It's Sunday, the vivid rays of the sun shine luminously in my eyes. Yet, there is something unusual with the day. Something is certainly odd. Regardless of the cynical conceptions that pop up in my head, I still console myself and spare no effort to contradict all the bleak notions that hit my mind. As I fix my emotions, an earsplitting prattle of a debonair captures my interest. I rush towards the window and my heart skips a beat. What I see is sinister. Its intolerable. I see an adolescent at his death’s door. I see the family of the young man crying their heart out. I feel the affliction while they put him down and choke him. I see him losing his soul right in front my eyes, and all I can do, is nothing. And here it is! He’s dead. Lying on the road, all alone. But is it only his color or his race which forced him to lay on his death bed? Does he deserve that? Was the future of the young boy not that important? Why was he being judged by his color but not by his capabilities? Why didn’t he defend himself? Is being black that bad? All these questions held me in astonishment and despair.

Raising in a South Asian society, I’ve always found the word “racism” being frequently used. I’ve witnessed people considering individuals with dark complexion ill-fated. I have always found the white having some sort of superiority over the black. I’ve actually seen parents differentiating their own children on the bases of color. The kind of society we live in, supports the advertisements and the usage of whitening creams. Individuals are being encouraged to inject glutathione into their skins so that they disguise themselves as white. I've seen people being mocked because of their skin tone. Girls with dark complexion are sure to face rejections and prejudices, no matter what. Individuals get to face judgement because of their dark complexion no matter how talented they are. People lose their lives solely because of their dark-complexioned skin. Is this the world we live in? Is dark skin really deemed as undesirable and unworthy? If no, then why does every black person faces discrimination? Why are whitening creams and makeup foundations so commonly being used if having a dark complexion is not a big deal?

Why does it cost the lives of the black for us to realize that the black race isn’t and should never be taken for granted? Whether it be the killing of George Floyd or Elijah McClain, or let it be the shooting of Willie McCoy or Atatiana Jefferson, every black life matters. We just need to give it a thought and realize where it all went wrong.