Justice

A Tulsa Teacher Shares What Terence Crutcher's Death Did to Her Students

September 22nd 2016

When police bullets killed unarmed Terence Crutcher this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his death left behind four children.

A teacher at his daughter's school in Tulsa wrote a Facebook post about the impact his death had on the community and the students she teaches.

School bus. Flickr/ThoseGuys119 - flic.kr

Rebecca Lee's emotional post about her students' sadness and anger has been shared more than 65,000 times.

Lee writes that her school's teachers and administrators decided to create a "safe space" for students to talk about Crutcher's death and that the experience truly underscores the reason for Black Lives Matter.

A teacher in Tulsa posts about her students' reactions to Terence Crutcher's death. Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

Lee wrote that the younger children in the school, who are around the age of 10, are confused by the shooting.They want to know why the police had to kill Crutcher.

One black girl pleads for white people to have a better view of black Americans.

"I wish white people would give us a chance," she said according to Lee's post. "We can all come together and get along. We can all be united."

Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

A group of sixth grade girls were friends with one of Crutcher's daughters. They sat next to her in class, according to Lee's post.

"The group of sixth grade girls that surround me are either red-eyed or withdrawn," Lee wrote. "They sit next to Mr. Crutcher's daughter in class. They are her friends."

Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

School bus. Flickr/ThoseGuys119 - flic.kr

The older students, ages 13 and 14, are angry. Lee's post says that one student says she feels like punching someone.

Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

Lee wrote that she shared this story to show how police shootings of black people affect an entire community, especially black children.

"We are shaping their world view with blood and bullets, hashtags and viral videos," she wrote.

Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

People in Lee's Facebook comments were moved by her post and offered their support.

Facebook/Rebecca Lee - facebook.com

Native Americans, Black people and Latinos are disproportionately stopped, searched, and killed more often by police than white Americans.

You can read Rebecca Lee's full post on her Facebook page.

RELATED: Police Chief Goes Off-Script About Shootings of Unarmed Black Men

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