May 3rd, '17 5:33pm
I'm guilty! Guilty of not showing enough compassion, guilty of not reading the news on your murder soon enough, guilty of not recognizing all of the other Black girls, boys, women and men that suffered the same fate as you, guilty of not writing this sooner, guilty of being caught up in my own life, guilty of not being conscious of the fact that my future daughter or son could too run into a privileged officer who is ready to fire his pistol without legitimate reasoning, guilty of not speaking up, guilty of not using my energy to spotlight the dire issues people with brown skin have suffered from for centuries and continue to be ostracized decades after slavery was abolished and officially got "equal rights" as U.S. citizens, guilty that I too urged my folks to let me party with my friends at the age of 15 and that despite what cruel happenings occurred in the world around us, I pleaded with them that I'd be okay, guilty that I wasn't always responsible when I was your age and yet you suffered the worst outcome while trying to have fun, guilty that your brothers and family lost their best friend to a system that doesn't care for our success, guilty that I can't hug and kiss my brothers and sister as I write this, guilty that change hasn't come and we've been hoping for a better day for far too long, guilty that I have failed you, Jordan Edwards.
Please forgive me....