#23Ways By Allison Pinski

A recent video (below) began circulating around the internet featuring the 23 ways African Americans have been killed by the police. Celebrities like Beyonce, Rihanna, Chance The Rapper, Zoe Kravitz, and Alicia Keys are featured in the video, which aims to address the growing police brutality against minority populations (especially blacks).

I think it is important for every American to watch this video and understand the violence affecting the black community, as well as other minorities. Unarmed black men are killed by the police in the U.S. at a disproportionate rate, especially when compared to whites and other minorities. It is time we stand against institutionalized racism and demand criminal justice reforms to ensure the phrase “all lives matter” is truly enforced. 

Regardless of where you stand on the #BlackLivesMatter / #BlueLivesMatter divide, we can all agree that the tension between law enforcement and civilians is unacceptable. We need to work to ensure every life is kept safe, whether that life belongs to a black man, a Hispanic woman, or a police officer.

#BlackLivesMatter isn't about choosing sides between blacks and the police. It's about acknowledging the institutionalized racism in our criminal justice system and society that disadvantages minorities. It's about addressing the pattern of police brutality against blacks (who are disproportionally arrested and killed by the police), and other minorities. It's about acknowledging that not everyone is allotted the same privilege I have, and that needs to be addressed. Police lives matter, minority lives matter, all lives matter. But right now we need to talk about our treatment of black Americans. Killing police officers and killing blacks are equally condemning, so why is one more controversial than the other?

A photo posted by Janis Ian (@livelavender) on Jul 12, 2016 at 5:17am PDT