Dear Mr. /Mrs. President,

Hi, my name is Izeah Escobedo and I go to mead high school in Colorado. Picture this, Mr. / Mrs. president you are driving and all of a sudden you are pulled over by a police officer. Your wife and children are in the car and the officer approaches you. The officer asks you to get out of the car. You tell the officer that you are unarmed and you have nothing illegal on you or in your vehicle. You reach to get your license in your pocket ordered by the police officer and the officer shoots you dead in front of your family. We all know this isn't always the case and may have not happened this fast but in some cases it has happen like this. Unfortunately, innocent black men and women have been killed by law enforcements for a mediocre reason. Some people believe the police are doing the right thing and just being cautious. Others believe there is a battle between African American people and Caucasian police officers. This is an issue that needs to be addressed before this issue tears our country apart even more than it already has.

About two years ago, the death of Trayvon Martin impacted the entire United States of America. The riots in Baltimore terrified and threatened the safety of citizens. With this the Black Lives Matter organization was born to support all black people no matter your age, ethnicity, and gender. Black Lives Matter goes beyond killings of black people by police and vigilantes but focuses on the importance of the lives that are being killed because of being unjust. BLM is a call to action and response to anti-black racism in our society and is a tactic to rebuild the black liberation movement.

There have been 986 unarmed people in 2015 alone who have been killed by the hands of police according to the Washington Post. There has been 707 people shot and killed by police this year already. According to the University of California, evidence shows that being black and unarmed is 3.49 times more likely to get shot and killed than being white and unarmed.The amount of shootings has gone out of control and this needs to stop. The police are killing innocent people, who are supposed to protect the citizens of America. We need to take these police officers out of the justice department. These people should not be able to still service the country if they’re only making it worse.

Not just all of the riots and people protesting in the streets but people are also protesting in a different way too. But these aren't just regular people these are the people young men and women look up to, yes these people are our super star athletes running the ball, playing baseball, and even on the court in the NBA. it all started when Colin Kaepernick decided to take a knee during the national anthem and “silently protest” although he didn't say a word it was a very loud and clear protest to the people of America. As this went on more and more athletes joined and took a knee as well, including one of our very own home town players Brandon Marshall. We need a president that will take action and not encourage these acts. We need someone who will take us to the next level in coming together and moving forward to better our country

So, it’s up to you Mr. /Mrs. President are going to allow police officers to carry a gun and shoot innocent African Americans or are you going to take those police officers out of the executive branch? Are you going to continue seeing our people die? Because if your not apart of the solution, you’re a part of the problem. Not only is the black community lives in your hands but all of this country's people's lives are in your hands. We need to keep our people safe and if you can't do that who will?