When?

By Miira Efrem '20

American eyes have become so desensitized to the brutalization of black bodies.

When will the excessive violence stop? When will those who vow to serve and protect, actually fulfill the requirements of their job description?

When will the system finally treat all men as equal like it promised?

Posting graphic images of black people getting murdered is not activism.

When will I wake up without seeing another black name as a hashtag on my timeline?

When will those with the loudest voices use their privilege and their platforms to spark change?

When will our cries for justice be heard?

Too many questions with so little answers

But please don’t be oblivious to what is (and has been) happening all around us

And best believe that until then, I’m shouting BLACK LIVES MATTER

And you should be too.

And if you find an issue with those words

Please self-examine, see why wishing that every life is valued equally is such a problem

Because while that sounds like a simple request,

After 400+ years, we still beg to know:

When will our humanity be seen as enough?