I saw the video. Most of us saw the video. I read the officer’s report and the video shows she clearly lied. Betty Shelby said Terence Crutcher was high on drugs and if the Medical Examiner (M.E.) doesn’t find any in his system there should be repercussions. But there won’t. It hasn’t happened before when it should, so why should I, or anyone else, believe there will be consequences now?

This isn’t a “bad apple” issue. There are certainly a few, but when will “a few bad apples” become what’s plainly obvious: systematic racism. Though it isn’t completely the officers at fault for the senseless murders.

We have created a culture over hundreds of years that has a perpetual view on African Americans, Hispanics and other racially diverse individuals. We've created a culture where it's believed that African Americans are broke and lazy; they join gangs and kill each other because they’re violent. We assume they don’t work as hard as the other races and it shows because many are in the ghettos. We think that Hispanics are here to steal the jobs hard-working Americans could or should have. We think they don’t pay taxes because they’re "illegal." We suppose that they probably have ten kids with three different "baby mamas." Both African Americans and Hispanics are stereotyped to not pay child support for their children and run away from their problems.

This is why players in the NFL and other professional sports teams are protesting the National Anthem. Francis Scott Key, the author of the poem “Star Spangled Banner," was, in fact, a slave owner who was harshly against slavery being illegal. Today, sports players are protesting the murders of fellow minorities. While there are cops who do an amazing job at protecting and serving American citizens, who deserve our respect and admiration, there are also ones who don’t. It doesn’t matter your color, your gender, your sexuality-- there is a "good" and "bad" for all types of people. Yet we keep allowing a push that lets people stereotype each other and fellow Americans into groups because we like organization; not all organization is good organization. We aren't talking about separating bowls of M&Ms, we are talking about separating human beings.

The United States does have a problem with cops murdering minorities. A part of it is the cops fault, the other part of it is American culture which has made and maintained a negative dichotomy of minorities which has led to the issues that continue to press today.

Some believe it’s the media pushing an agenda to rile people up and have more to report. They argue that more whites are killed than blacks and Hispanics. Again, by sheer raw numbers, they’re not wrong. By percentage, there’s a huge issue. Why not work on breaking up the stereotypes a bit? Fun fact: by percentage, there are almost as many whites on welfare as blacks and Hispanics. Here's another fact: nobody gets to choose their skin color. As a friend of mine once told me when talking about being African American, “If I got to choose…I wouldn’t have to be worried about being shot as much if I were white. But even then, I love who I am, but either way I would I think. Maybe I’d be black still…maybe white. I don’t know.”

For the United States to create a culture and environment where people question the beauty of their individuality and how they were born is wrong. So much for "land of the free." As of now, I don’t believe the players kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem is a bad thing because it’s a peaceful protest to bring awareness to exactly what I’m writing about. The problem is people view taking a knee during the national anthem as “unpatriotic” rather than a protest for a good cause or to bring awareness to real issues in America. CB Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks spoke about this disagreement during a media day this past week, saying that they’re protesting for unity, not for division.

Perhaps there are more dialogues we should be having. Instead of it just being about African Americans and Hispanics along with other minorities being shot and killed by police officers, there should be more discussions about the culture we’ve created in America and seek to become further educated about stereotypes and how to break them. Some years back, the idea of a woman getting a college education and having a career instead of just being a stay-at-home mother was unfathomable. Now it’s happening at record pace. Why can’t we begin breaking the negative perceptions about African Americans and Hispanics that have gone on for almost as long as women's rights? They aren’t killers, looters, shooters, people stuck on welfare, the ones stealing your jobs or even lazy people. They are human beings who deserve a fair chance.

Let me end with a poem I wrote soon after watching the video of Crutcher getting shot:

I fell asleep shortly after watching another black man get shot

The nightmare I had was that justice was never truly sought

Tossing and turning I felt an agonizing sense of burning

A man appeared saying I don’t do enough learning

He told me my writing is stale, my words are too pale

I don’t take a stand for my fellow man, hit the nail

But first to hit the head, another man is gone what have I done

I replied, ‘I always knew there would be another one.’

In that moment I realized I was awake, not asleep

Grabbed my phone to check my updated news feed

Will the circle ever be broken or do we have to keep hoping

Mamas crying over their baby boys and unable to be coping.

Understand though that we shouldn’t go for retaliation

Violence leads to sirens, warning to save the Lord’s creation

Violence leads to more violence, a vicious cycle to always go

Will the circle ever be broken, I don’t really know

Video sheds light, but also leads to more queries and thoughts

Nobody knows what’s next, except another black man gets shot

The man came back and told me poetry was the key to perform

Get my word out there using all of my worldly platforms

Disregard the swarms and hoards of people who disrespect

I replied, “racial division will continue, so really what’s next?”

He told me he chose the wrong guy and turned away from me

I begged for another chance and I wrote this to wait and see.