On June 20, 2017, a 17-year old Muslim girl named Nabra Hassanen was beaten to death in Northern Virginia after she left the mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. She was walking with friends when she got into an argument with a driver, who later beat her to death with a baseball bat and threw her body into a pond. Most news outlets called this “an act of road rage,” not a hate crime, as people had initially speculated. As expected, this became a prominent news story in the Muslim community. Considering a large percentage of my social media contacts are Muslim, I saw this story being shared on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other group chats. Understandably, people were upset that a Muslim teenager was killed in an everyday situation that could’ve easily been them or one of their relatives. Regardless of whether or not this was actually a hate crime, most Muslims were extremely concerned. A fellow Muslim was murdered unjustly, and there was outrage from much of the Muslim community.
Less than 24 hours after Nabra Hassanen was murdered, a pregnant African-American woman named Charleena Lyles was killed in Seattle, Washington by two white police officers. She had called the police because she suspected a burglary. Because Lyles wielded a knife when they arrived, the two officers shot and killed her in front of three of her young children. Lyles had been dealing with mental health issues prior to her murder. As expected, this became a hot topic in the African-American community. This is obviously not the first time an African-American civilian has been killed unjustly by a white law enforcement official, nor will it be the last. The African-American community I am connected with was understandably furious about Lyles’ murder, and many of them were vocal about her murder on social media. A fellow African-American was murdered unjustly, and there was outrage from much of the their community.
The murders of Nabra Hassanen and Charleena Lyles did not occur under the same circumstances, nor are their facts comparable. There are bigger questions to explore regarding both of them (i.e. defining a hate crime, mental health issues, etc.). But I found it extremely notable that the groups of outspoken advocates for Hassanen and Lyles, respectively, did not seem to overlap at all. The Muslims I know were speaking out about Hassanen’s murder, and the African-American people I know were speaking out about Lyles’ murder. It was rare to see a Muslim speaking out about Lyles or an African-American speaking out about Hassanen.
It makes logical sense that minority groups are concerned about issues that directly affect them and their communities. As a Muslim student, hearing about the murder of a Muslim student hits home because I could picture myself as Nabra Hassanen. In the same way, an African-American mother could probably see herself as Charleena Lyles. While the specific details of both murders do not align, there is a common thread: two people of minority groups were killed unjustly by members of a different group. Many people who spoke out on either incident claimed to be standing up for justice, but their advocacy is convenient for them. Convenient advocacy will not be effective when trying to engage in social reform. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As humans, can we really say we stand up for justice if we are only concerned about injustice in our own communities?
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