Am I as brave as Ms. Reynolds? I would like to think so; could I hold my cell phone up in the face of the cold, icy fear that’s gripping my heart? Would I have even thought to get my cell phone out? I think of what was taking place in the few minutes Mr. Philando Castile still had left to live. When he left his home, the last thing that would have crossed his mind was, "this is the last time I’m going to see my house or my family". In the car, Mr. Castile and Ms. Reynolds were probably having normal conversation, like "what can we eat later for dinner", or "I want to pick up a new pair of sneakers for my daughter". They were oblivious to the plight that was about to take place. Should Philando have been on guard? Well, he’s a Black man in America. Every time he leaves his house, he should be on guard. But, what is he on guard against? The very people that are supposed to be protecting us. What about a Black person that makes police officers fear us? Is it just the color of our skin, because that’s primarily the only difference from person to person. Are they conditioned to be more afraid of Black people than say Asian people or White people? I say this because it’s all races of police officers that are out there killing Black people with little or no provocation. I’ve seen videotapes, as I’m sure we all have, of police officer trying to arrest white offenders and some of the stuff they let get by is outrageous. I saw one where the offender (who was white) was creating a disturbance in a restaurant. Now, the officers got him to go down on the ground on his own, but when they tried to handcuff him, he proceeded to jump up and start punching both officers. They never even reached for their weapons. What they did reach for was a taser and the proceed to tase him until they got control of him. How did this reaction come about? Did they feel their lives were not in danger? What makes a White man’s life worth more than a Black man’s life?

I’ve read where several people have compared police killings to lynching. I think they are absolutely right. Back then, White people used lynching as a way to instill fear in Black people; to keep them in line so they wouldn’t run away or steal from them. The only difference between lynching and police killing Black men today is the method. The police use guns now instead of rope, but the premise is still the same. They want to instill fear in us because they believe we are beneath them; Black folk have become a little too outspoken or a little too educated and the think they know too much. We have to show them who is still in charge. Another thing that makes lynching similar to police killings today is that when White people lynched Black people, it was almost a spectator sport. White men came out with their wives and children to witness lynchings, they hung around, smoked cigars, and drank liquor. These days, everyone owns a phone with a camera attached so these atrocities are instantly shown around the world. Watching these images stirs up anger among the Black communities, but it also sends a message: if you’re Black in America this can happen to you.

Please don’t think these actions are restricted to just Black men. It happens to more Black men than Black women, but of course we know it happens to us too. I am Sandra Bland, I drive a 2015 Lexus ES350, that could have easily been me stopped on the side of the road by an officer who thought I shouldn’t be driving a fancy car. Why do we have to endure these rushes to judgment; if you are Black, you’re dangerous. We have had a target on our back since day 1. Why do we have to continue to suffer? In the 1960's, Malcolm X said, “The police will put their clubs upside you head and then charge you with assault… this won’t be stopped until WE stop it ourselves. What kind of freedom is that?” Why in 2016 are we still talking about the same things, only now instead of putting their sticks upside our heads, they’re just outright shooting us?

Black people are scarred for life by the atrocities that our ancestors have endured and what we continue to this day to endure. I commend people such as Ms. Reynolds who had the presence of mind to document what was happening to her and her boyfriend. Just listening to the tape, I can feel her fear; she thought this was the end of her life too. At the end of the video when she was requesting people to come to the location, I heard her scream, a kind of scream that was saying, "is this happening, am I really going through this?". As the Black mother of three Black children, this is my worst fear. What would I do if I was the one sitting next to my son as a police officer decides his fate? I can only pray for that I can be as strong as some of these parents whose children have been executed by police officers and wannabe police officers. The only way this can end if the “good” officers start to take a stand against these rogue officers. The officers that stick up for them are to blame too. Show that you will not stand behind such egregious behaviors! There is strength in numbers; get on the side of morality.

Black Lives Matter!

Word of the week: Be sure your family and friends know you love them because all it takes is an incident of riding, walking, or working while Black to end their life.