’s tough upbringing and surviving on the streets have enabled her to speak clearly for herself and continue to uphold her son’s legacy as only a mother can.
Read the rest here.
—
Photo: Getty
