The other night my mother asked me if I liked being ¨black.¨ To be honest with you, that has a biased answer. Biased because I love the skin I am in. I love how my brown eyes contradict my light complexion. Though there are some struggles of being ¨black¨, the constant compare and contrast that other individuals make , or being looked down upon because of your skin color. One of the most common conflicts dating back to the beginning of segregation, discrimination and poverty, police violence.

But that is outside the black community. What about what’s going on inside the community? This is why being black has its struggles. We’re making our voices known when the white man pulls the trigger but, what about when the black man pulls the trigger? What do we do then?  How do we stop it?

We can accomplish this by showing that we do care, not just by protesting but, maybe have events such as picnics or days at the local park where everyone and their families can create an even stronger bond. Why don’t we look at our passed activists such as Malcolm X or even Martin Luther King and see if we can give words of wisdom and not hatred. Each day that we fight against one another is another brotha’ or sistahs’ bloodshed.

I remember when I use to live in Brightwood and my mother asked me to get something out of her car. As I was about to open the door I heard a few gunshots and my dad told me to go to his room along with my mother until things cleared up. To a six year old girl, it was just another day, but to others it could have been a day of  heartbreak due to the pull of a trigger. I tell you this because what one person sees or doesn’t acknowledge can be someone else’s reality.

This is why the black community should not fight one another but come together as one and defend not just our titles to life itself, but the skin that we were taught to be ashamed of since the day our ancestors crossed the seas.

The black community takes up only 13 percent of the US population, yet we are victim to multiple deaths each day whether if we’re armed or unarmed. From 2002 to 2011, the average homicide rate for blacks was 6.3 times higher than whites, according to mappingpoliceviolence.

I tell you this because I am tired and I am hurt. It hurts to wake up everyday and all you have to do is turn on the t.v and find another minority dead.

Just two years ago,  37 percent of unarmed homicide victims were black. That makes the ratio one out of three black people that were unarmed but the numbers and percentage rates may be higher due to underreporting, according mappingpoliceviolence.

Even though I may not know the person who passed away I still show my respect and find sympathy towards those who are mournful. Not saying that police violence is good but neither is minorities killing other minorities.

So let us come together as one and not individualize ourselves because what society expects of us. Let us love one another. Let us fight together! Lets come together as one.

I greatly encourage SHS students to get a pen pal. Getting one is super easy and it is completely free thanks to the Internet. All you have to do is talk to a teacher about your options, or there are several websites that find other people your age looking for pen pals. If more people get pen pals, our school can be better connected with the world.