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U.S. media should cover Ohio riots

April 1, 2001.

The day will live in the minds of many Americans. One Chinese pilot is killed when his fighter jet and an American spy plane have a mid-air collision. Twenty-four American soldiers land in China’s Hainan Island and are detained for 10 days. Two countries come to a standstill as tensions rise over talks to bring the soldiers home.

However, April 7, 2001, will be remembered by few, if any, of the Americans who stopped all to watch the latest newscast over the situation in China.

One family will forever remember April 7. They will remember it as the day when Timothy Thomas, an unarmed 19-year-old black man from Cincinnati, fled from police who were trying to arrest him. The family will remember April 7 as the day Thomas — their son, brother, friend — was shot and killed by the officer that chased him.

Then, riots erupt in Cincinnati. Mayor Charles Luken imposes a mandatory curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and declares a state of emergency for the area. Police arrest 837 adults and juveniles on either criminal charges or the misdemeanor offense of curfew violation. About 250 shouting demonstrators take over an April 9 City Council meeting.

Thomas was the fifth black man since September to be killed by Cincinnati police officers. He was the 15th since 1995. Obviously, lessons haven’t been learned from the first 14 deaths. Obviously, these 14 people have been forgotten by the society that killed them.

It’s easy to get caught up in international events and to forget about what is happening on U.S. soil.

It’s easy to focus on the good ol’ American men and women being detained in China while two countries battle it out with words, trying to see who will give first. In the midst, it’s easy to look past the fact that America has lost one of its own. After all, people are shot and killed everyday in America, but how often do 24 soldiers spend 10 days in China, courtesy of the Chinese government?

Focusing on the exception rather than the normal, it’s the easy way out.

But we shouldn’t be looking for the easy way out. It becomes a problem when going the extra distance means covering something that happened to your next-door neighbor, in this case Cincinnati. Thomas’ situation is one that shouldn’t be buried inside a newspaper or forgotten in the minds of Americans.

Thomas’ family will remember April 7, 2001, for maybe the rest of their lives. Let’s make sure that this incident or any others like it don’t get forgotten as well. For once, let’s not look for the easy way out.

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