US killing of blacks has reached ‘epidemic proportions’: Analyst

Rasa - The police killing of black people and other minorities in the United States has reached “epidemic proportions,” an African American journalist in Detroit says.

News ID: 422893

Date: 23 August 2016 - 21:18

RNA - Recent protests by US activists to demand an end to police violence and racism against blacks show there is growing awareness about these deaths, said Abayomi Azikiwe, editor at the Pan-African News Wire.

“These demonstration will continue until racism is totally eradicated from US society,” Azikiwe said in a phone interview with Press TV on Monday.

“The killings of African Americans and other people inside the United States has reached epidemic proportions,” he added.

On Sunday, hundreds of activists with the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets of New York City to protest a surge in racist attacks and police violence against African-Americans.

The protesters marched to the downtown area of Westhampton Beach, carrying posters that had messages of unity and peace written on them.

Outraged by the recent shooting deaths of unarmed black individuals at the hands of white police officers, the activists demanded justice and urged government officials to help end discrimination against racial minorities.

They also asked the rest of Americans to break their silence on the issue and push for a fair society.

The use of excessive force by law enforcement has become the focus of national debate in America, particularly over high-profile killings of African-Americans by mainly white officers during the last several years.

Last year, US police killed over 1,150 people in 2015, with the largest police departments disproportionately killing at least 321 African-Americans.

Racist attacks against minorities in the US have also skyrocketed after a heated primary race for the White House, where nearly all candidates pledged stricter law enforcement against minorities, a policy that gave rise to white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klax Klan.

Supporters of the KKK group had threatened to violently crash Sunday’s rally, which was closely monitored by a relatively large number of police officers.

111/847/C