Last week, not one, but two black men were murdered once again by police officers.

Alton Sterling, 37, was attacked and shot by two officers outside of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Philando Castile, 32, was shot by police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota; he bled to death while sitting inside his car with his fiancée and her child next to him.

There is a problem. This problem involves both personal prejudice on the part of police officers and a systematic problem around the nation, built upon a foundation of racism and years of economic oppression, disenfranchisement, violence and slavery.

Michael Brown, 18, was killed by a police officer. Eric Garner, 43, was killed by police. Freddie Gray, 43, was killed by police. Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, was killed by police.

There is a problem, yet some people are still chanting, "all lives matter."

Even out of context, the question, "do black lives matter?" should have the simple answer of "yes." In this country, repeatedly and consistently, the actions of law enforcement have led us to believe that the answer is no. There lies the problem.

By saying that black lives matter, the movement, its organizers and its allies are not saying that other lives don't matter. They are bringing attention to the fact that black people face a unique, violent oppression that needs to be addressed and ended. They are declaring to the world the simple fact that the lives of black people have value — and should be treated as such.

When somebody responds to #BlackLivesMatter with "all lives matter," they are showing that they fail to realize the purpose of the BLM campaign. They are failing to realize and acknowledge the struggle that black people are going through.

Following the deaths of Sterling and Castile, five police officers were shot and killed and another seven were injured in Dallas, Texas toward the end of a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest. The gunman, a military veteran, was reported to have bomb-making materials in his house and held violent beliefs against whites. He said he was "upset with white people" and that he "wanted to kill white people, especially white officers." He was unaffiliated with the other protesters there.

This was a despicable and tragic event. It is scary to think that the amount of violence is only increasing, and even more lives are in danger now due to increasing tensions and the actions of a few. However, the solution is not to condemn the BLM movement.

Black Lives Matter is strictly against violence, and even the protest taking place before the shooting was peaceful and had no issues with the police watching over it. The tragedy in Dallas as well as the tragedies in Minnesota and in Louisiana can be considered as reasons to fight for peace. BLM's goal is to fight for racial justice — and with no justice, there is no peace. We can simultaneously condemn the attacks in Dallas as well as continue to demand change in the law enforcement system.

"Blue Lives Matter," which refers to police officers' blue uniforms, is often said in response to "black lives matter." When someone feels the need to state that blue lives matter following the shooting of a black person, they imply that they are prioritizing defending the murderous actions of those who are paid to protect over defending the lives of innocent civilians.

In the wake of Dallas, we may feel that Blue Lives Matter becomes more relevant — but despite the deplorable situation, we can be certain, thankfully, that justice will be served. Unlike when innocent black men are killed and there is no indictment or retribution afterward, there is little need to bring attention to the fact that "lives matter" in this case, because we already know. Society already gets it.

The "bad apple" police officers, however, are often let free without any punishment. It's a fact that police kill a lot of civilians, regardless of race: this year alone, over 560 people have died at the hands of law enforcement. Perhaps we should question why so many people are facing the consequences of an authority's abuse of power.

"These police are not here to protect and serve us. They are are here to assassinate us. They are here to kill us because we are black."

- Diamond Sterling, fiancee of Philando Castile.

A "Blue Lives Matter" bill was recently passed in Louisiana, where Sterling was killed. This bill essentially makes law enforcement officers a protected class under hate crime laws, despite having never been been systematically oppressed in this country.

It's time that people get on board with Black Lives Matter. There's no excuse anymore.

I am not black, and I will now address others like me who can only be allies to the movement: Please do not let antiblackness win. Do not let the racist sentiments you are bombarded with, from the media and from your own culture and communities, win. Black lives matter, and right now they are under attack. It's simple, and it's time to get on board.

The opinions of those who oppose BLM are out there. Odyssey, a platform for Millennials, is rife with frustrating articles, supporting all lives matter or blue lives matter, or condescending the movement. These are the people whose minds need to change before our society becomes a more tolerant and less violent place. These are opinions coming from the very people who we need to change the world. (Note: I am not saying these articles should not be published — free speech is a right.)

The phrase "be on the right side of history" applies here. For those late to the game, hurry up.

Note: The graphic videos of the deaths of Sterling and Castile have been circulating all over media. While at first one may think that viewing those videos is necessary to understand the gravity of the situation, this only further emphasizes the fact that we are desensitized to violence against black people. So save those videos for the courtroom. A traumatizing visual of a human being's death is offensive to them and their family and should be unnecessary for people to feel sympathy or realize the injustice of the situation.

Here is an article by Roxane Gay to read. Here are President Obama's remarks on the situation. And don't forget to watch this powerful and poetic speech from Jesse Williams, accepting his BET Humanitarian Award: