Respectability Politics.

This didn’t happen because we didn’t vote.

This didn’t happen because we didn’t pull up our pants.

This didn’t happen because we curse.

This didn’t happen because we listen to rap.

This didn’t happen because we are on Twitter.

This didn’t happen because we watched reality TV.

This didn’t happen because we didn’t educate ourselves.

This didn’t happen because we smoked weed.

This didn’t happen because we stole.

This didn’t happen because we speak Ebonics.

This didn’t happen because we are ghetto.

This didn’t happen because we are ratchet.

This didn’t happen because we call each other niggas.

This didn’t happen because we aren’t beautiful.

This didn’t happen because we are unworthy.

This didn’t happen because we aren’t humans.

This didn’t happen because we werent the backbone of America.

This didn’t happen because we weren’t resilient.

This didn’t happen because we aren’t amazing people.

This didn’t happen because we aren’t soulful people.

This didn’t happen because we aren’t people who still rise.

This happened

Because of our white supremacist society
Institutionalized racism
A flawed justice system
And Darren Wilson.