Mothers Of The Movement: Fighting For Justice After Pain, Tragedy

Their fight will not be forgotten.

1. Sybrina Fulton

“We have to change our mindsets, we have to let people know that our children matter,” Sybrina Fulton, the mother of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin who was killed on February 26, 2012 by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in December 2014.

2. Lesley McSpadden

“I was (sure) they would indict the officer that shot my son without a video tape. You had so many witnesses,” Lesley McSpadden, mother of 18-year-old Michael Brown who was killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in December 2014.

3. Constance Malcolm

“Until Mr. [New York City Mayor] Bill de Blasio and elected officials across the nation take that responsibility seriously, there will continue to be violence and unjust killings by the police, despite any number of body cameras, training sessions or cordial relationships between officers and civilians,” Constance Malcolm, mother of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham who was killed by officer Richard Haste in the Bronx, New York on February 2, 2012, said in a New York Times op-ed in February 2017.

4. Gwen Carr

“If Eric Garner was a white man in Suffolk County doing the same thing that he was doing — even if he would have been caught selling cigarettes that day — they would have given him a summons and he wouldn’t have lost his life that day. I believe that 100 percent,” said Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner who was killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo who administered a chokehold on him in Staten Island, New York on July 17, 2014, said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in December 2014.

5. Samaria Rice

“I believe if my son was white, he would probably still be here. There is no reason for my son to be dead,” Samaria Rice, the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice who was killed by fired cop Timothy Loehmann in Cleveland, Ohio on November 22, 2014 after police allegedly mistook his toy gun for a real one, said to The Associated Press in November 2016.

6. Lucy McBath

“The work was calling me I wanted to be speaking about violence prevention. I wanted to be challenging our legislators and our civil leaders,” Lucy McBath, Congress hopeful and mother of 17-year-old Jordan Davis who was killed by motorist Michael Dunn in Jacksonville, Florida on November 23, 2013, said to Mother Jones in March 2018.

7. Gloria Darden

“I want you all to get justice for my son, but don’t do it like this here. Don’t tear up the whole city just for him. That’s wrong,” Gloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray who died in police custody in Baltimore on April 19, 2015, said in reference to the unrest that happened in the city during a press conference also in April 2015.

8. Judy Scott

“…Jesus is on the inside, and I know that justice will be served, because the God that I serve, he’s able. He told me to wait on the Lord and be of good courage,” Judy Scott, the mother of Walter Scott who was killed by North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager in South Carolina on April 4, 2015, said during a press conference in December 2016.

9. Valerie Castile

“Life is a journey, and everybody is here for a reason. We all have a destiny. We all witnessed Philando’s destiny,” Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile who was fatally shot by then-St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 6, 2016, said to Insight News in November 2017.

10. Maria Hamilton

“He [Donald Trump] would do well to remember that we expect him to uphold this civic and moral obligation, to work to bridge the divisions widened over the course of the campaign, and to begin to create a government that works for all. America can’t be ‘great’ until it is great for everyone,” Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontre Hamilton who was fatally shot by officer Christopher Manney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 30, 2014, said in a news release in January 2017.

11. Geneva Reed-Veal

“I’m going around the country talking to mothers to say ‘Get up. Let’s go get justice for our families. Let’s go get justice for the world that is reeling after this election,” Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland who was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas on July 13, 2015, said to The Shadow League in November 2016.

12. Dorothy Holmes

“For Mother’s Day, my daughters will usually buy me something and my grandkids will call to tell me ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ But it’s not the same, There is still one person missing,” Dorothy Holmes, the mother of Ronald Johnson who was killed by officer George Hernandez in Chicago on October 12, 2014 , said to the Chicago Defender in May 2018.

13. Janet Cooksey

“I’m just tired of not getting truth and not getting justice,” Janet Cooksey, the mother of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier who was killed by officer Robert Rialmo in Chicago on December 26, 2015, said in a press conference documented by NBC Chicago in April 2018.

14. Cynthia Lane

“I’m overwhelmed,” Cynthia Lane, the mother of 19-year-old Roshad Mclntosh who was killed by Chicago officer Officer Robert Slechter on August 24, 2014, said in reference to the Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) re-opening of an investigation into her son’s death to CNN in August 2017.

15. Hawa Bah

“I want justice, and the justice I want is not just for my son. It’s for all people to not feel like I feel,” Hawa Bah, mother of mentally ill African immigrant Mohamed Bah who was fatally shot by New York City police on September 25, 2012, said to The Nation in October 2014.

16. Tressa Sherrod

“I miss him being around. I miss him saying ‘mom’; I miss his phone calls and his text messages; I miss coming home and seeing that he ate all my food. There’s a lot of little things I miss about him. I miss his smile. I miss hearing his voice,” Tressa Sherrod, mother of 22-year-old John Crawford III who was shot and killed by police at a Beavercreek, Ohio Walmart on August 5, 2014, said to The Guardian in September 2014.

17. Colette Flanagan

“We will take it to the limit. I will never stop until we win justice for Clinton,” Colette Flanagan, mother of 25-year-old Clinton Allen who was fatally shot by Dallas, Texas officer Clark Staller on March 10, 2013, said to Dallas News in October 2017.

18. Mothers Of The Movement

The Mothers of the Movement, who have lost children to police violence, took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016.