MY OWN WITNESS: RUPTURE AND REPAIR

"My name is Shontel, and I love being black. I love everything about being black: the music, our hair, and our culture, just to name a few. However, lately, America doesn't seem to love black people as much. When we try to say our BLACK lives matter—-they tell us 'ALL lives matter.' This is hurtful because, of course, all lives matter, but black lives are the ones being lost every day at the hands of police brutality. I want America to see that black lives are important and to change it to all lives is silencing our voice."