Alex Leondedis

Wilson Hour 4
16 February 2016
What Black Lives Matter Really Means

Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Rodney King, Baltimore, Los
Angeles, and the O.J. Simpson trial. These people, places, and events are all tied by a common
factor. They have all been at the forefront of racial prejudice and its correlation to law
enforcement. Racism has been a long standing issue in this country, and our nation has never
been able to successfully been able to conquer it. Groups like the KKK and the Neo-Nazis are
promoting prejudice in our nation, but they arent the only ones. As more and more AfricanAmericans are gunned down by police, a public outcry of Black Lives Matter labels law
enforcement as one of these prejudicial groups. Viewed as a war, the relations between African
Americans and members of law enforcement have been declining steadily over recent years.
Both sides feel that they are justified in their actions. Riots in Baltimore and Los Angeles bring
the conflict to real light and show the causes of racial prejudices. However this in not the
common form for all members of these groups. Many police officers and African Americans are
not jaded towards each other, but the voices that are the loudest are the voices that do the most.
This has been an issue that has stood the test of time but it cannot be allowed to continue. The
racial prejudice from law enforcement officers directed toward young African American men
must be rooted out of our society because it hinders progress and endangers the lives of the
people in this minority.
Racial prejudice has been a problem in American society since the birth of our country.
Americas color divide has been an issue at the forefront of our nation for decades. The actions

of such activists as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were said to have alleviated the
pressures of racial bigotry, but as we have seen with the L.A. riots of the nineties and the many
murders and attacks of the early 2000s and the 2010s. This issue, while have being said to have
changed, is still as much of a problem today as it was in the 1960s. Our society has hidden under
the notion that racial issues were solved when they are now worse than ever. Johnny Otrosina
said in his opinion piece about the Baltimore riots, Instead of taking that one step forward, with
a peaceful and orderly demonstration, they have taken three steps back. The violence and
destruction has only confirmed in the racist minds that their discrimination was fully justified
(Otrostina). African American men are living in fear of the police and many are retaliating back.
The nature of this retaliation and this race war is not something new from the past 20 or so years.
Racism has been a shameful part of this countrys history since its founding. White Americans
have oppressed their black counterparts for generations. These actions of racial attack and hatred
have hindered the progression of our society since the beginning. If racism were rooted out of
our society we as a people would be significantly less focused on in fighting and we would strive
to progress our very being as a collective. Our racist history and our racist actions of today are
hindering our progress as a human race. If we could learn to live together in peace wed be a
much more advanced people. Our history has held us back. As we approach a more modern and a
less inhumane society, where slavery is illegal, we have still managed to hold on to the American
tradition of keeping down the people with different features than the governing group. The new
form of oppression comes as police.
Another reason racial injustice must be rooted out of our society is the effect it has on the
lives of the African American people it effects. With police actions having very negative effects
on these people, their standards of living have decreased. On October 12 th of 2015 the police

officer who was accused of shooting Tamir Rice, a 12 year old with a pellet gun, was found notguilty (Tampa Bay Times). This article by the Tampa Bay Times calls the reader to Put Police
Actions under Scrutiny. This is a justified call from Tampa seeing as this is just one case in the
dozens of dozens of cases similar to this that show the African Americans usually come out of
these having lost, if not the case then their life. This racism has brought so much of our society to
its knees and holds an entire race captive under its lock and key. The case of Eric Garner, a 43
year old father of 6, who was choked to death by police officials who were found not-guilty,
proves that exact point (Independent on Sunday). A man convicted of only selling black-market
cigarettes was murdered by police officers who were set free. These actions of violence that are
unprovoked and beyond measure has completely changed a society and has put an ethnic group
of people through hell. African Americans who are attacked in this violent way are forced to live
in fear or to revolt and fight back against an unjust system. This is the epitome of why the racial
injustices need to be worked out of our society, because it has completely transformed the
African American community and it hasnt been a change for the better. This needs to end so that
they can live without fear and without violence.
To fight against the claim that racism and law enforcement go hand in hand, the police
argue that they are killed in just as a fashion. Their argument has validity. Police are killed very
ritualistically because they are in the line of duty that they are in. An article in USA Today shows
how real this problem. The article details the grisly murder of Officer Steven Vincent. The article
shows the side of the story that is often untold but nevertheless felt throughout the community
(USA Today). This article is very correct in the stance that police officer are gunned down
unlawfully and unprovoked due to the fact that they are officers of the law. However, this stance
does not condone or even justify racism in law enforcement. The actions committed by a few

police officers that are horrible and cruel in their own right are not made better when the
argument is made that the people committing these atrocities are attacked too. The police attacks
are tragedies in their own right but the bigger and more influential issue here is the racism
committed in regards to law enforcement. People attacking minorities due to racial prejudices is
a much bigger and more deadly issue than the brutal attacks on police officers.
Racism must be rooted out of law enforcement institutions because of the hindrance to
societal progression and the danger it puts the lives of African Americans in. Racism has made
put our society back hundreds of years. All the time we could not love one another is time we
should have been using to make advancements in society and making this world better for all of
us to live in. Racism also must be rooted out of law enforcement because of the danger it poses
to African Americans. The saying Black Lives Matter is not a saying that is exclusive of any
other ethnicities. It is a saying that means that Black lives mean as much as white lives or
Hispanic lives, or Asian lives. It is a saying of a people held down by society that serves as a
reminder to a people that black people are people too. It is a search for peace in a violent world.
It is a cry for change, and the American people need to listen and respond to their brothers cry
with actual, tangible change that will make a difference.

Works Cited:
A jury blind to the evidence before it." Independent on Sunday [London, England] 7 Dec. 2014:
42. Global Issues In Context. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

Battling racism." Spectator [Hamilton, Ontario] 9 May 2015: A15. Global Issues In Context.
Web. 22 Feb. 2016

"PUT POLICE ACTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 16 Oct.
2015: 10A. Global Issues In Context. Web. 22 Feb. 2016

"Killings serve as grim reminders that cops die, too." USA Today 31 Aug. 2015: 7A. Global
Issues In Context. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.