this black woman stood her ground, no one was hurt, she’s now in prison pregnant

“Stand Your Ground” is a law that enables white men to kill people on their property. Time and time again, we have seen the law fail black people and women of color who either seek the law’s presumed protection or lose their lives when that law is used to protect a white person.

A mother & community leader in #Detroit was violently confronted by her neighbor.Fearing for her life Siwatu held her licensed weapon in plain sight. The gun was unloaded & no one was hurt. She was just sentenced to two years in prison and is now behind bars pregnant. #freesiwatu pic.twitter.com/7gEAqVwpqQ

— BYP100 (@BYP_100) March 26, 2018

And that’s clear as day in the case of Detroit mother Siwatu-Salama Ra who held a licensed weapon in plain sight while she was visiting her mother. During the exchange, an “unruly neighbor” ran their vehicle into the car Salama Ra, her daughter, and mother was in. When she confronted the neighbor, they attempted to run Salama Ra and her mother over. In an attempt to ward off further attacks and to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, Salama Ra waved an unloaded gun at the person.

Fast-forward to March 1, Salama Ra was sentenced to a mandatory two-year sentence which she is now serving while pregnant with her son, whom she will give birth to behind bars.

Like many states, including Florida which allowed George Zimmerman to kill a teenager based on his skin cool, Michigan does have a “Stand Your Ground” law that allows citizens to protect themselves from attacks close to their homes. Even if it comes to homicide. But not in the case of Salama Ra, of course, and the other black citizens who have been brutalized under and exempt from the protection of “Stand Your Ground”.

#FreeSiwatu