(L-R) Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin; Samaira Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice; and Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown Jr; join the ‘Justice For All’ march and rally in the nation’s capital on December 13, 2014.

by Akiba Solomon

More than six months after a troubled rookie officer, Timothy Loehmann, fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in a Clevland park, the Cuyahoga sherriff’s department has finally completed its investigation and handed its results to Cleveland-area prosecutor Timothy McGinty. There is no official word on what they’ve uncovered about November 22, 2014 when police found Rice playing with a pellet gun by himself at Cudell Recreation Center park and shot him wthin two seconds of their arrival. (One local news outlet has reported that the department found no evidence to support criminal charges against Loehmann; a call to the department was not returned in time for publication.)

What we do know, all too well, is that the name “Tamir Rice” sits on a long, horrifying list of young people of color killed by police and extrajudicial violence. Tamir is now among the Trayvons and the Rekias, the Jessies and the Michaels. It’s a devastating distinction.

I talked to Tamir’s mom, Samaria Rice, in late May as she was planning a community celebration for her youngest son’s birthday. She opened up about who Tamir was, what she thinks of protests in his name, and what she and her other children—Tajai, Kavon and Tasheona—are doing to heal from this unimaginable loss.

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.colorlines.com