LIFE TOPICS, THE RIPPLE EFFECT

#StopTheViolence: Why We Need To Have Urgency In Creating Change

July 8, 2016 | Posted at 4:19 pm | by Corinne (Follow User)

Photo Credit: (Photo courtesy of Franz-Stefan Gady)

The first week of July began with the United States celebrating the day that it declared its freedom from British rule. But the week ended in tragedies, connected with violence and police brutality.
 

Alton Sterling, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, of Minnesota, were shot and killed by police officers for what appears to be no reason at all. The deaths of the two African American men prompted hundreds of protests all across the country.
 


 

Unfortunately, one of these protests turned violent. In response to the deaths of the men, a sniper killed five officers and injured 12 others during peaceful protests in Downtown Dallas. According to officials, the sniper caused the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since September 11, 2001.
 


 

How could such a celebratory week end in such chaos?
 

I recently wrote a story for RIZZARR on an event hosted by the Foundation of Women in Hip Hop in Detroit that focused on remembering the lives lost by police brutality. During the event, Black Lives Matter organizer Adrienne Ayers encouraged the audience to take a moment to say the names of those lost in brutality. Sadly, this week, two more lives were added to that list and numerous other lives were impacted as a result of them.
 

Thousands of people are speaking up abut the incidents, including the families of the victims and celebrities, like Issa Rae, Drake, Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Jay Z are expressing their thoughts on the situations.
 


 


 


 


 

All over social media, #AltonSterling, #PhilandoCastile, and #PhilandoCastile join the list of hashtags started to remember those lost by violence and police brutality. In this year alone, more than 100 black men have already been killed by police officers. Why is the African American community continuously victimized by such cruel acts?
 


 

The deaths of these men should not have happened. According to reports, Alton Sterling was pinned to the ground by two Baton Rouge officers before he was shot in the chest at point blank range outside of a convenience store. Officials claim Sterling was in possession of a firearm and therefore, was a threat to police. But if you look at the footage, Sterling could not even reach for a firearm; yet, he was a threat to the officers.
 

Then, less than 48 hours after awareness started spreading about Sterling, another incident emerged of a Black man encountering police brutality in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. According to reports, an officer shot Philando Castile multiple times as he reached for his license and registration. According to Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, he was shot just as the cop asked him to get out his items. Using Facebook Live, she was able to document the whole ordeal, showing just how terrible the situation was. Throughout the video, she mentions to the officers how Castile did exactly what he was asked. Still, an officer shot and killed him right in front of Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter.
 


 

As tensions continue to escalate around the tragic deaths of these two men, some are trying to justify the reasons for the acts. For example, with Sterling, some are bringing up his past criminal record. But to me and others, his previous criminal activities have nothing to do with what happened that day.
 

Additionally, why it is that citizens continue to find a way to justify taking a human life for no reason — without any kind of conscious? You can’t just take a person’s life and think it’s OK.
 

As Shaun King writes for New York Daily, “Shooting and killing someone based on an ‘imagined threat’ that does not actually exist should be illegal. What police happen to fear on any given day should be backed up by reality for them to act on it.”
 

King was speaking of a Dylan Noble, from California, a white young man who was shot and killed by police officers. However, King’s words ring true for all that have been victims of such violence. This mentality has to stop. Black people in the U.S. do not feel safe or like their lives matter. Sadly, it is very similar to the feelings Blacks experienced during slavery, leaving many to wonder what has really changed.
 

Nakia Jones, an Ohio police officer, took to Facebook angry that her brothers and sisters in blue are the ones committing murders. Jones states she wanted to see a change so she became that change. In the video, she says how she is deeply connected with the issue due to being an officer and due to the Black men in her life, like her sons, nephews, and brothers.
 


 

The bottom line: We each have to start being the change.
 

We want to see change, but what are we going to do about it?
 

We have to stop the violence, racism, and hate. It’s that simple.
 


 

As a society, we cannot keep killing each other, and most importantly, we have to stop allowing police officers to kill others without a just cause.
 

Human life matters. Every life matters and is valuable. #AllLivesMatter. Like President Obama said, “Change has been too slow. We have to have a greater sense of urgency about this.” And I agree. We can do better than this.
 


 

Police officers should not have to continue putting their lives on the line and not be trusted because of a few. In addition, the United States should not claim it is an industrialized, sophisticated society when it does not protect its own. It cannot hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, if its law enforcement clearly does not treat all men equally.
 

When are we all going to start creating the change we want to see?