To the editor:

If I were to share my opinion on the world and its problems right now, I would start off by talking about racism. We have been surrounded by issues with racism for a very long time.

We have come a long way, but it doesn’t mean that the discrimination has stopped. In today’s world, black people are facing an extreme amount of hate.

As most people know by now, George Floyd’s death has started a movement. George Floyd died from a police officer kneeling on his neck for eight minutes, causing him to die of suffocation. After people had found out George did not cause any harm to the cop and did not fight him, they were angry.

They should be angry.

This is just one example of how racism plays into the world today. Police brutality is extremely faced towards non-whites.

Riots broke out, looting started, protests could be seen down every street and every race comes together to fight for one another’s freedom.

More innocent dead black people’s stories are being heard. We need to educate ourselves on these types of situations. We need to take a stand for our neighbors and we need to hear them out.

We need to say their names: Rodney King, Malice Green, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain and so many more.

These people will not stop fighting until they get the justice they deserve.

Whether you are white, black, Asian, Christian, Jewish, straight or gay, you should be standing with these people as they march. We can make a difference.

Mackenzie Sampson-Walk
St. Louis