Intro: "American the Beauty"
Lesedi Mataboge: Ten years and what has changed ten years and who remembers. May 16th, 2020 marked the 10 anniversary of Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley Jones’s death. 9 days later on May 25th, 2020, the world watched as George Floyd’s begged for his mother as his life was stomped out under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. The country rallied against this unspeakable act of cruelty, against our corruption institutions, turning Floyd’s name in action word, a rallying cry, one that would be screamed from rooftops and chanted by hordes of protesters. But I wonder how long it will be before we move on to the next name, how long will it be before George Floyd’s story becomes indistinct, falling into the recess of our collective memory, overshadow the next modern-day Emmett Till, the next black body used as fodder for martyrdom. It was so easy for us to forgot Anyiana, the 7-year-old who should have graduated high school this year and instead was found dead under a burning Hannah Montana blanket. A few months ago, a friend of mine said something that really stuck with me. We were sitting on my bedroom floor covering posters, with the name of victims of police brutality, and as we came to the somber realization that our small pieces of cardboard would never be large enough to hold that never-ending list of names, my friend turned to me and said.
Voice 2: “I shouldn’t know his name, no one should know the name George Floyd, he should be living a peaceful and inconsequential life somewhere, not have his face plastered on posters.”
Lesedi: I agreed, but now that we do know his name, know there are no names, how to do we chose to remember them, it is so easy to slap the names Tamir Rice or Philando Castile after a hashtag and calling it a day. What is harder is to learn there stories, to know that these men and women were fathers and daughters, mothers and aunts. It is important that we don’t stop telling their stories not so we can revel in the gory details but so we can remember what was done to them what continues to be done to black boy and girl across the nation.
Transition: "Mississippi Goddamn"/ Cop Radio Chatter Sound Clip
Lesedi: There was a long and winding string of circumstances that led Detroit police, to that small house on Lillibridge Street. This was the first raid conducted by the SWAT team since a fellow Detroit police officer had been killed while trying to apprehend a suspect, two weeks prior. The team was being shadowed by a camera crew from the A&E show, "The First 48", similarly to its problematic predecessor "Cops", The First 48, was a true-crime ride-along program, which served to glamorize our law enforcement and criminal justice system and in turn promote the reputation of local “problem” precincts. The premise of the show is that homicide detectives have 48 hours to crack a murder case before the trail goes cold. Thirty-four hours earlier, Je’Rean Blake Nobles, age 17, had been shot outside a liquor store on nearby Mack Avenue and after receiving an anonymous call about the location of the shooter, SWAT raced over to Lillibridge with just 10 hours left on the clock. While this race against the clock might make for good television, the show at its heart encourages and rewards rushed police work and the gross neglect of pertinent details. Perhaps if they have taken another few hours things would have turned out differently. Perhaps if it were not for the bright light and cameras, they would have noticed the Aiyana’s pink dollhouse and toys strewn across the lawn, and put the dots together that there might be small children in the house. Perhaps if they waited till dawn the pale beams of sunlight would have provided just enough light that the use of the flashbangs grenades would seem unnecessary, sparing Aiyana the pain of the burning Hannah Montana blanket pressed against her skin. Perhaps if they had taken just one more moment the team would have realized they were about to raid the wrong house.
Lesedi: But the team didn’t wait. Maybe it was the weighty anger of having so recently lost a comrade in arms or the camera crews at their backs egear for pyrotechnics and action. Whatever it was, Just after midnight on May 16th, 2010 the SWAT team lead by Officer Joseph Weekley made their way to the steps of 4054 Lillibridge St, just a few yards away from the house of the actual suspect. The whole grizzly affair only a few minutes. Inside. On the couch, lay a sleeping Aiyana, her grandmother seated next to her watching TV. It happened fast, the team first threw a flashbang through the window, it landed squarely on Ayiana’s blanket, ignites almost instantly. However, Ayiana would not have time to feel the sting of the flames. As the team proceeded to kick down the unlocked front door, making their way into the house Office Weekley haphazardly fired out two shots, 1 bullet found its way into the flank of the family dog, and the other lodge itself firmly into the base of 7-year-old Ayiana Stanely Jones neck.
Transition: "The Battle Is Not Yours"/Funeral Hymn
Lesedi: Right now you are hearing sounds clips from Aiyana Stanely Jone Funeral, the somber serenade of the church choir they heartwrenching crying of her grandmother. Aiyana was laid to rest six days after her death. The funeral was held at Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit, over a thousand people attended. Aiyana’s dressed in a light pink gown, was carried away to the Trinity Cemetery, carried by the same horse-drawn carriage, that five years earlier had taken the body of Rosa Parks to Woodlawn Cemetery on the city’s West Side. As coffin was lower Into the ground amongst the horde of morning parishioners, Charles Jones, Ayiana’s father released a single white dove.
Reverend Al Sharpton performed the eulogy, it was might with lukewarm Enthusiasm, many in the crowd believing he was there simply for publicity as did not bother to visit the families of Je’Rean Blake Nobles and only spoke to the Jone family in passing. While his speech was meandering and confused in some parts a few lines did stick out to me. “We’re here today not to find blame, but to find out how we never have to come here again,” said Sharpton, standing in the grand pulpit. “It’s easy in our anger, our rage, to just vent and scream. But I would be doing Aiyana a disservice if we just vented instead of dealing with the real problems.” He went on: “This child is the breaking point.”
Oh, how wrong he was.
Aiyana’s death would not be remembered as the straw that broke the camels, in fact ten years later few can recall what happened to the 7-year-old girl that night on Lillibridge. Aiyana would not be our breaking point, just another black body in a black body bag.
On October 4, 2011, following a yearlong investigation by the Michigan state police, Officer Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter and careless discharge of a firearm. The First 48 photographer Allison Howard was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. The Detroit Free Press has more details here. On April 4, 2019, Aiyana’s family settled with Detroit for $8.25 million. After one mistrial, Weekly was found not guilty on both counts. Weekley returned to active duty 7 months after the conclusion of the trial, he is still patrolling the streets of Detroit.