Last night it was confirmed that the policeman who shot Michael Brown would not be indicted.
This has been deemed a travesty of justice and a gross dereliction of duty by the vast majority of St. Louis residents. It's especially true of the Afro-American community.
I am immensely proud of the Brown family in these trying times. They seek justice for the crime of murder they believe has been visited upon them. But they ask Afro-Americans to make a difference. And I'm happy to see that President Obama stands beside them in asking for a calm and reasoned response to the Grand Jury's findings.
But we must stop and think. In the wake of the announcement our brothers and sisters went on the rampage. We confronted the police. We damaged property. We looted, set fire, launched missiles. To what end?
Yes - we vented our anger and frustration. But we also gave life to the lie that black people are troublemakers. We've fuelled the fire that allows some strains of our society to affirm that Afro-Americans are violent thieves, looters and plunderers of wealth we have no claim to, stirrers of the embers of racial dichotomy.
We have not stood firm and acted like our proud ancestors - they raised their hearts and voices against the drawn guns and raised batons of the repressionist institution of law and race enforcement. We have allowed our immediate pain to vent in a counter-intuitive manner. We have raised the hand of violence to declare our hatred of the same.
Hear my sincere heart. This violence will solve nothing. Let's go back to our homes and think long and hard about what we want. Let's educate our kids, raise them right and teach them the basics of respect for life and love for all. Let's talk to our youth and help them to express themselves in a positive light so the nation takes notice. And let's train ourselves too. When we can speak up rather than "tool up" we are stronger. When our voices are heard and the gunshots are silenced - we are stronger.
When we can do this we can effect the change to our legal system, law enforcement and the way we are seen as part of this great nation.
Ferguson - Stand strong. St Louis - Stand up and stand firm. Missouri - Look beyond. America - Re-evaluate and stop the violence.
