Aidan B. New Jersey

Bring Together, Not Apart

This is a letter about bringing the Black community and Cops together, instead of tearing them apart with violence and tear gas.

Bring Together not Apart!

It is critical that we bring the Black Community and the police together. If we don’t make a day or meetings in which the community and cops can come together and learn to love each other, then our nation will not function correctly. Without Police their would be no one to stop crime. Without the community the police won't have anyone to protect. When we work together in trust and unity it benefits us both.

These riots and violent protests don’t fix the problem. Communication and talking are the only solution. Without unity we wont fix anything. The common mistake people are making is thinking hatred will make peace. They think that rioting, and firing tear gas will bring us together, but doesn't it seem to bring us apart? Labeling the opposing side as “Killers”, or “Racists” doesn’t make the problem anymore solved.

This whole situation is putting officers and citizens on guard making us all worry about what's going to happen next. This dilemma is making African Americans scared of police which is wrong. Its also making police scared of being shot or killed. It's bad enough that both of these communities are feeling targeted because of their skin or the badge they wear. Instead of decreasing violence in our neighborhoods its increasing it! Its unbelievable to think that you could be the next victim without even doing something wrong. That’s why we need to stop this madness.

Even though I agree on bringing the communities together I think it is still the job of the African American community to stop crime in their community. According to the nationalresearchcenter.org, “9000 black on black killings have occurred in the last year”. Where’s Al Sharpton on this, we need to stop following fake leaders like him who want to stir violence. To make matters worse “around 40-60 racist cop on black shootings had occurred in the same time span” stated the nationalresearchcenter.org. This is exactly why we need to have the black community and police to work together in unity to fight these problems.

Some may say that cops are the problem and that if they don’t stop killing African Americans then why should they cooperate with the police. They also might say that all cops are racist. Well they are wrong because many cops are black and just because some our white doesn't mean cops are always out to get the African American community. This is a stereotype that kills the police.

Some may say that the Black community is only doing this to stir violence. This isn't true at all because many want justice. The actions of some violent supporters shouldn’t reflect all of the supporters. Some supporters may be violence seekers but you can definitely see peaceful protests and I am sure that the peaceful protests aren't proud of the violence. That kind of stereotype is swaying the opinion of many about the protests.

So all in all Cops and the Black community should work together to fight this cause. In the words of Lawrence Bill Jones “Justice should not be used as a weapon!” It is evident to me that if the community and the police come together, then justice will prevail in this nation! It is very lame of us to let racism tear down our community and don't think for a minute that other countries aren't laughing at us. That is why we need to bring the Black community and cops together.

Brielle Elementary

Eighth Grade Citizens

The students in the eighth grade who wished to post their letters are featured here. Students worked for several weeks in both Social Studies and Language Arts classes, crafting their arguments. They participated in Penpal Schools Decision 2016 as well as Media Literacy Week.

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