It has been all over the news in the last week. Every day there is a new update on another incident or protests calling for equality. The shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by white officers has been the center of the media for weeks, and only now are the real details emerging from these two violent deaths. Here's what we know:

On Tuesday, July 5th, 2016, a report was given to the police that there was a man selling CDs and threatening people with a gun outside of a Triple S Food Mart. Two officers, by the names of Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran from a prominent local law enforcement family, and Howie Lake, a three-year veteran of the department, arrived on scene to investigate. One video of the incident show the confrontation when Salamoni and Lake approach Sterling. Please realize that these videos are graphic and may cause unrest (Click here to watch the first video).

What most people do not realize, though, is that there is a second video, recorded by the man who owns the convenience store where the incident happened. This video shows the moment Sterling was shot and the police taking some object (supposedly a gun) out of the man's pocket (Click here to watch the second video).

Sterling was pronounced dead on the scene when an ambulance arrived at 12:46 a.m. East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William “Beau” Clark said in an email that the initial autopsy reports concluded Sterling suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. Shortly after this incident, on Wednesday evening, Philando Castile, a 32-year old cafeteria manager, was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. His girlfriend publicized his last moments by going live on Facebook (Click to watch the video). Castile was stopped when Officer Jeronimo Yanez noticed a broken taillight. Upon being pulled over, Castile told the cop he was licensed to carry and that he had a firearm on him. After the cop told him to take out his ID, Castile went for his pocket to get the ID. The officer shot him four times on the pretense that Castile was going for his weapon. He died later that night in a Minnesota hospital.

The deaths of these two men have caused an explosion of protests similar to those that occurred after the death of Trayvon Martin. On July 7th, 2016, an ambush-style attack happened during a Dallas rally for Castile and Sterling. The shooter was Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, a military veteran who'd served in Afghanistan. He managed to kill five officers and injure seven others, as well as injure two civilians (Click here to watch).

Negotiations were attempted, but Johnson refused to negotiate. The Dallas Police had to use a robot bomb to engage the shooter, as any other method would have put more officers in danger. Johnson was pronounced deceased from the robot bomb.

So, that is what we know. What do we not know?

-Did Alton Sterling really have a gun, and was he actually reaching for it?

-Did Philando Castile actually reach for his gun, or was he an innocent man, trying to help the officer, murdered in cold blood?

-Were these policemen just doing their job, or were they racially charged?

Right now, it is hard to make decisions with these particular questions. We, as the general public, do not have enough information yet to be absolutely sure that a hate crime took place.

And yet, these events do bring up the fact that racism towards African-Americans still exists in America. With the nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican Nominee, racism is coming more to the forefront of our nation. No race should be singled out in any way as a "problem" because every single one of us has done something wrong in our lives, no matter the race.

At this moment in time, young African-American teens feel exposed to racism, and they are afraid they will be killed instead of protected. At the same time, police everywhere feel exposed to prejudice, as they could be the next innocent office shot by snipers.

These senseless killings need to stop. The only way both sides will get what they want is if they join together to change the way they all look at the world. It is important to remember that unity is the one thing that solves problems every time.

My prayers are with all of the families of officers and suspects alike, as the loss of life that has occurred is heartbreaking. I only hope that this issue is resolved before more people pass due to prejudice and racism.