A nine-year-old girl has made an emotional plea to the Charlotte city council in North Carolina to end the fatal police shootings of African-Americans.

Zianna Oliphant broke down in front of the Charlotte citizens forum as she delivered a powerful message to police and politicians following last week’s violence-marred protests over the shooting of an unarmed black man.

She stepped up to the podium, her brother lowering the microphone to her mouth, and spoke to the city’s law enforcement about race relations.

Watch Zianna Oliphant’s emotional plea below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-40NW2Ysdw

“I feel like we are treated differently than other people and I don’t like how we’re treated,” Zianna said.

“Just because of our colour doesn’t mean anything to me.”

The young girl broke into sobs as the crowd encouraged her to push on.

“We are black people and we shouldn’t have to feel like this.”

“We shouldn’t have to protest because y’all are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to and [we] have rights.

“I’ve been born and raised in Charlotte and I’ve never felt this way until now.

“It’s a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed, and we can’t even see them anymore – it’s a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them.

“We have tears and we shouldn’t have tears.

“We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side.”

The forum was the first council meeting since the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed at a Charlotte apartment complex during an encounter with police.

Citizens used the forum as a platform to criticise the city’s Mayor, the police chief and other city leaders for their response to the shooting – namely for originally refusing to release the footage of the shooting.

The shooting and the city’s handling of the incident sparked a series of protests that saw 12 officers injured and one protester on life support after being shot during the unrest.

The ongoing tensions and violence prompted North Carolina’s Governor to declare a state of emergency.