Black Lives Matter.

It is July 6th 2016, the 187th day of the year. 271 black lives have been ended at the hands of police officers just this year. There have been more deaths than days this year. The number has now risen to 272, from the death of Philando Castile. 

Castile was a 32 year old black man, who was shot and killed by a police officer for reaching for his license after being pulled over for a broken taillight. His girlfriend and their four year old daughter were both in the car when Philando was shot four times. Yes, the officer actually shot fire into a car with a baby in the backseat. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, immediately began live-streaming the tragedy on Facebook to show everyone what was going on. Lavish was taken into police custody, and there hasn't been any updates since. If you are able to, please call (651) 266-9538 or (651) 484-3366 and ask "Where is Lavish Reynolds?" These numbers are being posted all over social media in an effort to try and receive an update on Lavish and her daughter. 

In the end of the video, {which has now been removed from Facebook} we see Reynolds break down into tears, and her daughter say "It's okay mommy, I'm here." How is this okay? A four year old baby handled the situation better and more maturely than the officers at the scene did. All of this happened only 24 hours after Alton Sterling was also shot and killed at the hands of police officers. If you don't know, Alton was killed for selling CD's outside of a convenience store just yesterday (July 5th). He was shot in the head at point-blank rage. He was only 37 years old. Sterling's body isn't even cold, hasn't even began rotting, and another black life has been taken. Philando Castile had no criminal record and he was licensed to carry a gun. The officer who pulled him and his family over specifically told Castile to take out his license, but proceeded to shoot him for doing so. Castile was respectful, he followed the orders he was given, and he is still dead. And for what? For following police orders? For doing as he was told to? His girlfriend is still in police custody, and there has been no update on his daughter's whereabouts. This is not reckless; This is sociopathic. This is evil. This is beyond words. How many hashtags, how many protests, how many riots, how many deaths is it going to take? How long until justice is served to the right person? How long until these modern day lynching's end? When did the police become a threat? I thought their job was to protect and serve. Who are they protecting if a four year old girl just watched her father die? Who are they protecting if they took an innocent black woman into custody. Who are they protecting if they killed a man for having a broken taillight? Who are they serving if a four year old girl has been traumatized for the rest of her life because she watched them kill her father? Who are they serving if they arrested an innocent black woman? Who are they serving by killing a man with a broken taillight? 

It has only been 52 years since segregation ended and I see no progress. I see no justice. I see humans, but I see no humanity. We are headed backwards, and we need to stop ourselves from going down this spiral. Dark skin is not a crime. Being black is not a crime. How can a police officer kill someone for no reason and not be punished? So many innocent people have lost their lives in just this past year, and you know who gets punished? They do. Their families do. They are punished simply for being black. One of the saddest things about all of this, is that hardly anyone will be surprised when there is no indictment on either of these cases. 

How are there people out there who see no wrongdoings here? We need to open our eyes and stop pretending like this isn't happening, because it is happening everyday. It is happening right before out eyes and I am tired of everyone pretending that it isn't. Skittles, cellphones, loud music, cigarettes, shopping at Walmart, toy guns, failure to signal, CD's, and broken taillights should not be causes of murder.

I am not black. I am an ally. But I am exhausted, and I know that everyone else is too. I am not writing this with the intention to speak over black people, I am writing this with the intention of speaking with black people. I am a person of color, and though I may face racism, I do not have to fear that I am only one bullet away from being a hashtag. I fear for my friends, I fear for their families, and I fear for my teachers. I fear because I cannot believe what has happened to our planet. I am in tears writing this. I cannot imagine how the families of Sterling and Castile must feel right now. I cannot even try to understand their pain. This is more than just a death in the family. This is injustice. This is discrimination. This is murder.

It is 2016. 

We are supposed to be evolved. 

We are supposed to be peaceful and equal. 

We are not supposed to have people fearing for their lives every time they leave the house. 

We are not supposed to have people who are afraid of the people whose intended job is to protect us. 

We are not supposed to wonder when the people we love are going to become another hashtag.

We are not supposed to wonder if the victim will be the one who gets convicted.

We are not supposed to be killing people for the color of their skin. 

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

and that is all I have left to say.