Vivian Strong’s Legacy Lives On in Omaha History

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Desiree Fairooz holds up a sign during a protest against the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown at the Department of Justice in Washington, Dec. 1, 2014. A grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Brown, an unarmed black man. Protesters across the U.S. have walked off their jobs or away from classes in support of the Ferguson protesters. Monday's walkouts stretched from New York to San Francisco, and included Chicago and Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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On this day in 1969, 14-year-old Vivian Strong was killed by an Omaha police officer.

Vivian, a Black girl, was at a dance party with other teenagers inside a vacant unit at a public housing complex.

Neighbors called the police after reporting young people in the empty apartment. When officers arrived, the teenagers ran.

Vivian was unarmed. The officer fired one shot, hitting her in the back of the head as she ran away.

She died instantly. Her killing sparked several days of unrest in North Omaha, especially along 24th Street, where residents protested police violence and racial inequality.

The officer was charged with manslaughter, but an all-white jury acquitted him in 1970.

Vivian Strong’s story remains part of Omaha’s history and a reminder of a 14-year-old child whose life was taken by police, and the community that demanded accountability afterward.

Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane

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