The amount of respect that the justice system has for African American lives is next to nothing. In the 21st century people want to believe that racism does not exist simply because slavery was abolished. But, don't be too quick to speak as there are parts of the word in which women and children remain enslaved and genocides take place everyday. That gets swept under the matt though because we, Americans, talk a good game. We stand for "equality." After all this is the "land of the free," so they want us to believe. Don't get me wrong though. I was brought up not to see color. Well educated on my heritage - but never to discriminate or look down on anybody; let alone depreciate another life. I treat you how you treat me regardless of your ethnicity. But I can't sit here and act like race does not still play a role in everything that occurs today. From the opportunities made available to you, to the looks you get when you enter an establishment. We have no justice system. What is just about taking 100 days to charge an officer for the murder of a teenager? Somebody's son. It scares me to know that I am growing up in a world where I know I can have my life taken from me any moment at the hands of those who are supposed to be protecting me. Not only am I young, but I am black which puts me at risk of being accused of any and everything no matter what the evidence states. I wake up praying none of my family members or friends will be next on the news. Born to lose, but I am built to win. 14 year old Emmett Till was accused of whistling at a white woman in a grocery store and was later found brutally beaten, shot in the head, and dumped in a body of water in Chicago, Illinois. An all white jury acquitted his killers. The men later confessed to the crime and even wrote a book. In 2012, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was murder after a man labeled him a "suspicious person" and decided that he no longer deserved to live. Florida's "Shoot First" law protected George Zimmerman. Not to mention Eric Garner who was strangled on tape by police officers, they remain free as well. Now here we are in 2015 still mourning the loss of 18 year old Michael Brown and others. These are only the stories that make the news. How many mothers have to bury their children before White America realizes we matter too? We will never be equal.
Rest in peace angels. You will never be forgotten.
