Growing the Voices of Our Future
The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored to feature these editorial contributions made by local student.
By Samara Rawls
As most of you have seen on the news lately, there have been many instances where unarmed Blacks, especially men, have been killed by a white person. Since 2015, the number of unarmed Blacks who were killed by the police was five times more than those who were unarmed and white, killed by police.
Many people have been upset at these instances, and riots and protests have started. Brenda Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Trayvon Martin were just a few people who were unarmed Blacks and were shot and killed by the other people.
George Floyd is the most recent death where a police officer pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, eventually killing him. Many people were outraged by this, and riots all over the United States started to erupt.
When I first heard this news, I was disappointed in the police because they are there to protect us, but in too many instances, they end up hurting us. Many Black people are being treated poorly in America, not just by police, but by other authorities.
It is upsetting when I hear about another innocent, unarmed, Black person dying in the hands of the police.
Although all these negative events have happened, it has led to us connecting and gathering closer as a community. More and more people are getting together to hold protests, which can bind us closer.
For those who are able to protest, they are helping to bring awareness to the fact, that unarmed Blacks are killed, and that we want change.
As a youth, I am unable to attend these protests, but I have been sharing awareness of this situation on my social media platform, so others can be aware of this as well.
With all these tragedies going on in the world right now, one thing we certainly need to do is pray, and seek God in hard times like this. Psalm 37:8 states, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.”
Even though we may be very enraged by what’s going on, we must be reminded that God tells us to not fret, or else more people can get hurt, and more business will be destroyed. I hope everybody stays safe, and pray that racism comes to an end.
