Last night’s town hall on police violence in America left a lot to be desired. It was so bad that Erica Garner, the late Eric Garner’s daughter, staged a solo walkout while President Obama was speaking.

Eric Garner was killed on graphic video two years ago by New York Police officers. He was held in a chokehold after repeatedly telling cops, “I can’t breathe.” His case is one of the many instances where officers have not been issued justice for their crimes against Black people.

Thursday’s town hall with President Obama was supposed to address some of those issues. However, it fell short of providing anything but grief and political theater.

Besides the fact that the conversation never actually engaged with the real reasons why police violence is so prevalent in this country, it also situated the issue as though we could all just rely on “Officer Friendly” and the other “good cops” to solve our problems. Many of the organizers and family members who were there were not able to ask questions.

Erica Garner was having none of that. So, during taping, she walked out. She took to Instagram to explain why.

 

According to Garner, she was told to come to the event on the condition that she would be able to ask her questions to the President directly. When that didn’t happen, she walked out.

 

In an exclusive video with HuffPo, Garner explained that “ABC is using Black Lives as a ratings and way to get paid.” She said she was lied to and used.

 

Garner also took to Twitter to express her frustration with the ABC Townhall.

Photo: Twitter/Erica Garner

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.