BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — “We can’t move forward because there is no justice,” said Veda Washington-Abusalah, aunt of Alton Sterling.
It’s a tough holiday for the family of Alton Sterling. They’re feeling stuck from five years ago. “I can’t move forward. I’m still at the place where they murdered him,” said Abusalah.
On July 5, 2016, Baton Rouge police shot and killed Sterling during a scuffle. No charges were filed.
Abusalah said, “They killing us by the thousands and nothing’s being done about it. It’s been happening since the beginning of time, killing people of color and it needs to cease now.”
Other families who had loved ones killed by police traveled from across the country, including Michael Brown’s father, letting the Sterling family know they are not alone.
“We are all working in different aspects on trying to change different laws and other people are doing things to try to help black communities get some type of justice,” said Michael Brown Sr. His son was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.
Andrew Joseph Jr. said, “This is a pandemic that we have been dealing with for years. Our families, we know this from the beginning. We are taught not to deal with police.” His son was shot and killed by police in Tampa, Florida.
Uncle Bobby X’s nephew was gunned down in Oakland, California. He said, “We understand that the process of healing through resistance is better fought when we all stand together and love on each other and uplift each other.”
To keep Sterling’s memory growing, the family planted a tree in his honor.