Francis Emelogu/The Cougar

Over the past year, the phrase “no justice, no peace” has become famous. This chant has been heard at numerous protests against police brutality all over the country and in different parts of the world. As a result, tension and division have risen once again among Americans.

As a nation, America has come so far and made great leaps towards allowing every child to have the same rights and opportunities. However, recent events involving police brutality paint a completely different picture for children.

The consecutive deaths of unarmed young black men by police officers allow many to believe the fight for justice is ongoing. To add to the matter, with every death there have been no indictments of officers that killed the men.

Of course, even if many of the situations do vary, the apparent presence of racial profiling has not. There is a clear problem with interactions between blacks and officers, and it has been apparent for years.

According to the Virginia Gazette, under New York City’s infamous “stop and frisk” law, police officers were allowed to detain and search anyone they wanted to. Nearly 700,000 people were stopped in 2011 – 55 percent of whom were black, while only 9 percent were white; 88 percent of those stopped were released since they did nothing wrong.

“We’re still fighting,” said accounting sophomore Nathan Platt. “As a young black man with a promising future, I feel as if I always have to remain on the defense when stepping into society. With the recent events occurring in the nation, we are constantly being set back with little to no room to progress.”

The lives of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and so many more unarmed black men prove that justice in America is not yet an equal term. The frustration in black communities is growing every day with the constant injustice that many young unarmed black men are receiving after having their lives taken.

The progression of this generation has regressed because of the chaos that has happened. There is a natural division taking place.

Some of the injustices that took place 50 years ago are being mirrored today and causing the same uproar. The protests, violent raids and news broadcasts are intensifying the issues and only adding to the negativity in the situation.

Many people have discarded the feelings of the families of these young men by saying they “deserved to die” or “maybe they should have been wearing something else.” The simple fact that people have no sympathy for a parent or relative who has lost their loved one shows that some are still trapped in a static and destructive state of mind.

There should be no complacency with the justice in America. There are so many underlying issues that have stopped us as a nation from continuing to move forward as one.

The war of equality in America must not continue on for another generation. Burning down communities and spreading hate will not help us get back to progression.

Honesty is key in the race situation, and the issues black men face are real and happening every day. The pigment of someone’s skin should not affect how they are treated under the law.

Black people have fought for many generations just to have the opportunity to have a voice in America. Many have lost their lives in the quest that one day children of all races would have the same opportunities and receive the same treatment.

The debate of race has gone on so long in America, and it is a cycle that has been going on for so long. The progression of this nation is far too great; we’ve come too far to regress.

Opinion columnist Faith Alford is a journalism sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com. 

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“Police brutality causes regression in American race relations” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar