Without Justice, Black Lives Can’t Thrive In Peace

Power, injustice, and brutality. These three words all have something in common; they are emblems of a monumental issue that is prevalent in today’s societal climate. 

With clashes between civilians and police, the competency of politicians being put into question, and racial tensions surging in our country—we are truly living in restless times.

What is happening in our world right now is testing the integrity of our social systems and pitting people against each other. 

In my opinion, some police officers are killing innocent people because they are simply corrupt and evil. 

As a result, people are stepping up and fighting for the equality and safety of Black people in the United States. 

According to Mapping Police Violence, Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, and 1.3 times more likely to be killed by police while unarmed in comparison to white people. 

From Michael Brown and Breonna Taylor—young black individuals with promising futures ahead of them—to George Floyd, a father of five who was turning his life around, too many innocent Black people have died in vain at the hands of law enforcement. For decades, tension between police officers and minority communities has been far too prevalent.

In many of these cases, police officers have been given light sentences or simply suspended from their jobs. In addition, Black people and other minorities are often jailed for minor or nonviolent offenses. 

Why is it that a Black man in Florida can be sentenced to eight years in prison for marijuana possession, while a white man in California is sentenced to a mere six months for raping an unconscious woman? Clearly, our justice system is broken. 

It is our duty to fight for respect. We need to demand that the police protect us, not kill us. People are protesting because change is needed. Racism and injustice can’t be embedded into institutions that are there to ensure the protection of our communities. 

As long as Black individuals are killed by police when their hands are up in the air, when they are running, when they are on the floor, when they are just chilling in their homes, when they are unarmed and when they can’t breathe, we should never be content and we should never be silent.