Protest Sign Claimed “White Lives Matter” at Vigil For Teen Shot by Fresno Police

FEATURING CHENJERAI KUMANYIKA – A young man was killed by police in Fresno, California in June. Dylan Noble was pulled over while in his truck and ordered out. Police claimed that he refused to show both his hands at the same time and that he muttered something to the effect of “I hate my life.” Officers shot the 19-year old four times. Dylan Nobel was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police officers were wearing body cameras but the footage has yet to be released.

Dylan Noble was not a young black man. He was a young white man. He was one of 7 people shot at by police in Fresno this year alone.

Days later at a vigil protesting his killing, friends, family, and other residents of Fresno county gathered on the side of the road where he was killed. But what marred the protest was that at least one confederate flag was flown alongside a sign saying “White Lives Matter.”

Chenjerai Kumanyika is an Assistant Professor of Communications Studies at Clemson University in South Carolina and a correspondent for Rising Up.