In 1972, Gil Scott-Heron wrote a song with these lyrics:
No knocked on my brother Fred Hampton
Bullet holes all over the place
No knocked on my brother Michael Harris
And jammed a shotgun against his skull
Today, 50 years later, it is heartbreaking that his lyrics can have the names replaced without affecting the artist’s piece of written work. But that is the sad truth, at least for people in the United States of America. A few years before the release of the song, then State Attorney, John Mitchell, called for these no-knock raids to be enforced among many other terrible acts during his tenure in public office.
The before mentioned song, simply titled ‘No Knock’, can today have the names replaced by Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke, to name only two. Both were black citizens, both were murdered by the police who used this raid tactic to storm their homes. The families of both victims have yet to see justice be carried out.
According to this article (from 2015), a staggering 20,000 no knock raids are carried out on a yearly basis in the U.S.. Oregon is the only state in the country who has a total ban on these types of raids. All other states have no-knock raids enforced in one way or another.
Take action and support End All No Knocks, a campaign that works to end these horrible raids in the US. And share this and other articles about the subject – help to hold those in power accountable for their actions.
