The circumstances surrounding the death or serious injury of Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Michael Brown, and Trayvon Martin were all different, but a common theme has emerged from their families in the aftermath.
The mother of Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, appeared on CNN to talk about her son and the unrest that has sparked as a result of the police-involved shooting.
"My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted. And as his mother, please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name," she said. "You shouldn't do it. … it's just not acceptable."
Grabien Media founder Tom Elliot observed that the families of Floyd, Martin, and Brown shared similar sentiments.
After Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests, rioting, and looting, his mother pleaded with demonstrators to "channel your anger to do something positive or make a change another way because we've been down this road already … The anger, damaging your hometown is not the way he'd want … just relax. Justice will be served."
And after Brown's death, when police officers became targets, his family urged protesters to remain peaceful.
"We reject any kind of violence directed toward members of law enforcement," his parents said in a statement. "It cannot and will not be tolerated."
"We specifically denounce the actions of stand-alone agitators who unsuccessfully attempt to derail the otherwise peaceful and non-violent movement that has emerged throughout this nation ... We must work together to bring peace to our communities."
Again, Trayvon Martin's family shared a similar sentiment.
"As we've stated repeatedly in the past, our family rejects any kind of violence directed toward members of law enforcement & our community in general ... We must work together to peacefully bring about change to our communities. Violence is never the answer."
George Floyd’s mom: “Channel your anger to do something positive or make a change another way because we’ve been down this road already … The anger, damaging your hometown is not the way he’d want … just relax. Justice will be served.”
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 26, 2020
Trayvon's family: "As we've stated repeatedly in the past, our family rejects any kind of violence directed toward members of law enforcement & our community in general ... We must work together to peacefully bring about change to our communities. Violence is never the answer”
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 26, 2020
If only the rioters would listen.