Shondaland alum Jesse Williams seems to always be fighting the good fight. In addition to electrifying the crowd at this year’s BET Awards, Williams serves on the board directors for the Advancement Project, a multi-racial civil rights organization, and has worked closely with Harry Belafonte’s Sankofa Foundation. Additionally, Williams–who has a degree in African American Studies from Temple University–has leveraged his celebrity platform to advocate for social justice, prison reform, the people of Flint, and of course, Black lives.
Today, after Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced she was dropping the remaining charges against the officers involved in Freddie Gray’s death, Williams took to Twitter to once again point out how laws don’t seem to apply to those who are supposed to protect and serve the community.
“The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual, crime.” – Max Stirner #FreddieGray
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 27, 2016
If “law enforcement” isn’t accountable for the easily verifiable homicide of #FreddieGray, then what’s the point of “law” or a constitution?
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 27, 2016
Law w/out enforcement is merely a suggestion. Suggestions do not fill cages w Black people for profit, “law & order” does that. #FreddieGray
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 27, 2016
During a press conference announcing the dismissal of charges against the remaining officers who have yet to stand trial, Mosby articulated the frustration around the lack of justice for Gray, while also defending her decision to prosecute the officers in the first place.
“We do not believe Freddie Gray killed himself,” she said. “We stand by the medical examiner’s determination that Grays death was a homicide.”
Gray died after suffering a spinal cord injury while in police custody in April 2015. His death sparked days of protests and unrest across the nation. Between acquittals, mistrials, and now the dismissal of charges, none of the officers involved in Gray’s death have been held accountable.
During his BET acceptance speech, Williams highlighted the difference in the way law enforcement officers deal with Black and white people.
“We’ve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to deescalate, disarm and not kill white people everyday,” Williams said back in June. “So what’s going to happen is we are going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure their function and ours.”
Before hopping off his social soapbox, Williams challenged the #AllLivesMatter crowd to advocate for Freddie Gray.
If #AllLivesMatter then why aren’t you out here with us?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …………. #FreddieGray
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 27, 2016
Sadly, we know the answer. The #AllLivesMatter crowd don’t actually care about all lives, most just want to shut down the conversation about Black ones.
Britni Danielle is the Senior Digital Editor of EBONY.com and JETmag.com. Catch her tweeting @BritniDWrites.
