On June 16, Donald Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to address national outrage towards police brutality- what emerged instead was a misguided band-aid solution to America’s racist and fundamentally flawed policing system.
This revolution is a perpetual fight that we must actively maintain in order to achieve justice. It is a rallying outcry, not a temporary issue.
Thousands of people have donated but never really wondered: where is that money going?
Racism and police brutality have always been an enormous problem in America, likely even much larger than it is now, but it is getting more coverage than ever before. The difference? We have video now.
Police unions have recently come under fire, rightfully so, for allowing officers to keep their jobs regardless of repeated, inexcusable infractions–most notably, excessive and often deadly force.
Black Lives Matter, ACAB, 8 Can’t Wait. They’re more than hashtags–they’re rallying cries that help to spread awareness and mobilize people in the fight against police violence. But are they leading to real change?
In my own hometown in Arkansas hundreds came to peacefully protest, but left panicked and even, in some cases, tear gassed. I had the chance to interview some of these protestors about their experiences.
The protests seen across America since the murder of George Floyd are not unethical and thinking they are comes from a place of privilege and ignorance.
With a surge in social media-based activism, many find themselves promoting things for the sake of fitting in, rather than researching current events and becoming knowledgeable on important topics.
White privilege is waking up every morning happy to start a new day, while black people wake up scared and unsure if they will make it home that night.
The behavior of Amy Cooper, a white woman who threatened to call the police on black birdwatcher Christian Cooper (no relation) after he respectfully asked her to put her dog on a leash, was especially troubling.
