The Killing of Aiyana Jones
Damn Detroit Police Department! You burned, shot and killed Aiyana Jones, a little seven year old girl. It’s my sincere hope that the cameras for A&E’s “The First 48” television series that trailed you and filmed the whole incident didn’t spur your heroics! I know reality shows, very well indeed. Please tell me that this wasn’t a performance for the cameras!
These words, believe it or not, are straight outta the mouth of Baby Phat President, model and diva extraordinaire, Kimora Lee Simmons. I’m feelin Kimora right now cuz like me she is outraged. Usually so caught up in her fabulosity she can’t see the shine for her bling, Kimora is pissed and is one of only a few high profilers speaking out against this atrocity. If you don’t know, Aiyana Jones was a 7-year old girl peacefully sleeping in her home that was flash bombed on May 16 by Detroit cops who then shot her in the head looking for a suspect involved in a muder. I’m sure Kimora looked at Aoki, her 7-year old daughter and saw Aiyana. I’m sure she felt sick to her stomach. I know I do. Yesterday Aiyana’s body, cold in a coffin, was laid to rest. I am so hurt, so angry. And I am devastated by the apathy of folks. No one gives a crap about little Black girls and I can’t take it anymore! My niece is seven. I spoke to her the other day and her teacher had just given her a gold star for “excellent work.” She is looking forward to seeing Shrek 3. Like Aiyana, she wears pretty colorful barrettes in her hair. I love my niece. Her life means something to me and to this world. So did Aiyana Jones’. I’m ready to march to petition to do whatever it takes by any means necessary to seek justice so that’s this little girl’s life and murder is not in vain. This is worse than Sean Bell’s murder only because Aiyana was asleep in her own bed. If brown girls cannot cuddle up with their favorite stuffed animal and dream about pretty dresses, Usher and chocolate ice cream in their own beds with the assurance that their grandmother is nearby then something is extremely wrong with the world we live in. Then we can deal with the terrorism that exists within the red, white and blue spacious skies for brown and black people everyday. Little Aiyana’s death is heartbreaking! She was seven years old. Folks want to blame Aiyana’s “crime ridden” neighborhood for her death. They want to blame her parents and her aunt who is engaged to the murder suspect. The fact is a police officer threw the flash grenade through the window of the house that landed on Aiyana’s blanket that set her on fire and it was Officer Joseph Weekley’s bullet that ripped through Aiyana’s brain. Nobody from da hood did that! When I was seven, my biggest thrill was playing hide-n-seek and jumping double-dutch. My hood was cool, but by no means was it the best. But I lived to see the second grade. Aiyana Stanley Jones will not.
Here’s Kimora’s full statement.
It is such a terrible tragedy. I pray and hope the best for my kids in this hard world.
Peace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany
Beautiful brown girls lives are just as valuable as any other. But who decided that this beautiful child should cease to be here in This Life? That question burns. May those who knew her honor her memory and those of us who are mad as Hell-O at her passing revere her life and prevent such a fate to yours, mine, Kimora’s and all the beautiful brown babies on this American Earth Soil. Let’s love and protect our brown beautiful girls and love them like they deserve to be loved.
I’m speechless.
yo sis Im in Detroit right now and believe me –folks give a damn here.
Yes GT I’ve been hearing about marches and rallies in the D. Hopefully somehow it can be a catalyst to arouse people across the nation. This is not a problem singular to Detroit and we shouldn’t look at it as Detroit’s problem. This is a human problem!
[…] Aiyana Jones had any idea of the possible dangers awaiting her, and why should she? She was a little girl, a kid, and it wasn’t nearly time for her to put away childish things. Too late to tell that […]
I am a Detroit-er and there’s more to the story than everyone see’s. I’m not standing up for the DPD cause we DO have some low-down-dirty cops, BUT a lot of them are good men and women. The little girls family IS PARTIALLY TO BLAME. My kids would never be in a home with a suspected child murderer (yes the suspect was in the home and the little girl’s father also had something to do with that 17 year old boy’s death, according to police warrants) and my kids father does not have warrants for his arrest, nor is he being sought as an accessory to another child’s murder and if he was, my CHILD WOULD NOT BE IN THE HOME WITH HIM. My kid would not be sleeping on the sofa in a home with people like that in it. It’s sad that she had to die, but her family put her in that situation. It was an unsafe environment for a 7 year old and now there’s proof. The cops should be punished for “shooting first” and “asking questions last” but let’s not take focus off of her family who did not protect her from THEIR MISTAKES and now want to get a lawyer and make millions off of the situation. The entire situation is a sad atrocity.
Thanks for posting this. I can’t believe this is my 1st time hearing about this disgusting tragedy. What happened to Aiyana is severely unfortunate and it continues to blow my mind what little value is given to Black lives, especially innocent Black people, and the how much the erratic, misguided, ignorant, and unchecked behavior of our cities’ police forces continues to prevail.
Now I’m so glad I posted this tory because of all of the emails I’m getting from people who didn’t know anything about Aiyana Jones. The power of blogging.. yes!
@Claudia: Who decided her life should cease.. well speaking spiritually I guess God, but on the real we all are responsible in a sense. We have to start speaking out against all injustices against our girls from R. Kelly to Officer Weekly. There is sense in the air that Black lives are worthless.
@Shawn: I hear you– a totally valid point, but I don’t really agree. I think that is a different issue that needs to be addressed and is not the cause, partially or otherwise of Aiyana’s death. The fact that someone in her household killed a 17-year old boy is just as tragic and goes to the tragedy of Black on Black crime which also goes back to my point on the devaluation of Black life from within and without. Still… the flash bombing of a house where it had been ascertained children lived is flagrant and irresponsible. That is what Bush called Shock & Awe Terrorism. This kind of intrusion does not happen in the suburbs where murders take place and suspects live with their children.