I hope for a time when we do not have reason to grieve another Black life taken by gun violence, especially due to police brutality.

A friend wrote:

Don't do while black: 
1. Sell CD's (‪#‎AltonSterling)

2. Play in park (‪#‎TamirRice)

3. Wear hoodie (‪#‎TrayvonMartin)

4. Pump gas (‪#‎JordanDavis)

5. Ride BART (‪#‎OscarGrant)

6. Enter own home (‪#‎HenryLouisGates)

File these next to: laugh loud on wine train, drive a nice car, carry a gun in an open carry state, ask for help after a car accident, walk to a drug store like 7-11 for a late night snack, and shop in nice stores.

I would add:

7. Sell cigarettes (#EricGarner)

8. Being pulled over for routine traffic stop ( #SandraBland )

9. Catch the eye of a police officer (#FreddieGray)

Or any of the more than 100 unarmed Black people killed by Police in 2015 in the US.

These incidents have become tragically frequent, and we cannot and will not allow ourselves to accept them as the status quo.  We are directly and indirectly impacted by systemic racism – we cannot ignore the fact of this oppression yet we can equip ourselves and our participants to take action against it.  Black Lives Matter.