#BlackLivesMatter

Moments of cruelty lead to a Movement for justice

Student+rapping+at+Cy+Woods+talent+show

Student rapping at Cy Woods talent show

FeliciaH, Staff Reporter

Black Lives Matter began trending in 2013 when a series of police brutality incidents towards African Americans began. This movement has too much of a presence to ignore. The United States is so deeply invested into this movement already. A student at Cy Woods performed, a rap at the talent show September 18th, passionately expressing their feeling on the matter. The response was overall positive and supportive, the question we are all faced with now is “What side do I identify with?” Right off the back just glancing at the overall situation it seems simple, “equality is of course what I believe in” but it goes further than that. Older generations may feel like this is too similar to The Civil Rights movements and they may resent the violent protests that have been uprising in places like Ferguson. We need to look at this beyond a racist point of view or else our country could see itself in the same position of years back. I feel like what one chooses to side with is a very personal choice, there are many aspects to consider. It is about more than equality this time. I agree with equality for everyone, I hate all things cruel and unfair in this world but the idea of this movement is being presented as a protest against police because black people have been more at risked of death from the police/under their care. To me that is just upsetting, the fact that we have this issue is upsetting. There seems to be traces of racism in the police forces in some parts of the country but not all of them yet, all of them are being labeled as the bad guy. The only way to move forward and begin making a difference is to protect both sides. Yes, black lives matter. So do the lives of our police officers. Change does need to be made but we can’t fix anything by labeling one side as the definite bad guy. If this is not viewed as a cause to come together and see that all lives matter then it becomes a racist issue again and our country is in the same split as the 60’s.