By Ciara Walker 

Staff Writer 

“I don’t have a gun, stop shooting!”

Those were the last words spoken by Michael Brown as he was fatally gunned down in Ferguson, MO by a Caucasian police officer. Brown was supposed to start college that following Monday.

We have all heard someone complaining and thought, “It is not just because you are black.” But this time, it is. I have silently watched various videos pop up on my social media newsfeeds of African-American men and teenagers being unjustly arrested, beaten, shot at and even worse, murdered – all of them unarmed.

Remember the staff member on campus who was thought to have had an assault rifle? It turned out to be his umbrella and he was able to walk away, later joking about it on his Facebook. I wonder if it were an African-American man, would the situation have been handled differently?

Just recently, Levar Jones was shot after a police officer fired at him multiple times in South Carolina. He was reaching for his driver’s license after the officer told him to retrieve it. The police officer assumed Jones was reaching for a weapon. Well, why was he pulled over in the first place?

The events in Ferguson and South Carolina have not been given much attention locally. Meanwhile, it has sparked an outrage in other communities. In light of current events, I can no longer remain silent. I have two African-American boys who may someday be looked upon as a threat just because of the color of their skin. And this is not limited to the men either. I myself have been harassed by two Caucasian police officers just this past April. “Routine traffic stops” are just as dangerous nowadays for blacks as they were back in the 1950s.

So, why should you care about these occurrences? CSUSM boasts a diverse campus. The statics show only 3 percent African-American students, 0.3 percent Native American/American Indian, 8.4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 35.8 percent Hispanic, 36.5 percent Caucasian and 5.7 percent two or more races. This campus is no stranger to racial profiling, dating back to incidents of photos surfacing that seem to have targeted Latinos.

Perhaps white privilege has many people blind to what is really going on. For example, just because President Barack Obama was elected, does not mean America is post-racial. In fact, since the presidency, it seems that history has started to repeat itself. I myself have lost friends as a result of their racist comments during both elections.

I am focused on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but police are in pursuit of me. What happened to justice for all? Minorities have to beat stereotypes while facing disadvantages. How do you deal with a society that claims to be post-racial, but really isn’t?

For starters, be culturally sensitive. Don’t judge an entire group of people by the few representatives that you encounter. Learn about a race instead of criticizing them. And having a friend of said race does not give you amnesty from being labeled racist. I understand that racism is a learned behavior and it is an age-old ideal in some families.

America as a whole was not ready to end segregation, the change was forced; an answer to the Civil Rights Movement.

So, this issue is not going to change overnight, nor will it go away by a few social media rants minus real action. Organize peace marches. You feel that you are not being represented appropriately? Join a diversity team at work or school to be a positive image for your culture. Then, use that platform to educate others. Raise awareness, remain vigilant and speak up. Don’t wear black face (or sombreros or dress as cholas) this Halloween, simply making a mockery of something you will never understand. If you can’t do anything to help, at least change your outlook. You never know what a person is going through or has endured to be sitting in class with you.