A few months back, I got pulled over by a cop. I was nervous, of course. But I knew, in that moment, that I didn’t need to fear for my life--my skin color is light. He was polite, maybe even friendly. Gave me a ticket, wished me a good afternoon, even, and I was on my way.

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Not interacting with the law often, my heart was still racing as I drove away. And I was thinking about how lucky I was to be born this way. I had seen Queen & Slim recently, and the early pivotal scene in that movie was replaying in my head.

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I saw Jodie Turner-Smith’s eyes, pleading with Daniel Kaluya’s character to not challenge the officer. I saw the officer getting angry, trying to assert dominance, and I saw Kaluya’s character fight back.

I was grateful for the stark contrast to what I had experienced.

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Sadly, we don’t need a fictionalized portrayal to see police violence against black people in America. It happens in real life, over and over again. The disgusting truth is that if we just wait, it will happen again.

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And there will be outrage and hurt and despair. There will be righteousness. And then, with a little time (a shockingly short amount of time, probably), in many circles there will be a return to the status quo.

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I’m not going to pretend I know how to make it all go away. The same factors that led four policemen to shoot Amadou Diallo 41 times at his own front door in 1999 are still at play. When will this change?

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And did you know that 1 in 1,000 black men and boys die at the hands of police in this country? How is that ok?

Let's not forget the black lives ended prematurely due to police violence. Thanks to @violadavis for the following list.

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Jonathan Ferrell
Jordan Davis
Walter Scott
Rekia Boyd
Antwon Rose Jr
Atatiana Jefferson
John Crawford III
Jamee Johnson
Freddie Gray
Ahmaud Arbery
George Floyd
Amadou Diallo
Tamir Rice
Ariane McCree
William Green
Trayvon Martin
Breonna Ttaylor
Botham Shem Jean
Stephon Clark

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Gregory Hill Jr
Philando Castile
Michael Brown
Eric Garner
Michael Dean
Alton Sterling
Miles Hall
Emantie “E.J.” Bradford Jr
Sean Bell
Terrence Franklin
Sandra Bland

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If you haven't read it already, this is a great time to get reacquainted with @nytimes’s 1619 project (including @nhannahjones's Pulitzer Prize-winning essay). You can read it all here:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html?searchResultPosition=1

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And here’s a summary of some of the articles in the 1619 project:

https://twitter.com/arghavan_salles/status/1163496379009785857?s=20

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#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #RunWithAhmaud