Now, I shouldn’t even have to begin this with what’s been going on in America in the last six days. In case I do, here’s a quick refresher: police brutality has been at an all time high. From the early morning murder of Delrawn Small in Brooklyn, NY, to the shooting death of Alva Braziel Saturday, July 9th. Alva is the 137th African American to be killed by police in 2016. I will get into the backgrounds of these gentlemen momentarily, but before I do, there are a few things I’d like to address:

1. We all know that all lives matter, no one here is saying otherwise. However, all lives are not consistently getting profiled and stopped at a higher rate. In fact, according to a statistic done by the Washington Post last year, blacks were three times as likely to be killed as opposed to other races. They also found in another investigation that black men (who represent roughly 6 percent of the U.S. population) accounted for 40 percent of the 60 unarmed people who were shot and killed during that time period. So again, just because you hear people yell “Black Lives Matter” does not mean all lives don’t. It’s also interesting that you only hear All Lives Matter when Black Lives Matter is mentioned. Coincidence?

2. “What about black on black crime?” FBI Homicide statistics compiled between the years of 1980 to 2008 show that the majority of homicides that took place were of white people killing other white people. Although the ratio of black homicides is greater, the number of white murderers greatly outnumbers black murderers.

3. “Not all cops are bad.” That may be true, however if a cop is well aware of what his/her fellow officers are doing and know that what they’re doing is unlawful and say nothing to them or to others about their actions, then they are just as bad and should be held just as accountable. Even Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza went on MSNBC and stated, “We are not anti-police. We are anti-our people being murdered in the streets.”

Now that we’ve covered that, it is time to give some thought on everything that has taken place. In theory, African Americans should feel safe walking out of their homes and be able to function properly in society. Clearly, that is not the case. Especially when videos surfaced of these men and women who were killed, even when following the law like Philando Castile and countless others. The New York Daily News even went as far as to making Alton Sterling’s murder scene as their front page cover on July 6th. Many felt that the showing of the scene was too much for the viewing eye, but the reality is that this happened, and is unfortunately still happening. Regardless of what people want to accept and believe, this is the American reality and needs to be addressed one way or another.

Another thing to consider is that this isn’t 1963. It’s 2016, the digital age, and racism is real and alive more than ever. Seeing these videos and people react to them is physically, emotionally, and mentally draining. Some people, like myself, had to take a step back from social media for a day or two. Not because we were tired of seeing what was going on, but the fact that it was so overwhelming that I couldn’t take to see innocent lives taken at the hands of police. Sadly, this isn’t the first, and won’t be the last. Hearing these things happening all across the country makes you wonder if you’re really free? Especially considering that all of this happened starting on anniversary of America’s independence. Even when actor and activist Jesse Williams spoke on it during his acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards, people still didn’t get it. Now, Jesse’s powerful words prove to be not only terrifyingly accurate but needed.

If you’re still reading and find yourself saying “I still don’t get the big deal,” then let me paint a picture for you. Imagine you wake up one morning and you’re heading out minding your own business, and suddenly you get stopped. You’re compliant with all instructions, and even offer to show your I.D., but instead of allowing you to do so, you end up getting forcibly pinned down, or even worse. All because of the color of your skin, or because you fit some “description.” Regardless of what it is you’re stopped for, this past week (as well as year’s past) has proven more than ever that you could be doing absolutely nothing, and still get targeted.

On July 9, I had the privilege of walking alongside fellow New Yorkers in a protest and rally for Delrawn Smith. Thousands of people came out and marched from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, all the way to Union Square, and then to West 50 Street. Seeing so many people come together was nothing short of inspiring. Most notably, we all began walking in the street all the way there. Even right at the “crossroads of the world” at Times Square. It was peaceful, it was motivating, but most importantly, it made a point. If people can unite together for something that has rapidly increased over the last 20 years, then as a force we can be unstoppable. That will only happen when the masses as a whole have finally reached a breaking point.

Due to the injustices that have occurred as of late, even other countries have warned people, specifically their men on traveling to the United States. The Bahamas, has publicly given a travel advisory to those planning on visiting America in fear of them getting attacked. The fact that other countries have no choice but to do these things says a lot about this country as a whole (not that it already hasn’t).

It is only a matter of time before this will go in either two directions: positive or negative. In light of that, however, we must remember that the time to be quiet is over. Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, it is time to stand up and fight. This doesn’t necessarily equate to violence, but it is time to really take a stand against police brutality. Several celebrities have spoken of their support, as well as many athletes. Even President Obama spoke out at an emergency press conference regarding the shootings in Dallas. If action is not taken soon, then it will never get better. A painful reminder of this is the jury decision in the murder of Trayvon Martin, where a quote from NAACP founder W.E.B. DuBois began to float around: “A system cannot fail those it was never designed to protect.” So even though we are the “land of the free,” are we really?