George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown , Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, John Crawford III, Sean Bell, Walter Scott, Akai Gurley, Terence Crutcher, Samuel DuBose, Jamar Clark, Ezell Ford, Dontre Hamilton, Jerome Reid, Antonio Martin, Jeremy McDole, Tanisha Anderson...
The list goes on.
How many more?
I often ask myself this question every time I hear about another unlawful killing of an unarmed African American.
Haven't we suffered enough?
Each one of these names belongs to a son, daughter, someone's sister, brother, husband, friend, cousin...
Their lives had value and purpose. Their lives mattered. Black Lives Matter.
America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave yet African American men and women across the country walk around in fear because they know that one day the freedom that their ancestors fought so hard for, could easily be taken away from them with handcuffs; or worse, a bullet to the chest.
Every day we walk around with an invisible target on our backs.
Police officers no longer symbolize trusted law enforcers who come and save the day, instead the black community sees them as the enemy, someone they're afraid of.
The African American community has had no time to heal from the pain that has been brought among us due to the unjust killings at the hands of law enforcement and those who hate us because of the color of our skin.
Historically, the ancestors of many African Americans helped build this very land we call America.
Great and late intellectuals like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had different views on the idea of non-violence yet both men believed that the promises of freedom and justice had not been met.
During his lifetime Dr. King said at Stanford University in the speech titled "Other America",
"A riot is the language of the unheard"
Do you hear us America?
We will never have true peace and equality until the laws and freedoms of this country apply to every individual and not just those who benefit from the privilege that their skin has given them.
SAY THEIR NAMES.
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