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OUR LIVES MATTER: ‘No crime worth trying’

By Fatou Snow Staff Writer

Founder of the NAACP and Harvard graduate W.E.B. Du Bois once said “A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect.”

On Nov. 24 ABC News’ Dan Abrams analyzed the grand jury’s decision in the case of Mike Brown and Darren Wilson and said: “This grand jury decided that there was no crime worth trying.”

How is a loss of life, a case not worth trying? The grand jury—consisting of nine whites and three African Americans—only needs nine votes to reach a verdict. Is this an ironic coincidence?

As a daughter of a Senegalese native, I was puzzled but not surprised to hear Abrams statement and the result of this case.

For a journalist of Abrams’ reputation to allow such harsh words to flow from his mouth it is, quite heinous to hear. According to him, it’s like the grand jury blatantly said: Mike Brown’s life does not matter, my life does not matter, your life does not matter, nobody’s life matters. It is obvious that this country was not founded on laws to protect black people. I realize that I cannot change the mindset of groups of people with 1 opinion article; however, I can attempt to educate others.

In my opinion, fighting violence with violence is pointless because it only leads to ignorance and a more destructive society. Politicians and lawyers use their knowledge of law to their advantage. Protests are a great act of voicing your rights, but unfortunately, protests only get you so far. Knowledge is power and in order to prosper as a people, we as African Americans must educate ourselves.

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