“Party & Protest”: ‘Alright’, the sound of Black Life’s Duality!

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The story narrated in the following is a part of the American Anthem. In the summer of 2015, the Movement for Black lives, a conference by the black activists and organizers were gathered on the campus of Cleveland State University. There were hundreds of them, and it was just a coincidence that the police was there.

Cleveland State University.

It was a moment which was all over the news channels. The main reason behind it was Sandra Bland, a black woman who was arrested at a traffic stop and was found dead in the Texas jail cell. The part of the truth came up with her death that there had been cruelty on the black by law enforcement officers, and it was a long list to be looked upon. However, apart from the dark moments, there were good moments as well, someone had put up the song All right, and the whole auditorium of people broke loose. Moreover, that moment was the celebratory moment of black love as said by Waltrina Midleton.

The conference ended on Sunday afternoon. Everyone was biding goodbyes and kisses to each other when the whole crowd turned from goodbyes to something is happening. When a bus came across the campus, a police officer was detaining a 14-year-old black for suspecting of drinking alcohol. The cop could be seen taking the kid off the bus and handcuffing him. Everyone in the crowd took their phones out to record the scene.

The cop asked the boy for his mother’s name and address which the 14-year-old gave to them. One of the bystanders also asked for information. As per the reports, they were only trying to hand the child over to a parent or guardian to make sure the boy was not criminalized.

After some time, there was crowd gathering up, and the bystanders became the protestors. The police then pepper-sprayed them, and then it all continued till the teen’s mother came, and the police let them go. The crowd after the whole scene protested, “We gon’ be all right.”

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