Are the lives of dogs and gorillas more meaningful than an African American's life in America? Why does the world want to silence us when this has been going on for so long and has yet to be stopped, whether legally or illegally? Do you want us to be silent as our brothers and sisters are unjustly murdered by people that we are supposed to trust to protect and serve? I have Caucasian officer friends and I thank God that the only characteristic that they share with their idiot colleagues is their racial background but at the same time, my friends, do you guys condone these behaviors? Do you watch idly by as my race is annihilated by the system that was designed for a country that was built on the backs of our ancestors? Are we supposed to just succumb to the pressures of assimilation and discard our entire identity (although most of us are not sure of it because the majority stripped that from us generations ago) to become slaves to a system of service to the majority? To the African American community, what will it take for us to stand together and protest and put our best foot forward at creating change?
Alton Sterling
President Obama was a milestone but these killings have erupted during his presidency and some may think it's a systematic way of killing the legacy that he will leave behind. Whether we agree on his presidency or not, you cannot deny the fact that for many minorities, he is proof that we can at least become arguably the most powerful man or woman in the world. Do we sit back and let that inspiration fade as crimes continue to spike and happen? Do we just become targets of the corruption that transcends through our judicial system? Do we just share, tweet, and post about killings without going to the governor's mansions and the mayor's communities and protesting about the demand for changes, not only within our policing policies and organizations but also on the bigger levels of politics and legal matters? Why hasn't the NAACP taken these matters seriously? Where is Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the people that some of you idolize for "fighting for justice" when these events happen? We don't want book signings. We don't want spirituals being sung by Black mothers as countless killings of Blacks are sprayed across local and national news channels. We cannot continue to let this happen and not have a voice.
If you're serious about "sticking it to the man" or not only getting your voices heard but your feelings felt (although truly they can never feel how we've felt), go to your civil rights groups and activists and develop plans of action to make this change. Our generation has seen scary days but I assure you that scarier days are upon us if we do not band together as our grandparents, great-grandparents and those beyond them did. If we do not truly act on securing equal protection by the laws, we are allowing things to happen. Maybe I'm too idealistic and optimistic, but I do believe we will act against society's apparent nature at presuming African Americans are guilty and justly murdered under those "circumstances" under which they were murdered. I do believe that we will stand and not just speak on issues that corrupt us within our own community.
Philando Castille
I am just a 22 year old man in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but my heart grieves for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille and I, along with my brothers and sisters in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, the South, America, and the world will not continue to stand for this. I want to schedule (or attend) a meeting within our communities (if possible) where we discuss our next move of action. Malcolm did speeches but he also acted on his word. Martin did more speeches but he also acted on his word. There are several prominent figures and lesser-known figures who acted on these issues. I don't care about losing money because that does not save me from bullets. Lastly, why don't we get as upset when we kill each other? Why don't we support our own businesses as much as we support these other businesses? Why don't we truly and actively support our own communities when we support other communities? Don't just tweet and snap and blog about this stuff. That's the first step, don't get me wrong, but don't stop there. Please act on your feelings if they are genuine. I love all, regardless of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or anything else. Please figure out if we're just talking or if we are truly going to act on the erroneous results of our lack of justice. God Bless You All.
