Saturday marked the fifth anniversary of the death of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was shot by a Detroit cop while she slept on a couch during a botched raid in 2010.
Aiyana was trending on Twitter this weekend, prompting planned protests in Philadelphia today and Harlem on Monday.
The heartbreaking hashtag #AiyanasDreams began trending Saturday on Twitter as thousands of people expressed condolences, expressed outrage and called for justice.
The family, which started the hashtag, filed suit in federal court against the Detroit Police Department less than two months ago, saying her killing was covered up by cops. The officer, Joseph Weekley, who shot Aiyana, was charged with manslaughter but both trials ended with deadlocked juries.
#PeoplesMonday brings #facts about #AiyanaJones to Harlem on May 18, 7-10 pm. Start at 125th & Malcolm X Blvd. pic.twitter.com/CF0fzRrJt3
— M.J. Williams (@_mjwilliams_) May 17, 2015
#AiyanasDreams She would have graduated, moved into a nice house, gotten married & had kids. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/Lg6CX86DzE
— #JusticeforKatya (@86TB) May 17, 2015
#AiyanasDreams pic.twitter.com/QoDUPfqxth
— . (@sophiakweli) May 17, 2015
#AiyanasDreams will remain center stage till equality is no longer a dream set against police brutality. pic.twitter.com/8ub11ldkAc
— Price of Silence (@pos_theatre) May 17, 2015
#AiyanasDreams; This hashtag makes me so sad. It’s scary that today’s youth are victims of police brutality. RIP Aiyana. 💕
— Marissa (@OneAndOnlyRissa) May 17, 2015
When a child is killed by police, our whole country should be up in arms. But it’s not. What does that say about us? #AiyanasDreams
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) May 16, 2015
Aiyana we love those gorgeous brown eyes and we love that beautiful smile and brown skin #AiyanasDreams pic.twitter.com/EVMIiXQTU2
— Africana WomaNINJA (@MelanieCoMcCoy) May 16, 2015
Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.
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