In light of everything that has happened in the news in the past week with the senseless murders, this is a sad world we live in, and I do not think anyone can take much more.

My heart aches in every aspect possible from Alton Sterling and Philando Castile to the Dallas shootings. This has to stop.

As an African American woman in 2016, it truly is hard to see all of these crazy events unfold before my eyes. Every time I hear that a black man has been shot by a police officer, I want to scream at the world because it did not have to happen. They didn’t deserve to die and no one should ever have to encounter that.

Despite everything that is taking place, I think it is important to remember that coming together is crucial and violence is never the answer and it has never been the answer.

I have heard from various people on what they think the solution is. But the one thing that had a lasting impact on me was what I heard on the radio on my way to work. A guy called into WPGC 95.5 and stated that communities needed to come together as a society and understand that enough is enough. No more hashtags, no more tweets here and there and no more talking about it for a week and then ignoring it until the next unnecessary murder happens.

There are ways to take action peacefully. Reaching out to local legislators, state senators and judicial leaders is a great way to get involved and to truly see change.

Educating ourselves is another key factor in this. Know your history. It often repeats itself.

And lastly, letting other people know the severity of what is going in this country is important and necessary. Getting everyone involved is the best thing to happen right now.

10 years ago I would have never thought that I would be witnessing this. It seriously breaks my heart to see people killed every day due to gun violence and it makes no sense. Why the fighting? Why the killing? Why the recklessness? Why the retaliation?

My friends and I often talk about the evil things that happen in the world and all we do is shake our heads, because this is not right.

It is time to take action, and I mean the right action. No more killing, no more shooting, no more retaliating in a violent way and no more waiting around. This will not happen overnight, but it is time to establish a starting point.

As a people I believe that we can turn things around the right way and in a meaningful way by coming together.