All lives matter.

They matter because every single human being on this earth deserves to be respected and live in a safe and nurturing environment.

All lives matter because humans are all of the same species, and to approach the subject of humanity in any other light is counterintuitive to a productive social environment.

All lives matter, and it seems like common sense. Yet we are forced to tell our societies that life in general matters, because most societies have consistently failed to value all life in equity.

All lives matter, and yet 163 of the 708 people shot by police in 2016 were African American.

All lives matter, and because they do, I have found it hard to forget the sound of Eric Garner moaning in pain as officers who are only empowered to protect our citizens were in fact beating Garner for no reason.

All lives matter, but Terrence Sterling's didn't seem to.

All lives matter, but we could not demonstrate this ideal when Trayvon Martin got shot.

All lives matter, and you have to understand that 138 black citizens (who make up only 13 percent of our nation) were killed by police officers in 2016. 238 white citizens were killed in the same year.

All lives matter, and that's why when Yusef Hawkins was killed by a group of white people in 1989, his father said "It would've made a difference if one white person, any white person, came to the funeral and said 'I'm sorry for what happened.'"

All lives matter, yet I am astounded by the irony of the fact that the majority of the people who use this phrase use it as opposition to the value of particularly threatened lives.

All lives matter, but when people who are white and safe use it, the meaning of the phrase is devalued or perhaps entirely changed.

All lives matter, but that does not mean that we should not highlight when certain lives are not protected in the same ways as others.

All lives matter, and that means that we sometimes have to engage in a societal reimbursement and retribution. It means that we have to acknowledge that instead of all lives mattering, some lives don't matter at all.

All lives matter. And if all lives truly matter, then we must be sure to recognize that until we have balanced our scales and reprimanded our society for various injustices, black lives matter most.