The Root, Published By Jessica Washington
Updated as of 5/10/2023 at 12:00 p.m. ET
It’s been a week since Jordan Neely was killed by a white ex-Marine Daniel Penny inside a New York Subway car. The 30-year-old Black Michael Jackson impersonator was held down by several passengers and choked to death while an on-looker filmed. Jackson, who was unhoused, was screaming that he was “hungry” and “thirsty” shortly before he died.
Amid widespread grief over this senseless tragedy, some New Yorkers have felt that city leaders, including Mayor Eric Adams, failed to properly condemn Neely’s killer. Adams’ initial statements focused almost entirely on Neely’s mental health and not on the fact that an unarmed Black man, who witnesses said had not harmed anyone, was killed in broad daylight. Read more
