Editorial: Can There Be A Peace?

   In the year that has now passed, we have seen two hard tragedies that have shaken the African-American community. The tragedies were the killings of Eric Gardner and Michael Brown. These crimes took place this past summer. The suspects in those crimes were white policemen.
  Garner's death was the first. In a Staten Island neighborhood on a sunny July day, Eric was trying to sell single cigarettes without tax stamps, in an attempt to make good for his family. But the police caught him selling on the street and tried to arrest him. Eric tried to resist, but officer Daniel Pantaleo tried to stop him on the pavement by putting his arm around Garner's neck. The attempt made Garner pass out on the street and not feeling well, say "I can't breathe" eleven times. Eric Garner died one hour later in the hospital. He was 43 years old.

    One month later in Ferguson, Missouri, nearby St. Louis, 18-year old Michael Brown and a friend stole a $48 box of cigarillos from a convenience store. A police officer that heard the description of the two men in the robbery was in his car radio, saw them and stopped them. The officer's name was Darren Wilson. Brown resisted arrest by punching Wilson while the officer was in his car. Police Officer Wilson tried to stop him by using his gun. He shot Michael six times. Brown didn't get up.

    As the result of these color crimes, both of the police officers involved were not indicted by the grand juries. After the announcement of the verdict, there were peaceful protests throughout the country. But it became worse in Ferguson. There were lots of riots, burned buildings and lootings, which gave one memories of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Sixty-one people were arrested and one person was killed in the midst of the madness. Even some members of the St. Louis Rams football team responded to the crisis by putting their hands up during a game, and it enraged the St. Louis police department.

    White on black crime has long been an issue in this nation. This isn't the first time a wanted suspect was free to go. Three years ago in Florida, George Zimmerman fatally killed 17-year old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman had mistaken Martin for a robber because he had a hoodie over his head. The jury didn't find any evidence and made Zimmerman free to go.

    We know too many of these innocent people of different races who have been unfairly stopped and arrested. Only this time, the justice system failed to respond. As one year passes into history and a new one comes upon us, we must be more aware of our surroundings and be safer in a world that has gone crazy. Some people can't take anymore of these color crimes committed by the law. My resolution for the New Year is for people to start praying more for peace and hope. This isn't a world where we can't expect some superhero to come and stop a sinful act of violence. That's fiction. I'm talking about the real world here. We cannot stop violence, but we need more peace. When that day comes for a more peaceful world, as the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “we shall overcome”.