Tamir Rice Still Speaks. Are We Listening?

This summer, I looked square in the eyes at the pain caused by Tamir Rice’s death. While working as an intern for Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (the congressional representative for the Cleveland area), I talked to constituents who were absolutely heartbroken for their community and frustrated by government leaders’ lack of action. Of course, the police brutality and violence they faced was nothing new. While the rest of the city was just waking up to instances of police brutality, it had been their reality for years. The death of Tamir, though, reopened old wounds in an unexpectedly visceral way.