Amadou Diallo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Amadou Diallo was a 23-year-old Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

n immigrant in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York City Police Department

New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

plain-clothed officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots. The shooting took place at 1157 Wheeler Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx

Soundview, Bronx

Soundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...

. The four were part of the now-defunct Street Crimes Unit. All four officers were acquitted at trial in Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

.

Diallo was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and a firestorm of controversy erupted subsequent to the event as the circumstances of the shooting prompted outrage both within and outside New York City

New York City

. Issues such as police brutality

Police brutality

Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....

, racial profiling

Racial profiling

Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...

, and contagious shooting

Contagious shooting

A contagious shooting is a sociological phenomenon observed in military and police personnel in which one person firing on a target can induce others to begin shooting. Often the subsequent shooters will not know why they are firing....

were central to the ensuing controversy.

Biography

One of four children of Saikou and Kadiatou Diallo, Amadou's family is part of an old Fulbe

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

(Fula or Fulani people) trading family from the Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...

highlands of Guinea. He was born in Sinoe County

Sinoe County

Sinoe is one of Liberia's 15 counties and it has 17 districts. Greenville is the county's capital.As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 104,932, making it one of the least populous counties in Liberia....

, Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

, while his father was working there, and grew up following his family to Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

, Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, attending schools in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, and later in Guinea

Guinea

and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, including Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

's Asian Institute.

In September 1996, he came to New York City where other family members had immigrated. He and a cousin started a business. Diallo had reportedly come to New York City to study but had not enrolled in any school. He sought to remain in the US on a long-term basis by filing an application for political asylum under false pretences.
He sold videotapes, gloves and socks from the sidewalk along 14th Street during the day and studied in the evenings.

Events surrounding death

In the early morning of February 4, 1999, Diallo was standing near his building after returning from a meal. Police officers Edward McMellon, Sean Carroll, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy passed by in a Ford Taurus

Ford Taurus

The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...

when they thought Diallo matched the description of a now-captured serial rapist and approached him. The officers were in plain clothes.

The officers claimed that they loudly identified themselves as NYPD officers and that Diallo ran up the outside steps toward his apartment house doorway at their approach, ignoring their orders to stop and "show his hands". The porch lightbulb was out and Diallo was backlit by the inside vestibule light, showing only a silhouette. Diallo then reached into his jacket and withdrew his wallet

Wallet

A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case that is used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards, identification documents , photographs, business cards and other paper or laminated cards...

. Seeing the suspect holding a small square object, Carroll yelled "Gun!" to alert his colleagues. Believing Diallo had aimed a gun at them at close range, the officers opened fire on Diallo. During the shooting, lead officer McMellon tripped backward off the front stairs, causing the other officers to believe he had been shot.

The four officers fired forty-one shots, hitting Diallo nineteen times. The post-shooting investigation found no weapons on Diallo's body; the item he had pulled out of his jacket was not a gun, but a rectangular black wallet. The internal NYPD investigation ruled the officers had acted within policy, based on what a reasonable police officer

Reasonable person

The reasonable person is a legal fiction of the common law that represents an objective standard against which any individual's conduct can be measured...

would have done in the same circumstances with the information they had. The Diallo shooting led to a review of police training policy and the use of full metal jacket (FMJ) bullets

Full metal jacket bullet

A full metal jacket is a bullet consisting of a soft core encased in a shell of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel or less commonly a steel alloy. This shell can extend around all of the bullet, or often just the front and sides with the rear left as exposed lead...

.

On March 25, a Bronx grand jury

Grand jury

A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...

indicted

Indictment

An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

the officers on charges of second-degree murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

and reckless endangerment. On December 16 a New York appellate court

Appellate court

An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...

ordered a change of venue

Change of venue

A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publicity about a crime and/or its defendant to another...

to Albany, New York

Albany, New York

, stating that pretrial publicity had made a fair trial in New York City impossible. On February 25, 2000, after two days of deliberations, a mixed-race jury in Albany acquitted the officers of all charges.

Aftermath

Diallo's death, the change of venue, and the verdict each sparked massive demonstrations against police brutality

Police brutality

Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....

and racial profiling

Racial profiling

Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...

, resulting in more than 1,700 arrests over the course of many weeks. Those arrested in the daily protests at the entrance of One Police Plaza came from all walks of life, and included former NYPD officers, former mayor David Dinkins

David Dinkins

David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...

, Congressmen Charlie Rangel and Gregory Meeks

Gregory Meeks

Gregory Weldon Meeks is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes most of Southeastern Queens including Jamaica, Laurelton, Rosedale, Saint Albans, Springfield Gardens, and Far Rockaway, as well as John F. Kennedy International...

, the Revs. Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton

Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...

and Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...

, New York State Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr.

Ruben Diaz Jr.

Rubén Díaz Jr. is the current President of the Borough of the Bronx in New York City. Borough President Díaz was elected in April 2009 and previously served in the New York State Assembly.-Early Life:...

, actress Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...

, as well as British documentary maker Louis Theroux

Louis Theroux

Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...

, his camera crew and more than a dozen rabbis and other clergy, and numerous federal, state, and local politicians. Charges against the protesters were later dropped. In 2001 the Justice Department

United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

announced that it would not charge the officers with violation of Diallo's civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

. In the vestibule where Diallo died, neighbors created a shrine of letters, teddy bears, and other items. Within several weeks, there was a severe rain period and the landlord of the building put all the items in the garbage. A neighbor, Jimmy Spice Curry, was passing and rescued the items, storing them in his home for years until he was able to contact Eugene Adams, of Bronx Community College, who was given the items to donate to Amadou Diallo's mother.

On April 18, 2000, Diallo's mother, Kadiatou, and his stepfather, Sankarella Diallo filed a US$61,000,000 ($20m plus $1m for each shot fired) lawsuit against the City of New York and the officers, charging gross negligence, wrongful death, racial profiling

Racial profiling

Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...

, and other violations of Diallo's civil rights. In March 2004, they accepted a US$3,000,000 settlement. The settlement was reportedly one of the highest against the City of New York for a single man with no dependents under New York State's restrictive wrongful death law, which limits damages to pecuniary loss by the decedent's next of kin.

Anthony H. Gair

Anthony H. Gair

Anthony H. "Tony" Gair is a New York attorney and Advocate. He is a partner of the law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf,Bloom & Rubinowitz, which was founded by his parents in 1945. He looks for cases that are in the public interest. Notably, he represented the family of Amadou Diallo...

, a partner in the law firm of Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman & Mackauf, lead counsel for the Diallo family, argued that Federal common law should apply pursuant to Section 1983 of the civil rights act. In April 2002, as a result of the killing of Diallo and other controversial actions, the Street Crime Unit

Street Crime Unit

The New York Police Department's Street Crime Unit was a plain clothes anti-crime unit. The SCU was formed in 1971 as the "City Wide Anti-Crime Unit" and enjoyed decades of success in apprehending armed felons from the streets of New York City.- Methods :From 1971-1999, the unit was made up of 60...

was disbanded. In 2003, Amadou Diallo's mother Kadiatou published a memoir

Memoir

A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...

, My Heart Will Cross This Ocean: My Story, My Son, Amadou (ISBN 0-345-45600-9), with the help of author Craig Wolff

Craig Wolff

Craig Wolff is a journalist and author and a former sports, feature, and news writer for The New York Times. He was a journalism professor at New York University....

.

Diallo's death became an issue in the 2005 mayoral election in New York City

New York City

. Bronx borough president, and mayoral candidate, Fernando Ferrer

Fernando Ferrer

Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...

, who had protested the circumstances of Diallo's death at the time, told a meeting of police sergeants that although the shooting had certainly been a tragedy, there was subsequently a move to "over-indict" the officers involved. This led to criticism of Ferrer by the Diallo family.

The event spurred subsequent social psychology

Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

research. Eberhard and colleagues (2004) conducted experiments with police officers which revealed that they were quicker to decide to shoot an unarmed black target than an unarmed white target, and were quicker to decide to shoot an armed black target than an armed white target.

Amadou Diallo is buried in the village of Hollande Bourou in the Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...

, a highland

Highland (geography)

The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...

region in the center of Guinea

Guinea

, West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, where his extended family resides.

Cultural references to Diallo

In music, Diallo and the shooting incident has been referred to in works by 88 Keys, Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock

Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...

, Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front is an American hardcore band. The band began playing hardcore similar to their contemporaries, and were thrust to the forefront of the burgeoning New York hardcore scene in the mid-1980s with their widely regarded 1984 classic Victim in Pain before evolving to incorporate thrash...

, Akon

Akon

Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

, Antipop Consortium

Antipop Consortium

Antipop Consortium are an American alternative hip hop group. The group formed in 1997, when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City...

, Anthony David

Anthony David

Anthony David is Professor of Cognitive neuropsychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, part of King's College London.Professor David studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, subsequently training in neurology, then psychiatry...

, Army of the Pharaohs

Army of the Pharaohs

Army of the Pharaohs is a hip hop supergroup originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC, Vinnie Paz in 1998.-Recording history:...

, Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel

Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is a American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,most recently he was in talks with 50 Cent to sign with G-Unit Records and is a former member/artist of Dame Dash Music Group and Roc-A-Fella Records where he had formed a close association with rappers...

, Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

, Big Stan

Big Stan

Big Stan is a 2007 American comedy film produced, directed by and starring Rob Schneider. It is his directorial debut. Although released in some overseas markets during the fall of 2008, it was released straight to DVD in the U.S. on March 24, 2009. It debuted at number 17 on the DVD rental charts...

, Blue Scholars

Blue Scholars

Blue Scholars is a hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic, were students at the University of Washington....

, Brothers Keepers

Brothers Keepers

Brothers Keepers is a German-based transnational anti-racism project, bringing together hip hop, reggae and soul musicians, headed primarily by Afro-Germans.-History:...

, Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer, , also known as Bunny Livingston and affectionately as Jah B, is a singer songwriter and percussionist and was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh...

, Bruce Springsteen

American Skin (41 Shots)

"American Skin " is a song written by Bruce Springsteen, inspired by the police shooting death of Amadou Diallo. Springsteen first performed it in concert in Atlanta on June 4, 2000, the final concert before the tour's final 10-show run at New York City's Madison Square Garden, where it was also...

, Bun B

Bun B

Bernard Freeman better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK . He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas...

, Capone-N-Noreaga

Capone-N-Noreaga

Capone-N-Noreaga was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Capone and Noreaga.-History:In 1996 the duo signed with Penalty Records; it also appeared in The Source magazine's Unsigned Hype column...

, Common

Common (rapper)

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....

, Cunninlynguists

Cunninlynguists

CunninLynguists are a hip hop trio from Lexington, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia. The group currently consists of Deacon the Villain, Kno, and Natti...

, CYNE

CYNE (hip hop group)

CYNE is an American hip-hop group originating from Gainesville, Florida. Characterized with a warm and soulful sound influenced by left-field hip-hop, rock, trip-hop and jazz, the group is known for lyrics that range from party boasting to meditations on the philosophy of Rousseau...

, Damien Marley, Dead Prez

Dead Prez

Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...

, DMX

DMX (rapper)

Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...

, dub proof Strike Anywhere

Strike Anywhere

Strike Anywhere is a punk rock/melodic hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and...

, Elliott Sharp

Elliott Sharp

Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...

, Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu

Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...

, Fabolous

Fabolous

John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

, Fredro Starr

Fredro Starr

Fredro Scruggs better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor from South Jamaica, Queens, New York best known as a member of hardcore hip hop group Onyx.-Music career:...

, Gangstagrass

Gangstagrass

Gangstagrass is a group of musicians in New York City, founded and led by Brooklyn producer "Rench," that combine authentic bluegrass and rap into a new genre. Gangstagrass' music started reaching a wide audience when their song "Long Hard Times to Come" was selected to be the opening theme song...

, The Game

The Game (rapper)

Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...

, Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower atmosphere...

, Immortal Technique

Immortal Technique

Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...

, Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

, Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks is a hip hop duo with Vinnie Paz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Jus Allah from Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz and former producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind...

, Jen Chapin

Jen Chapin

Jen Chapin is an American vocalist. She is the daughter of singer-songwriter Harry Chapin and his wife, Sandra Chapin. She also chairs the Board of Directors of World Hunger Year, a charity organization founded by Harry Chapin. She has been compared at times with Laura Nyro, Tori Amos, and Alanis...

, Jemeni, J-Live

J-Live

J-Live is an MC, DJ, and producer from New York.-Early career and The Best Part:...

, Kool G Rap

Kool G Rap

Nathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...

, KRS-One

KRS-One

Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...

, Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...

, Le Tigre

Le Tigre

Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...

, Leftöver Crack

Leftöver Crack

Leftöver Crack is an American punk rock band formed in 1998, following the breakup of the ska punk band Choking Victim. Primarily playing an amalgam of ska and hardcore punk, they classify themselves as "crack-rocksteady". The band is currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords for CD releases, and...

, Mash Out Posse, Merauder

Merauder

-History:The group formed in 1990, establishing itself on the eastern U.S. hardcore/metal scene through frequent touring and a few demo releases. In 1995, the band released an EP after vocalist Jorge joined, and toured with Biohazard...

, Mike Ladd

Mike Ladd

Mike Ladd is a hip-hop MC and producer. As an MC, he practices spoken-word and is known for his poetic lyrics. As a producer, he is known as the owner of the Likemadd label.-Biography:...

, Mischief Brew

Mischief Brew

Mischief Brew is a band from Philadelphia which plays DIY anarcho-punk music, also incorporating a variety of styles including American folk, swing, Gypsy-punk and country. It was started by Erik Petersen as a solo project, but eventually grew into a band...

, Monsta Island Czars

Monsta Island Czars

Monsta Island Czars is a hip-hop group based in New York City, New York, USA most notable for members MF Grimm and former member MF DOOM.-History:...

, Mos Def

Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...

, Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...

, Northern State, Organized Noise, Papoose

Papoose (rapper)

Shamele Mackie , better known by his stage name Papoose , is an American rapper.-Biography:Born March 5, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York City by Sierra Leone and Native American parents, Papoose made his first attempts at rapping at the age of 7. He was given his name by his grandma Vivian because of...

, Paris

Paris (rapper)

Oscar Jackson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Paris is an American rapper from San Francisco, California, known for his highly charged political and socially conscious lyrics...

, Percee P

Percee P

Percee P is a hip hop artist from the Patterson Projects in The Bronx, New York City, United States. Percee P has been writing and performing since 1979, yet his debut album Perseverance was not released until September 18, 2007, produced entirely by Madlib.He was known in the underground for...

, Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe Monch is an American hip hop artist. He is known for his complex lyrics, complex delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.-Biography:...

, Posdnous, Public Enemy, Rah Digga

Rah Digga

Rah Digga is an American rapper. Well known as a long time member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes, she parted ways amicably with the group in 2007. She has been called "one of rap's most prominent women MCs" by Allmusic and "one of hip-hop's most skilled female MCs" in...

, Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...

, Roni Size

Roni Size

Roni Size is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective...

, Roy Campbell

Roy Campbell, Jr.

Roy Campbell, Jr. is versatile trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, though he has also performed rhythm and blues, bebop and funk at times during his career. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1952, Campbell was raised in New York. At age fifteen Campbell began learning to play trumpet and...

, Saigon

Saigon (rapper)

Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and occasional actor.Saigon is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest...

, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Shyne

Shyne

Moshe Levi Ben-David , better known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean rapper.-Background:...

, Spooks

The Spooks

Spooks was an American hip-hop/R&B group, active in the late 1990s. After attaining success throughout Europe with their album S.I.O.S.O.S., Vol. 1, Spooks garnered a hit with the single, "Things I've Seen",...

, Sporty Thievz

Sporty Thievz

Sporty Thievz was a Yonkers, New York hip-hop group, originally a trio, composed of King Kirk , Big Dubez and Marlon Bryant Brando...

, State Radio

State Radio

State Radio is an alternative rock band from Sherborn, Massachusetts, consisting of Chad Urmston , Chuck Fay and Mike Najarian...

, Sun Rise Above

Sun Rise Above

Sun Rise Above, also known as Sun R. A., is a hip-hop artist, notable for his leftist political views and corresponding lyrics. Sun Rise Above calls his form of music hiphopraganda...

, Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...

, Terry Callier

Terry Callier

Terrence O. Callier, known as Terry Callier is an American jazz, soul and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Life and career:...

, T.o.n.e-Z, Trivium

Trivium (band)

Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...

, Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

, Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...

, Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...

, MaQ SteeZ, Zack de la Rocha

Zack de la Rocha

Zacarías Manuel "Zack" de la Rocha is an American rapper, musician, poet, and activist best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Rage Against the Machine.-Early life and childhood:...

, and Ziggy Marley

Ziggy Marley

David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...

.

In books and poetry, there are references in works by Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. He has been described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate", and his sentence is one of the most debated today...

, Lorenzo Thomas

Lorenzo Thomas

Lorenzo Thomas was a career United States Army officer who was Adjutant General of the Army at the beginning of the American Civil War. After the war, he was appointed temporary Secretary of War by President Andrew Johnson, precipitating Johnson's impeachment.-Early life:Thomas was born in New...

, Ross Gay

Ross Gay

Ross Gay is an American poet and professor. He is the author of two collections of poetry, Against Which and Bringing the Shovel Down...

, Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...

, Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...

, Jeffrey McDaniel

Jeffrey McDaniel

Jeffrey McDaniel is an American poet. He has published four books of poetry, most recently 'The Endarkenment' . He is the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts...

, Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben is an American author of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past and often have multiple plot twists...

, Inga Muscio

Inga Muscio

Inga Muscio, , is a feminist, anti-racist writer and public speaker.She became famous after the publication of her 1998 Seal Press book Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, which called for women to break down boundaries between themselves and their bodies, and each other.She is also the author of...

, Charlie Huston

Charlie Huston

Charlie Huston is an American author of crime novels and superhero comic books. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the actress Virginia Louise Smith...

, Paul Stoller, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Mukoma wa Ngugi

Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ

Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ is a Kenyan poet and author. His father is the author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.Mũkoma holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Creative Writing . He is the author of Conversing with Africa: Politics of Change and Hurling Words at Consciousness...

, Abraham Rodriguez

Abraham Rodriguez

Abraham Rodriguez Jr. is a Puerto Rican novelist and short story author who writes in English about the experience of Latinos in the United States. Although he has been living in Germany since the mid-90s, Rodriguez continues to set his stories in the South Bronx...

, and Meena Alexander

Meena Alexander

Meena Alexander is an internationally acclaimed poet, scholar, and writer. Born in Allahabad, India, and raised in India and Sudan, Alexander lives and works in New York City, where she is Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College in the and at the CUNY Graduate Center in the...

.

In film and television, there are references to the Diallo case in 25th Hour
25th Hour
25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and is based on the novel The 25th Hour written by David Benioff, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox...

, Phone Booth, Double Take, The Awful Truth
The Awful Truth (TV series)
The Awful Truth was a satirical television show that was directed, written, and hosted by filmmaker Michael Moore, and funded by the British broadcaster Channel 4.-Format:...

, Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends is a television documentary series, in which Louis Theroux gives viewers the chance to get brief glimpses into the worlds of individuals and groups that they would not normally come into contact with or experience up close...

, NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

, The Boondocks
The Boondocks (TV series)
The Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, based on McGruder's comic strip of the same name...

and Tell No One
Tell No One
Tell No One is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. It was written by Guillame Canet and Philippe Lefèbvre and stars François Cluzet...

.

The 2004 short "The Adventures of Supernigger" by Alrick Brown allegorically tells the story of the Diallo shooting in a cartoon-like way and is dedicated to Amadou Diallo.

External links

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Biography

Events surrounding death

Aftermath

Cultural references to Diallo

See also

Similar cases

External links