LettersLatest US police shooting of a black man yet another symptom of systemic racism in America

The latest tragedy took place in Ohio in the rust belt, where economic decline and entrenched racism have proved a potent mix

In Hong Kong, people should be glad for the professionalism and restraint of the police force

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Demonstrators protest against the police shooting death of Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio, on July 3. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:30pm, 11 Jul 2022

Feel strongly about this letter, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.

In the week before the Fourth of July celebration in the US this year, an unarmed African-American named Jayland Walker – who had worked as a delivery man for DoorDash and recently lost his fiancée – was chased by the police over an unspecified traffic violation and shot dead. He suffered at least 60 wounds.

Some background on the city of Akron, Ohio, where the tragedy happened, is necessary for contextualisation. Akron, Ohio is located in what has been known as the rust belt, a strip of land spanning across the Midwest from which capital and talent fled, due first to deindustrialisation starting in the 1980s, followed by the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Chinese accession to the World Trade Organization.

The region’s fate mirrors the decline of automobile production in the US. There was massive unemployment with people incapable of achieving upward social mobility.