“A central issue in cases like this is a failure to fully value black lives. That alone can be deadly. But we should also ask about a companion problem, one that shows itself the most with regard to accountability: an over-weighting of white intentions.” From Amy Davidson in The New Yorker: What the Eric Garner Grand Jury Didn’t See.

+ The NYT Editorial Board: “The imbalance between Mr. Garner’s fate, on a Staten Island sidewalk in July, and his supposed infraction, selling loose cigarettes, is grotesque and outrageous.”

+ FiveThirtyEight: Why the grand jury in Staten Island was especially unlikely to convict.

+ They shouted, “I can’t breathe.” The Atlantic shares scenes from last night’s protest in NYC. Meanwhile, social media exploded with a series of hashtags and dueling messages. I’m not sure the transparency of social media has done much to foster understanding. We either ignore each other or we yell at each other. But no man is an island. (Not even Staten.)