I dream of a world where stereotypes don't exist. A place where people are judged by the content of their soul and nothing else. There is no attention to race, gender, profession, ethnicity, or religion.

But this world will never exist for me. Because I have been defined. I have been charged with crimes I have never committed. I have been silenced by others when I speak my mind. I have been post-marked with a label on my head. It is the only thing that the world sees me as.

I am an African-American man. My whole life I worked to change the stereotype. I studied. I went to college. I worked hard. But when I walk down the street I notice things. I notice when the mother of a four year old grabs her baby and holds her close as if I am about to attack. I notice how everywhere I go I somehow put people on edge. I notice how they look me up and down as if I am a monster.

I am a Muslim-American. I wake up and I fear for my life. I know that people see me as a terrorist. That is the label that is written across my head when I walk out the door. Somehow, the blood of those murdered all across the world from terrorism, somehow, that blood is on my hands. Somehow, I am held responsible for the crimes I have not committed.

I am a Latino-American. I am not lazy, I work hard. I am not in a gang and I am not a rapist. I am a citizen of the United States of America. I am not mooching off of welfare. I am not an angry or mean person. I am kind hearted and welcoming.

I am a White police officer. I do not hate people of color. I am confused by the actions of others in my profession. I have always wanted to work for the people. I have always wanted to help people not hurt them. I know when I walk by a group of black people they may become fearful and angry. I am sorry for that. I am so sorry.

We are all good, kind, loving people. We never wanted to be divided, but today we are. We never wanted to be placed into categories. We didn't want the labels that have been written across our heads. The labels that have been written so many times that they have now cut so deep into our skin that there is now an irremovable scar wherever we go. We didn't want to have the violence of others be the defining aspect of ourselves.

We dream of a world where we are respected as human beings and not defined by anyone else but ourselves. We dream of a world where like Dr. King said, "people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." We dream and we dream and we dream. We keep dreaming. We keep working. And one day we know, things will change.

We will not be defined. We will not be criminals of charges that do not apply to us, we will not be silenced, and we will have no post-mark on our heads.

We will be strong, independent, and beautiful beings.

We will be boundless.