Authors: Victor Trammell and Hannan Muzeyen

Photo credits: Andy Cross for the Denver Post

Elijah McClain (pictured) used to be bespattered throughout TV monitors and webpages during 2020.

This was about the peak upon rallies opposing law enforcement barbarity inside Denver, Colorado, and all of the States. McClain’s namesake got inscribed upon clothes, accessories, and memorial works of art. However, young Elijah was birthed by Sheneen McClain – the woman and mother who is still grieving after his tragic August 24, 2019 murder.

For Ms. McClain, raising her son Elijah was a life experience full of adverse complexities. The mother and young son lacked residential stability, financial security, and a liberating sense of social continuity.

His legacy has to be about what’s right in this world, but, unfortunately, his death is highlighted by what is wrong in the world. Elijah’s legacy is about how humanity matters, how our lives matter,” Sheneen McClain said in a Denver Post interview for an article, which profiled the anniversary of her son’s deadly encounter with racist police.

Elijah McClain’s demise enraged myriads of US citizens, which shifted the scope of law enforcement policy – to regenerate new and more humane practices in Colorado. This triggered various probes in the Aurora Police Department’s bilateral conflict procedures, exercises, and recruiting routines.

A federative suit was enacted through Sheneen who accused officers of murdering her son.

On August 24, 2019, McClain was strolling to his house from a gas station. Somebody called the police to erratically claim that McClain was being suspicious. When the authorities got there, officers abruptly grabbed McClain with force. He rightfully asked the officers what he was being apprehended for.

Officers then physically brutalized McClain. When the ambulance got there, he was hoisted into the vehicle then stuck with a needle by medical workers. Subsequently, before getting to the hospital, McClain died.

“My name’s Elijah McClain. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all,” he confirmed as he uttered last words.

McClain suffered from a mental illness, which he treated through the usage of medication. The chemical paramedics injected him with had a negative reaction to the medication McClain used to treat his psychiatric deficiency. His unjust death is a testament to not only the racism in America but its insensitivity to the needs of mentally ill people.

Nevertheless, McClain’s legacy must live on. It forces this nation to come to grips with the negligence of its duty to uphold basic human rights – for the voiceless and helpless.