Livelii

On February 26, 2012, a teenager by the name of Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot in small gated community outside of Orlando, FL. A middle aged Hispanic male named George Zimmerman was identified and charged as the shooter. The conflict started because the African American teen was seen walking in the community wearing a black hoodie, and without hesitation the former military man decided to take the "law" in his hands. Accusing Martin of disturbing the community led to a physical conflict which ended with the death of the teen by gunshot. The tragic murder of the innocent teen spread like wild fire exciting racial tensions throughout America. After Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges the outrage in the black community influenced the Black Lives Matters movement and protest. Since then cases all over the U.S. increased with Black people becoming victims of racially charged crimes including police gun violence, such as; Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, Kalief...

The old saying goes "in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," this clever expression for decades is used to teach elementary school kids the discovery America. Although the land was already inhabited with people, Columbus was credited as Europe's first for successful voyage across the world. After the discover many began to settle in the Americas seeking gold, power, religious freedom and an overall new way of life, ultimately establishing America as "the land of the free." Now, fast forward over 500 years later, after the Atlantic Slave Trade, Jim Crow Laws, Nazi Germany, “Reganomics,” and even present day Black lives matters campaigns, America is still seen as this free country. In comparison to the Middle Eastern countries like Iran, who prohibits alcohol or practicing religions outside of Islam, I can understand why America is "free." However, the question is, are all Americans free? CNN published an article titled, “The blurring of racial ...