Although we assume the problem behind this movement only started when Michael Brown, an unarmed black man was wrongfully shot by the police in 2013 it's been a problem that has been around for centuries. This movement isn't anything new, we just gave it a name. I'm afraid for the people who share my skin color. I'm scared for us. I'm worried about us. We've always been tossed to the side, looked at as lives without a purpose. Economically, socially and culturally, black americans have been set to the lowest standard in America. We've been told for centuries that because of the skin color we were born with that we don't have a say in anything, that we aren't considered human, that we don't matter.

I remember being a little girl and seeing all of the white princesses, the barbie dolls, the superheroes, saviors, presidents, pop stars, rockstars, and none of the people with my skin color being represented as greatly in the media. That led my little uneducated mind to assume that being black was a bad thing. That it was something that I was stuck with, like a curse. Most people think that the movement Black Lives Matter only has to do with police brutality. But it also has to do with the representation of black people, not just in America, but all over the world. We were taught to look at ourselves as things just stuck in the background. We were taught to think of ourselves as decoration swaying in the wind just for show. We have to be told to love ourselves. Imagine, having your race so looked down upon for years and years that you actually have to be taught to love the color of your skin. It's realizations like this that make me cry at night.

Now, as a grown woman in college I can proudly say I'm proud of the skin I was born in, and I'm am proud of the culture I came from. But for me to reach that realization, it took years. We aren't seen as first class citizens, we are seen in ways unnoticed like wind chimes echoing in the wind, our screams being ignored.

That's why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important to me, and a great amount of black people. There are young black boys and girls being killed and tortured in the streets by people who are supposed to protect us. This isn't a coincidence. This isn't a wrong place at the wrong time type of issue. There was a twelve year old boy shot for playing with a toy gun. You can't tell me that was "just an accident."

I see people preaching "All Lives Matter" and I agree, all lives do matter. That is something I strongly believe in. But to use that phrase to overcompensate the Black Lives Matter movement is wrong. We're trying to protest the wrongful doing of our people and by saying "All Lives Matter" when we try to preach our movement is rude. Yes, all lives do matter, but Black Lives Matter is about protecting the rights of black people who have been wrongfully punished. Muslim Lives Matter. Syrian Lives Matter. Indian Lives Matter. The list goes on and on of minorities who are still being treated as animals and not human beings. That's why when you hear someone broadcasting that Black Lives Matter you shouldn't immediately assume that they think that all lives don't. We just want justice for our people.

And Being white shouldn't stop you from joining the movement. Trust me. I have white friends who are afraid to join the movement because they think they shouldn't have a say in the matter. But this movement is a movement of all people. Its a movement about all people being seen as equals. And it has always been.

Look at it like this, if there was something wrong with your heart, and you went to a doctor so they could fix it and they said to you, "We don't want to work on this organ because all of your organs should get the chance to work and keep you alive." while this is true, the doctor would be ignoring the organ that is breaking; your heart.

So if you're reading this and you're black, asian, Indian, Native American, and so on, your life matters and if you feel that there is injustice being done and is afraid for the sake of your life or your race, never be afraid to speak out about it.