lives fall victim to systemic violence each day. Headlines spread
in response to recent events claiming that Black Lives Matter
is anti-police or anti-white people, firing back with correction
using the hashtags #BlueLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter.
All lives cannot possibly matter while a specific group of people are being treated differently due to the color of their
skin. Their interaction with law enforcement is a manifestation
of racial disparity that affects every aspect of their live from
housing, to access to medical coverage and healthy food to
education and impacted prisons. While I understand why some
people think that by saying “All Lives Matter” unifies all causes, it actually diverts attention from the issue facing the Black
community. We lost two Black people unnecessarily. We did.
Black people. We don’t have to remind anyone that all lives
matter because everyone else’s life seems to matter more than
the Black man or Black woman. If you want to unify and work
together then join us by saying that “Black Lives Matter” instead
#AltonSterling
QUINNÉE ZIMMERMAN
of perpetuating division by separating yourself from everyone
else. It’s simple things like this that can impact larger change.
Spending time justifying your position to a community that is
already hurting due to the unashamed violence of the police
is insensitive and ignorant. These incidents are fresh and stay
fresh like the constant picking of a scab. You want to help?
Show that you can stand with us while screaming Black LivesMatter with our fists raised high. Don’t be the person on the
soapbox trying to drag attention away by introducing a larger
picture when the only pictures we’ve seen all day are photos
of dead Black bodies lying in the street or car, bleeding out.
All lives cannot
possibly matter while a
specific group of
people are being
treated differently due
to the color of their
skin.
All of the attention, protests, poems and videos are great. Conversations of the issues and proactive solutions to shift the
narrative to go beyond police brutality and tackle the larger construct of how Black people are
seen and treated in America feels good. But,
what happens when the hashtag starts to fall
down — pushed out by new, fun things
like the release of Pokemon Go? What
happens when viral videos stop being circulated? What happens when
celebrities stop tweeting about the
issues and start promoting their
latest film, single or product?
What happens when people
begin to lose interest in Black
lives and fall back into being
complacent and content with
the dysfunctionality of our
justice system? Oh, wait.
Nevermind, here comes
another hashtag.
Am I Nexr?
DEANNA WOLFE
#PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #MikeBrown
#TrayvonMartin #RedelJones #RekiaBoyd
#TamirRice #LaquanMcDonald #DontreHamilton
#Eric Garner #CharlesKinsey #BreaionKing
#JohnCrawfordIII #EzellFord #TanishaAndeson
#DanteParker #AkaiGurley #RumainBrisbon
# JerameReid # TonyRobinson #PhillipWhite
#EricHarris #SandraBland #WalterScott
#FreddieGray # KajiemePowell #TyreeWoodson
#YvetteSmith #JordanBaker #ChristianTaylor
#KimaniGray #AiyanaJones #DeEscalateDontKill