As an African American female, I am writing this because it is relevant to me as a citizen of today's society. What I am going to say is not anti-white or anti-police, but it is meant to open one's perspective and allow for understanding.

I have always wondered why "All Lives Matter" was even created. I am sure there is someone reading this, with the rebuttal of, "Well, why was Black Lives Matter created?" There are a lot of people who don't understand the movement and question the protest, but it's hard to understand something if you don't have any background information. So I decided I'd give you some.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivering the historical "I Have a Dream" speech, in which he called the end of racism. In the midst of hate that was fogging the country, MLK had a vision where blacks and whites could band together in harmony and peace. Unfortunately, we are joined together by the notion of our community being "satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality." Here we are, half a century later, with the exact same problems. Isn't America supposed to be the most "progressive" country in world? With Barack Obama being the first African American president, racism still seems to be extensive. Too many young and innocent black men have died in the care of police officers.

People hate that Black Lives Matter protesters blocked intersections on a highway, but are OK when Klu Klux Klan members are lynching, burning, beating or dragging people from the back of cars. While you are upset about not getting to work, remember that the I-94 protests destroyed 70 black owned businesses and eliminated hundreds of jobs. 400 families were displaced. Do not say that MLK wouldn't have done the same because he did. He protested, boycotted and marched until the day he was murdered.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but Christopher Columbus didn't "discover" America. America was never lost. It was already inhabited by the Native Americans. This nation is built upon immigrants. Asians, Mexicans, Somalians, all have contributed to what we call the "Land of the Free." Ask your self this question: If you dislike someone, would you invite them to your house? If you answered no, then think about how contradicting it is for there to still be hatred towards African Americans when our ancestors were FORCIBLY brought here hundreds of years ago. Doesn't add up, does it? Yes, it is still relevant, so don't think to ask, "Why are we talking about things that were done years ago?" Why is it that black people are told to get over slavery, but white people always reminisce about the Civil War? We talk about it because it is still happening, and until it stops, it will always be relevant.

If "All Lives Matter," why is it that "racism" is only justified when it's against blacks? There is inequality in education, employment, housing, healthcare and levels of poverty dividing black and white Americans. As if seeing something firsthand isn't enough, there is still indisputable evidence that the criminal justice system is pitted against young black men and systematically criminalizes them. You can see a video that outright shows a police officer murdering a black man in cold blood, but that's not enough evidence. You can have all the dash cams, body cams, bystander recordings and witnesses in the world, but as long as the victim is black, the police walks. Statistics show that blacks who are arrested are seven times more likely to be imprisoned than whites, they are sentenced to death four times more often than whites, and the average prison sentence is 10 months longer for black men than for white men.

On August 9th, 2014, came the death of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri. Witnesses reported he had his hands up and was mouthing the words “Don’t shoot.” Thus, “Hands Up Don’t Shoot!” became a another key slogan of the new movement. In November, a grand jury refused to charge the officer, Darren Wilson, responsible for the shooting. Brown’s death and the lack of charges sparked massive protests, in Ferguson and across the nation; the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 22nd, 2014; the shooting in the back and the planting of a weapon on Walter Scott on April 4th, 2015, in South Carolina.These are only incidents that made the national and international news, but there are thousands more.

So this is where I ask, what do you mean when you say "All Lives Matter?" Do you go to a breast cancer event and say, "Well, all cancers matter. What about liver or skin cancer?" No, you wouldn't, because it's disrespectful. If you go to the hospital because you broke your leg, would you like it if they told you, "Well, all bones matter." What if your family member died, and as you went to bury them they told you, "All funerals matter." Would you have told MLK that "All Dreams Matter?" That is how stupid it sounds. It's like when you read #BlackLivesMatter you see #BlackLivesMatterOnly. Americans will stand on the hilltops proclaiming how important our freedom is to us, but when black Americans and their allies stand up for their freedoms — when they stand up to resist their own oppression, it suddenly seems to be a foreign, uncomfortable condition for some Americans. It's OK for it to be uncomfortable, but it's not OK to act like it isn't real. It's not OK to try and cover it up.“All Lives Matter” is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face. It is not rocket science to understand, and if you understand then you should be OK with just saying black lives matter.