Black Lives Matter
In the US, some people think that everyone is equal. They think that no one is treated unequally. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are many groups of people, specifically people of color, that are not treated equally even though we might pretend they are. One specific group are black people. 1 in 3 black men can expect to go to prison in their life. While people of color make up 30% of our population, they make up 60% of our prison cells. This means that black people are definitely not being treated equally. However, there are also people that are striving to end this racism.
Ta-Nehisi, someone who posts on “The Atlantic”, asked people to post articles about racism on “Your stories of racism.” One of them posted by an anonymous reader in central Florida was very interesting. One day, he was driving back from work and saw a police car on the road. The person assumed that it was just checking for speeding. He passed it, but the police car followed him. Eventually, its lights went on, and another police car followed the first police car. The person parked in a gas station and opened his window. Immediately, he heard yelling, and when he looked out, he saw a gun pointed at him. The officer was telling him to, ”Put your right hand out of the window and open the door with your left hand!” After getting out, he gave the officer his ID and asked why they were treating him like a criminal. The officer said that someone like him had pulled a gun on someone. They eventually let him go, but they were still standing there, talking, when he left.
The organization called “Black Lives Matter” is an online forum that was formed after Trayvon Martin’s murder at around 2012. The Trayvon Martin’s case was about a “Suspicious” black person that was shot by a civilian that was ordered not to engage Martin. The civilian was not charged with any crime. This inspired the forum. Its purpose is to say that all Black lives matter. It talks about how black people are left without power. Some statistics include how black people have poverty problems, about how 2.8 million black lives are locked behind bars, and many other statistics. The goal of the organization is to prevent people of color being arrested/killed based on racial prejudice. They are committed to working for freedom and justice for black people. They want to be empathetic to everyone, from people of black identity to any lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people in the black community. They also have many movements involving black women and LGBT people. When they say “Black lives matter”, they don’t mean that only black lives matter, but that only black lives are being treated in a negative way, and they want that to change.
Black lives have never been treated equally in the United States. While many people may think differently, the proof shown in this paper clearly shows that whatever this country thinks, black lives are definitely being treated without as much respect as a white life. This country should actively try to fight this, because it would make the US a lot better.
Works Cited
"Your Stories of Racism N2." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
"Black Lives Matter Freedom & Justice for All Black Lives." Black Lives Matter RSS2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar.
2016.
"The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States." Name. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.