Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were murdered by people who are supposed to serve us. Police brutality is nothing new, it’s been happening since the birth of the system. The question is "how do we stop it?" How do we stop something that has been ingrained into our government? Sometimes it seems that all odds against us are unsurmountable, but the truth is, anything is possible.
I remember when Angela Davis came to my school to talk on this issue. It was a few months ago and the auditorium with listening ears. She talked mostly about the corrupt prison system and how it needs to stop being privatized. One quote I took away that changed my view on this police brutality situation is “police brutality starts with the system”. The system is set in place so that we cannot progress as a people. In order to end police brutality, we need to reinvent the system
How do we gut the system we live under? We are making steps in the right direction with police cameras and getting all the information out for the public to see, because too many times we have had cases where nobody knows what happened and we only get the officers side of the story, but as Jesse Williams said “Even with videotaped evidence of police destroying black people, many freedom loving Americans remain unconvinced of the systematic problem”. The next step in this process is to vote the right people into the office. Judges, senators, and congressmen; all of these positions are essential to changing the system. Before you vote do your research on who’s running, see what laws they have backed already. We want the system work for the people in the community.
The next step in the process is to be active in the community. The more united a community the stronger it will be. With a close knit community to support one another there is more communication and understanding. This goes for citizens and the police. Community events like cookouts and festivities that aim to grow relations with people and police will break the walls between the two.
We are not enemies. The streets aren’t meant to be a warzone. Let’s work together to oust out this plague of ignorance that has spewed out of the corrupted system. It won’t happen in a day or a week, but it will happen. Every individual can make a difference. We will continue to confront racial issues and we will continue to persevere.
