These days especially, living in majority white communities is fucking exhausting. It’s hard to articulate the stress that comes from knowing that all it takes to end up in a life or death situation is one person deciding you don’t belong there.

Every minor interaction becomes a risk assessment. Why are they staring at me? How threatening do they think I look? What is being assumed about me? And ultimately, am I safe here?

With every black person turned into a hashtag, we’re reminded, in the most graphic way, that someone else’s prejudice can cost us our lives.