Memorial Portrait Poster of Michael Pipkins, killed by Cleveland police on December 28, 1992
“It was the holiday season and he was sitting out on the stoop or on the curb at around 131st and Miles. Allegedly there was a stolen car nearby and so they wanted to pin the stolen car on Michael. They came at Michael. They told his friend, “You better get out of here. You’re going to get arrested.” And they proceeded to be on his back, on his neck, choking him. A man across the street was watching TV. He saw them on Michael, then he went back to his TV. Five minutes later he went back out looking and saw what was happening. They were still on his back, choking him, and he died. His family took it hard. It was probably the biggest upsurge in Cleveland in years. That’s it. One of the points around the prolonged protest was people actually went every week to City Hall protesting this killing. At one point the safety director and other officials had an interview with Michael Pipkins’ parents, and one of the things the safety director said was, “You guys were both involved in the nationalist movement of the 60s, so you taught him how to hate the police.”–Bill Swain