A young girl delivered a powerful message of peace speaking at the first Charlotte City Council meeting since violence threatened to rip the city apart following the killing of Keith Lamont Scott.
Though two videos have since been released, neither has answered the key question: Was Scott pointing a gun at the officer that shot him? Regardless of the exact circumstances, protests have rocked the city. Against this backdrop, the girl spoke.
Zianna Oliphant was barely tall enough to reach the microphone, but she delivered one of the clearest appeals you'll ever hear to stop police violence when she spoke Monday.
“I’ve come here today to talk about how I feel, and I feel like that we are treated differently than other people,” she said. “I don’t like how we’re treated. Just because of our color...doesn’t mean anything to me.
She then burst into tears, but continued after encouragement from the crowd.
"It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed and we can't see them anymore," she said, crying. "It's a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them. And we have tears. We shouldn't have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side."
Powerful words. Watch her full comments below.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT