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Photo by  Nathan Dumlao  via Unsplash
Photo by Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash

Black Lives Matter: What will it take for them to hear us? What will it take for them to see that our skin color isn’t a crime? Do George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and all the African Americans that lost their lives to police brutality mean nothing? What about the phrases, “I can’t breathe,” hashtag #handsupdontshoot, and “Say Her Name”? Isn’t that enough? Pretending like y’all don’t know what’s going on. Trying to escape reality by turning the other way like nothing happen. I’m talking about white silence. Afraid to express your voice about the truth of the matter, that Black Lives Matter!

Devil’s Advocate: What? Are you serious? How is it that when a White cop kills a Black person, everybody and their mama wants to protest. But when a Black person kills another Black person, there’s no protest. Don’t you see, they see it as if it’s okay because we kill one another. If you humans are going to protest for justice, you need to protest for Black-on-Black crime. Otherwise, they’re going to keep seeing Black people as hypocrites. Everybody wants change, but nobody wants to change though. Black lives will matter when Black people value other Black people’s lives. 

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Raiveon “Ray Ray” Wooden is a writer incarcerated in California.