(CNN) -- Michael Jordan once summed up his social and political activism in four simple words: "Republicans buy sneakers, too." 

In a world where athletes and celebrities seem more willing to attach their names to high-priced sneakers and headphones than real-world issues, many are thrusting themselves directly into an uncomfortable national debate over police brutality and racial injustice. 

It's not only people with prominent names; there are medical students, congressional staffers, a university president and even a Northern California police chief. 

A spate of controversial police slayings of unarmed black men served as the catalyst. 

But the case of Eric Garner, a New York grandfather who was put in a fatal chokehold by a police officer trying to arrest him for selling cigarettes illegally, has resonated with whites and nonwhites alike. 

Commentators across the political spectrum have united to condemn last week's decision by a grand jury not to indict white New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner's death, which was captured on a video seen around the globe. According to Pantaleo's lawyer, the officer says he didn't use a chokehold on Garner. 

The outpouring started in earnest one week before the New York decision, with the long-awaited announcement of a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown. That decision was met with violent demonstrations in Ferguson and largely peaceful protests throughout the nation. 

On November 3, five St. Louis Rams players infuriated some people with a silent message before a game against the Oakland Raiders. Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt walked onto the field and raised their palms in the air, demonstrating the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture protesters in Ferguson had been using for months. 
How old was he?
unarmed teen Michael Brown