I'm currently typing out these words with a heavy heart. Yet another shooting of a black man has occurred. Hopefully by the end of this article, you will have realized that this issue does not only concern black people, but everyone. Join the fight and open your eyes because this fight cannot be fought by those whose voices are silenced every day.

I never realized that I was “black” until I moved to the U.S. You might ask, how did you not realize the color of your skin because it is clearly black? The answer is plain and simple: the title “black” in the U.S. carries so many meanings that I did not know about until I stepped on American soil. Back home, I never really was conscious about the color of my skin because everyone looked like me. However, when I came here, I encountered discrimination because of the color of my skin. A friend of mine put it well; she said, “Whenever I am walking, eating, talking or doing other activities, I am consciously thinking about my skin color.” Some of you might not understand what that meant, but I will break it down for you in the simple examples below. When I am walking down the road, a white person will immediately give me nervous stares, clutch their purses and keep looking back nervously. Or if I am sitting in a public area, the seat next to me is always empty and only gets occupied by a fellow black person. Or when I enter a store, I am usually followed by an employee. So when you say there is no racism and discrimination in the U.S., it is hard for me to understand. I have only been here for almost five years and I go through these things daily, and you have been here for your whole entire life and you still deny the injustices surrounding black people. Those were simple illustrations to get you thinking; in the next paragraphs, I will go deeper on how the American society has dehumanized black lives.

The concept of dehumanization is something I have seen firsthand, in my country. For the Rwandan Genocide to occur, the Hutu militants were taught that the Tutsis’ lives did not matter. The Hutus began to look at them as lesser human beings. The same thing is happening in the U.S. currently. Black lives have been so dehumanized to the point where policemen shoot a 12-year-old playing with a toy gun. The shootings of black males in the U.S. is an alarming issue that should be dealt with. In other shootings of unarmed black males, people usually say maybe if he had not resisted, there would have been a different outcome. I want you to explain to me how a 12-year-old causes any kind of danger to a full grown policeman. That was the Tamir Rice’s case. I encourage you to look at the video showing Tamir Rice’s last moments, how he was shot mercilessly without any exchange of words, without any questions.

I could go on and on about how many black males have been lost because of police brutality. But let’s take a look at the ones that were shot just two days ago. Alton Sterling was a middle aged man whose occupation was to sell CDs outside a store. His life was ended by two police men who brutally fired shots into his back and chest. People might say, "Well, if he had not resisted, it could have turned out differently." Please tell me how one man pinned to the ground by TWO officers can cause any type of danger?

Additionally, Philando Castile was also killed a few days ago. His car was pulled over by the police because of broken tail lights. The police officer then asked for his ID, and Philando Castile added that he was carrying a firearm on him but was going to show his ID and a document that proved he had the right to carry the firearm. While reaching in his pockets for the document, the police officer started firing at him, in front of his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter! So what is the excuse now? So the punishment for legally carrying a firearm is death now? By the way, have you watched the video of the middle aged white man in Mission Bay who was waving a gun around but was approached calmly and was told to let go of his gun and was not shot to death. So I guess what I am trying to say is that our lives have been dehumanized. We only get treated with gunfire, but white people get treated with, “Sir, please let go of your firearm.” So many fatherless children, so many parents losing their teenage sons, so many so many lives lost.

You have been in this country probably more than I have been. But I have educated myself on the issues surrounding black people in America. You shrug your shoulders on these issues because you think that they do not concern you. But may I remind you that this country belongs to Black people too. How can you live in a country and be proud of it when they are senselessly killing your fellow Americans? How about you join the fight? How about you stop making comments such as, “You are too pretty for a black girl.” So what is that even supposed to mean? That black girls are what? Subconsciously, you are contributing to the dehumanization of this race. Or when you say, “You are different; you are the good one.” I am sorry, is that supposed to be a compliment? What does that say about an entire race? And you, too, are contributing to the dehumanization of this race. It is this kind of mentality that slowly by slowly dehumanizes a race and makes an officer open fire on a 12-year-old boy. You can imagine the kind of conversation I had to have with my brother who lives in the U.S. I had to tell him, you cannot be as free as you were in Rwanda. You have to be careful; someone is watching your every move and will shoot when they get the opportunity because your life has no value to them.

So next time when you hashtag all lives matter, think again. If all lives mattered, I should be able to sleep at night knowing that my brother is safe just like my white friends sleep without worry. If all lives mattered, names like Deshawn, Lakeisha would not be discriminated against in the applicants’ pool for a job because employers do not want to hire black people. Lastly, if all lives mattered, half of the people incarcerated should not be African Americans when they only make up 13 percent of the entire population, according to the NAACP. If all lives mattered, 40 percent of the people who are on welfare should not be black people. So when you see such statistics, you should analyze the numbers and try to listen to the story behind them. You should ask yourself the following questions: Why is it that many black people are on welfare and are incarcerated? The answer is right in front of your eyes: Poverty. And then, you should ask yourself another question: so what causes poverty? The lack of opportunities, right? Then you ask yourself, if people move to America because of the abundance of opportunities, why aren’t black people getting those opportunities? And the only answer and conclusion you should come to is that it is the system. It is the way people think your life is not worth giving opportunities to. It is the dehumanization of the black race. So next time you say black people are overreacting and you hashtag all lives matter, please take several seats and educate yourself. I should not have to know more about your country when you have lived here your whole entire life.