Killing of black men by police is heartbreaking

I am so sad about the two black men killed by policemen in Louisiana and Minnesota. I could not sleep Tuesday night. Sometimes our black sons are feared because of their color.

My husband and I moved to Moses Lake about six years ago. We both have been stopped by the police.

He was stopped and told that his brake light was not working. He went right away to a gas station and there was no problem with his lights. He just felt that he was being checked out because he was a new black man in town.

Then a few weeks, later on my way to a Martin Luther King Committee meeting, I was stopped. The officer wanted to know why I was driving so slow. I responded that I always drive slow, but tonight I was scared because a huge truck was following me. The officer did notice that there was a huge truck driving behind me and apologized and went after the huge truck.

The police in Moses Lake are pretty good at working with a very diverse community. Both the city police and sheriff officers are present at the annual Martin Luther King Celebration which is very unique.

I have been present at many protests in Seattle over police killing black men. In the late ’70s, one of my husband’s friends was watching TV and two policemen walked in his apartment. His friend, Erdman Bassman, picked up his remote to turn off the television and was shot dead. Erdman was not the person they were looking for. There was never any justice for Erdman. Both of his parents died and they never saw justice for the murder of their son.

I want black men to do whatever they can to stay alive. Your family and the world need you.

Maryamu Givens

Moses Lake