A few days ago the black community was in an uproar over the death of C.J. Smith, a 17 year old boy who was shot and killed by North Little Rock Police when the driver of the vehicle was pulled over during a traffic stop.The black community was in total disbelief and fear that the racist police brutality that plagued so many other cities in America had found a new home in the small city of North Little Rock, AR
As the community prepared to rally and make Black Lives Matter signs and shirts, as black politicians prepared to be the voice of a city angered by the senseless slaughter of an African American teen, as the citizens prepared to march and probably had Al Sharpton or the NAACP on standby; the North Little Rock Police Department released the dash cam video footage of the incident. It didn’t take long for the community to realize what we thought was police brutality was an act of Deadly Use Of Force as the police officer fired shots to protect his own life. C.J. Smith struggled with the officer, was carrying a gun, and attempted to fire the a shot at the officer. Anyone can see this wasn’t a case of a racist sociopath hiding behind a badge.This was simply a case of a scared youth who made the fatal mistake of not thinking rationally, and a police officer who probably never dreamed in a million years a traffic stop would leave a young teenage boy dead from a bullet from his own gun. We grew silent. C.J. Smith became one of the things we knew happened but refuse to address and swept under the rug like mental illness, child molesters in the family, and and a few other areas we choose to ignore within our community. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Will Always Matter, but if the only time we come together in agreement and unity is for violence and police brutality there is a bigger problem. Black Businesses Matter. Why do we find it so easy to come together when it’s time to protest but can’t find the coins to support our own businesses for economic empowerment? What about black children Matter? What happened to It takes a village? Where was the village when 3 teenage boys were out driving with marijuana in the car on a Sunday? I’m by no means justifying a child being killed ,but I think it’s time for us as a community to stop sweeping and start cleaning out what’s under the rug. Sometimes uncomfortable conversations have to be had so we can grow. This just my opinion. Act In Love, Walk In Faith, & Express Without Fear xoxo, Krystale Jane’l
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