‘Merica 4th of July – #BlackLivesMatter

I’m not sure what compelled me to pose with the beloved Black Power raised fist…

I honestly have a love hate relationship with the 4th of July. I’m an African American girl to the core, its all I know, but its hard to embrace a country that often times rejects you, your brothers, your sisters, and all that you represent.

I wear my black skin as a badge of honor as it connects me to a culture I am so proud of- but them? They see the color of my skin as beastly, ignorant, dirty, and inferior to them. They strangle us, beat us, kill us, and tell us why it was justice served.

Stomaching another loss of yet another fallen angel, Alton Sterling, has destroyed me. Another hashtag. Another cop wrongfully slaughtering an African American man and smiling with satisfaction. It has become the norm, from Travyon Martin to Tamir Rice to Freddie Gray. Still I can’t believe this is the reality we are forced to live in.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what schooling we put our boys through or what righteous path we guide them down. Until we break the cruel system that has been built to keep us down, our fates will be nothing more and nothing less than a Trending Topic on Twitter.

I’m not sure what compelled me to pose with the beloved Black Power raised fist… maybe its because I’m unapologetically Black.