I have been spending a lot of time watching the current events in our nation lately, and though it comes as no surprise, I still have to wonder, why so much animosity towards Black people? What have we done to America to cause so much hostility? Day after day, the media displays stories of lives being lost, and most of the time, for little or no provocation. Day after day, I see our people feeling down-trodden and besieged. This latest round of media blitz over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner has stirred the fires anew, and now as I sit and think, I realize that the entire Black community is in a chokehold. The very life and vitality of the Black race is being strangled, stifled and destroyed. Everyone has their own opinions, their own views and values, but living in a society that clearly shows that you are not valued, goes a long way in diminishing our self worth. For too long, our young men have been labeled as thugs, our young women as whores. Many times, it has been proven that if a child is told something long enough, that they grow up to epitomize what they have been told that they are. And so now, you find yourselves facing a generation of young men and women who do not know who they are and why they are here. They have no sense of where to go and to whom to turn. They do not trust authority.... they do not believe in the society in which they live, and many do not even believe in God. Lost in the struggle, they flounder and drown, trying to find a safe place to plant their feet. The fault is laid in various places...no one seems to really know why and where the apathy comes from, and no one wants to accept the blame, but the plain truth of the matter is that until our society starts to show and prove that their lives have value and meaning, they will continue to live their lives as if nothing matters, because when you are in the Struggle, the only thing that matters is surviving. Black Lives Matter... and until our society recognizes this and changes the laws and attitudes of our authorities, nothing will change.