Three young Black lives. Three trips to a store. Three families left carrying a lifetime of grief.
Latasha Harlins was killed after being falsely accused of stealing a bottle of orange juice. Video evidence showed she had money in her hand and did not steal the item.
Cyrus Carmack-Belton, 14 years old, was shot in the back after being accused of shoplifting. His family lost a son. A community lost a child.
Trayvon Martin was returning from a store with an Arizona tea and a bag of Skittles when his life was taken.
Different cities. Different years. The same painful question.
How many Black children must die under suspicion before Black life is treated as innocent, human, and worthy of protection?
Oppression does not disappear because we ignore it. It does not retreat because we hope it will. Every generation must decide whether it will accept injustice or confront it.
We are a people who desire peace. But peace without justice is submission. Peace without accountability is silence. Peace without power is fragile.
The question is not whether history is repeating itself. The question is what are you prepared to do to stop it?- Raheim Shabazz