Watch This Black Officer’s Heartbreaking Response to Police Violence and Racism

“If you are white and you are racist and you are working in a black community, you should be ashamed of yourself.”


In the wake of the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, a black police officer from Warrensville Heights, Ohio took to Facebook Live on Wednesday to post an impassioned response to the violence and speak out against racist police officers.

“I watched the video over and over and over again, so I wouldn’t become judgmental because not only am I am a mother of two African-American sons, but I am also the person that wears the uniform, with the blue,” Nakia Jones tells the camera.

“It bothers me when I hear people say, ‘Y’all police officers this, y’all police officers that,'” she said. “They put us in this negative category when I’m saying to myself, ‘I’m not that type of police officer.’ I know officers that are like me that would give their life for other people.”

She continued with a message to prejudiced police officers, “who have no business being a police officer.”

“If you are white and you are racist and you are working in a black community, you should be ashamed of yourself. You stood up there and took an oath. How dare you stand up next to me in the same uniform and murder somebody?”

Jones’ video was posted shortly after video emerged of another black man, Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota late Wednesday night.

(h/t The Root)

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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