Imam Zaid Shakir Calls for Action on Police Brutality at Stephon Clark's Funeral

Imam Zaid Shakir called for action against police brutality while speaking at Stephon Clark's funeral.

He stated, “Today, we’re gathered to memorialize and to subsequently bury Stephon Clark. But yesterday it was [Amadou Diallo,] and Sean Bell and Trayvon Martin, Walter Scott, Gary King, Oscar Grant, Alan Blueford, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Alton Sterling Philando Castile, Eric Garner. Or, It was Tanisha Anderson, Yvette Smith, Miriam Carey, Shelly Frey, Darnisha Harris, Alesia Thomas, Shantel Davis, Rekia Boyd, or 7-year-old Aiyana Jones in Detroit, Michigan.”

She went on to say, “The community is rightfully pained. Is rightfully angry. Is rightfully frustrated. To borrow from the poet, ‘Because we’ve built our coffins much too often, and we’re tired of seeing our people dying.’ And it’s not just our people. Every year in this country, white folks are shot. Brown folks are shot. Upwards of 1,000 people are shot by the police. That is a systemic problem, not a local problem. Not a Sacramento problem. It’s a uniquely American problem. In 71 years, one person in Ireland, in 71 years was shot by the police. That’s a uniquely American problem. In 24 years in the United Kingdom and Wales combined, 55 people 24 years were shot by the police. Upwards of 1,000 in America every year…”