It is not an uncommon situation for kids or adults of color to be killed because of their skin color. To be killed because they look suspicious is terrible because people do not take the lives of black individuals into consideration. They have families. However, all they see is the color of their skin. They claim that they are “savages and rabid animals.” It is often assumed that people of color are on some kind of drugs or influenced by alcohol. These allegations are not always true. A 17 year old boy was a victim of this assumption and “misunderstanding”. His name was Kendrick Johnson and he died in 2013.

Johnson was a basketball player at his high school in Valdosta, Georgia. Sources claim that he accidentally went head first into a roll up mat and became stuck. He assumed he was going to die there, which is exactly what happened. He was discovered by his fellow students who had climbed up to the custer.

Authorities went on to do a deep investigation into Johnson’s death. The autopsy reported that he was stuffed with crunch paper because someone removed all of his organs. In 2013, someone was walking around with his organs. Who would do this to a 17 year old black male who had  a bright future ahead of him?. Johnson was very involved as an athlete. Most of the time, these assumptions kill black people, regardless of their age. In the 1990s, a 14 year old boy was killed, mutilated and hanged to the point he was unrecognizable because a white woman thought he whistled at her. Soon after the incident, it was reported that the particular boy in question was killed, which happens often. Black people dying because they were accused and then are later released. It is great that they are being released after being wrongly accused. However, these individuals are dead so they cannot celebrate. 

In 2017, another 17 year old was shot at least 18 times because he was going inside his grandmother’s house. The deputy on duty assumed he was holding a gun and killed him. If he was white, do you think he would have used protocol? If we were all white in these situations, do you think if we whistled at that woman she would have reacted in that particular manner? These actions connect to the horrific deaths of black people in the past year. Breonna Taylor was shot in her home and her boyfriend faced arrest or jail time. In addition to this, Geroge Floyd had trouble breathing and called out to his mom because of the suffering he was going through. I am happy that the cop who did this is in jail where he belongs. That should send a message that there is justice. And racial profiling, and oppression, and discrimnation is a thing of the past.

The phrase “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America” used to mean something. We used to stand up and hold our hands over our hearts in school and recite it. We used to take off our hats at games, hold our hands over our hearts and recite the Pledge. “And to the republic for which it stands” is another famous phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance. Our world was founded on racism. People of Color have been oppressed for years and are still being targeted today. We are constantly in fear of being the next victim of racism in the United States. Furthemore, the line “One nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” shows that the Statue of Liberty was built for the Americans and that she stands for something. However, I do not think that is the case anymore. I am a libra, which means I was born to be balanced. Despite this, it is hard to do so when white cops keep playing the victim by saying they “acted out of self defense.” How do you balance that out? God has been used a lot in negative ways, such as to lose weight, or to OPPRESS and DISCRIMINATE. God is meant to be balanced and fair. The last line in the Pledge of Allegiance, “Justice for all” is a total lie as well. If there was justice, then the police who abused their power to do harm would be in jail. In addition to this, people such as Kendrick Johnson, Emmett Till, Freddy Grey, Breyonna Taylor would be celebrating in their graves and jumping for joy over the victory that their deaths would not be for nothing.

Life is not fair. If it was, everyone would be insanely rich and there would not be criminals. Finally, there would be no need for police. Everyone would be happy in a perfect world. However, that is not how the world works. People do good things and others do bad things. There cannot be a little too much of both. That is why I think the Pledge of Allegiance should be changed. The truth should be written since it is very powerful. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in the 1800s, which was a time when slavery and oppression were very common. This also means that the Pledge was written for the white men to justify the pain and torture. Many black children are dying. We need to do something so more people do not die at the hands of racism, which uproots families. Our black kids matter. All black people matter. Save us.

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

—-Martin Luther King Jr.