美国国家公共电台 NPR--Activists in Kansas City protest the shooting of Ralph Yarl, call for strict sentence

Activists² in Kansas City protest the shooting of Ralph Yarl, call for strict sentence

Transcript³

People turned out for a rally in Kansas City, Mo., to honor Ralph Yarl, the 16-year-old who mistakenly went to the wrong house and was shot. The homeowner has been charged in the case.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Eighty-four-year-old Andrew Lester turned himself into authorities Tuesday for shooting a Black teenager. Lester, who is white, told authorities he shot Ralph Yarl out of fear after Yarl rang Lester's doorbell by mistake. Lester is now out on bond. Activists in Kansas City held a rally to protest the initial delay in arresting the shooter and to call for a strict sentence. Reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga was there.

BEK SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA, BYLINE⁴: Civil rights leaders and activists packed a park in downtown Kansas City to demand justice for 16-year-old Ralph Yarl.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Justice.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: When do we want it?

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Now.

SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: They called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the shooting as a hate crime. Activist¹ Dee Porter (ph) says North Kansas City, where she lives and where the shooting happened, and the rest of the country has an issue with racism⁵.

DEE PORTER: We're still where we were. Sometimes I question - are we in 1956 or are we in 2023? - because this is constantly happening.

SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Vanessa Harris (ph), Yarl's cousin, was at the rally. She says she and her cousin are really close and she hurts for him. Lester was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, both felonies. But Harris and many others at the rally say that's not enough.

VANESSA HARRIS: The guy should be - Andrew Lester, he should be charged with attempted murder and not just assault because he shot him. And he could have died right there in cold blood.

SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Lester's bail⁶ was set at $200,000, but he posted $20,000 in cash and was released. Yarl is a talented musician and high school student. He's from a tight-knit Liberian community in Kansas City. Many of his community members, like Denise Dia (ph), came to show their support Tuesday. Dia says she lives in a primarily white neighborhood with her small daughters. And she worries they'll experience racism, too.

DENISE DIA: You're, like, on edge. There's no way to relax and make - you know, even when your kids are at school, there's no place safe. This is not the America that we fled our country to come to.

SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Dia says this isn't the first time she's protested for racial justice in America. She took part in the 2020 protests following George Floyd's death. But this time, the protest hit closer to home. And Dia says they won't give up until justice is served. Dia says although Yarl has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home, he will never again have a normal childhood.

For NPR News, I'm Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga in Kansas City.

(SOUNDBITE OF LIBRARY TAPES AND JULIA KENT'S "BRANCHES")

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。