John Kariuki
12 October 2008
Nairobi — Ordinarily, Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo would have remained another statistic in the US; another African who survived by doing odd jobs as a street merchant to make a living in the Bronx.
But all that changed in that fateful day of February 1999 when 19 policemen pumped 41 bullets into his body sparking a nationwide outcry. Overnight, his name was drawing headlines all over the country.
Police alleged that Diallo, who was newly arrived in the US, had defied orders and had taken an aggressive posture when confronted by the undercover crime unit, who claimed to have mistaken his wallet for a gun. They said that the two factors prompted their reaction.
But an increasing number of people who saw it as a case of racial profiling and general example of police brutality.
There were protest marches demanding justice as residents of New York and civil rights activists put the spotlight on the city and justice not just for Diallo's death but also for other alleged cases of racial profiling committed by the New York Police Department.
The story is now told in a new docudrama titled, 365 Days of Marching: The Amadou Diallo Story, that retraces the events leading up to the shooting and the outrage as told through the eyes of the protesters and the victim's parents. Also featured are African-American civil rights activists such as Reverend Al Sharpton.
It is produced, written and directed by Veronica Keith and takes the story beyond the murder and looks at other cases of injustice committed by the city police. It is the first time that a movie has been made about an African immigrant.
The emotive story also inspired the victim's mother to a write a book, Across the Seas I Shall Cross, where she tells the story of her son.
The case has been settled with the family accepting $3 million, a settlement which their lawyer said is evidence that New York City wanted to make amends.
The story has also put the spotlight on the life of African immigrants abroad and the attention it has drawn is likely to generate more such movies.
A foundation has been formed to keep his memory alive.
It will promote issues of racial harmony and student exchange between Africa and the United States.
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