Samaria Rice/Photo courtesy of the Tamir Rice Foundation
Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, has again taken to the media to express her consternation with the way Black community leaders, activists, and lawyers have exploited Black death at the hands of law enforcement.
In a recent interview with The Cut, Rice reflected on her experience after her 12-year-old son, Tamir, was shot and killed by an Ohio officer as he played in the park in 2014. While national outrage stirred, she was still a grieving mother who was making media appearances as Black Lives Matter and lawyers like Benjamin Crump started to rise to prominence.
“A lot of us parents don’t know what to say or how we should be acting,” she said. She was justifiably angry but was told to not show her anger at media appearances. She also wanted to be involved in the work it takes to bring rogue police officers to justice like court filings but was expected to let organizers and lawyers handle everything. But, under the circumstances, it was hard for her to know whom to trust.
In March, Rice posted a series of social media posts addressing Black Lives Matter and civil rights attorneys for “monopolizing” the fight for racial justice. The posts came after activist Tamika Mallory appeared on the Grammy Awards with rapper Lil’ Baby and read a poem in tribute to the many Black people who have fallen to police brutality. The next Tuesday, Rice issued a statement cementing her thoughts on the matter.
In the interview, Rice was not shy about naming names. She said popular activist Shaun King raised money for Tamir and sent her a check for $60,000 but she was perturbed by the fact that he and others were able to use her child without her consent. King maintained that he had never raised money for any family that did not ask him to do so when he was contacted by The Cut. Rice is adamant that she has never spoken with King.
“They should not be standing on the front line like this was they [sic] child,” Rice said.
Little of the money that circulates through social justice organizations go to the families of the victims of police violence. The money goes mostly to organizers, spokespeople, and media outlets, The Cut reported. Black death is indeed big business. Rice wants it to stop. She believes the families should be assisted with counseling and other resources to help them cope.
Samaria Rice is the mother of three surviving children. She ultimately would like a conviction of the police officer responsible for her son’s death and is seeking to have the case reopened. In the meantime, she has become an activist and used some of the $5.5 million settlement from the City of Cleveland to start the Tamir Rice Foundation.