I know that all cops aren't bad people from my personal experience being around my brother and father, both of whom are police officers. I have appreciated all that my dad has provided for me through his occupation, but I always believe in standing behind my values of equality and social justice.

I have always respected police officers and have made police officers Christmas cookies and Christmas cards every year to deliver to those who are working on Christmas Eve night. I also have had many positive interactions with my dad and brother's friends.

But, unfortunately, there has been a lot of disagreement in my family based on my views on the need for policing reform in the United States.

However, from my education and life experiences, I also know that there is much needed criminal justice reform and better police training due to systemic racism.

I strongly believe in the people's right to peacefully protest and believe that change and reform have been much needed for a long time. It should not be allowed for any person to hold their knee on someone's neck for nine minutes until they suffocate. This should have been known before George Floyd's death in 2020. George Floyd's death is just one example of the many individuals that need justice from their wrongful deaths by the mishandling of police.

I also believe those police officers that may have higher morals than their coworkers who are abusing their power need to speak up when they see injustice, no matter how strong the sense of "brotherhood" is in the force. It should be a basic human right for those that are interacting with police officers to not fear for their life.

I am a strong believer that police officers can take off their badge, but minorities cannot "take off" what causes so much discrimination against them by police.

According to Statista, deaths by being shot by police officers has only increased through the years. Deaths faced by Black Americans from being fatally shot by police officers increased from 996 in 2018 to 1,004 in 2019. This primarily has to do with systemic racism and the unfortunate fact of racial profiling among those in law enforcement.

I am a strong believer in the Black Lives Matter movement, and I am glad that it is becoming more "mainstream" and gaining traction because these topics have needed to be discussed for a long time. Unfortunately, with this President and his administration, social change may not be plausible.

I realize that there are police officers who do good in this world. However, there needs to be more acceptance that there is always room for improvement, and we need to look at the ways that the police force can be improved. This could be through more extensive training, reformed training, or drastic changes in the way that policing is handled in this country altogether.

These offices' use of deadly force should be condemned no matter who you are because nobody deserves to die in the way that Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and Philandro Castile have –– among many others.

As the daughter and sister of a police officer, I continue to encourage you to fight for change that it is making a difference, whether you are out there protesting or signing petitions, calling or writing your local lawmakers, or donating money.

It is also important to note that all Black lives matter, whether we are talking about Black male lives, Black LGBTQ+ lives or Black women's lives. Other important things you can do is to remain educated and educate those around you from watching documentaries such as 13th" or "When They See Us" as well to remain informed as to what is going on in the country regarding social justice and social change as well as to not stand back and let injustice take place.

Never stop fighting for those that are oppressed and marginalized.

If you are interested in learning more, here are resources to support:

Fight for Breonna

Black Lives Matter Donation

Justice for Sandra Bland

NAACP: We Are Done Dying Campaign