Antwon Rose was just 17 when his life ended on June 19 in East Pittsburgh, PA. Officer Michael Rosfeld fatally shot him three times as he ran from a traffic stop. Antwon was unarmed, and the Allegheny County district attorney cleared him of any wrongdoing, saying he posed no threat. Officer Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide. A judge freed Rosfeld on an unsecured $250,000 bond.
Southwestern Pennsylvania used to employ thousands of steelworkers and coal miners until globalization and labor-replacing electronics forever transformed the area into a trap for unneeded workers who have no rights that cops like Rosfeld need to respect.
That is the background to Antwon’s murder and to the demonstrations in the Pittsburgh area since then. Protesters united in spirit with Antwon, reading out the following poem he wrote on May 16, 2016, when he was just 15:
I AM NOT WHAT YOU THINK
I am confused and afraid
I wonder what path I will take
I hear there is only two ways out
I see mothers bury their sons
I want my mom to never feel that pain
I am confused and afraid
I pretend all is fine
I feel like I am suffocating
I touch nothing, so I believe all is fine
I worry that it isn’t though
I cry no more
I am confused and afraid
I understand people believe I am just a statistic
I say to them I am different
I dream of life getting easier
I try my best to make my dream come true
I hope that it does
I am confused and afraid
