You will die in a week. In seven days, you will be gone and your life won't mean a thing. Of course those who love you will miss you. There will be a few rallies and posts on social media. Hashtags and memes will spring up in your honor. But the American justice system will ultimately decide you're worthless. It's cute that they call it the "justice" system, isn't it? It may be systematic, but there really is no justice involved.
Anyway, you can't think on that right now. We need to talk about these seven days you've got left. You need to give your loved ones all the hugs and kisses they will need to last them a lifetine, Send all those greeting cards for the many occasions you'll miss. Give your kids all the love you have left too. Tell them you won't be around to see them graduate or get married. While you're at it, tell them you're sorry for being born Black and for passing it on to them because with your dark skin, they don't stand a chance. Oh and the kids you don't have, you can simply kiss them goodbye. Throw a few apologies out there for not being around to see the births. Then let's get back to business. You have to concentrate on the fact that you have only seven days left to dream. If you haven't been to college, there is no point in wanting to. You'll be gone before you can set foot on any campus. If you're engaged, call it off. You'll never make the wedding. Seven days. You've got seven days to see the world. If you don't have the money, you'll have to forget it. You won't live long enough to earn it. So you'll never have the money and we both know you don't have the time. If you've ever done anything wrong in your life, you have seven days to make it all right. Ever cheated on a test, been accused of stealing, posted anything you shouldn't have on social media? If so, you had better fix it now. Because when you're gone, they will forget how you've loved and how intelligent you are. They won't care that you have no criminal record and that you are a human being and should be allowed to live. The bad things are all they will see. Yup. Pretty soon, someone will come along with a gun, a billy club and a badge (or without) and decide it's time for you to go. The fact that you were on your way to college, haven't graduated high school or had dreams of owning your own business won't matter. It's already been decided that seven days is all you get. And that justice system we spoke about will decide it's okay for your life to be over. It will suddenly become justified that someone else plays God, judge, jury and executioner and denies you what would have been the rest of your life.
The good news is, you get to be a part of something big. Your name gets to be added to a list of those who departed prematurely. Trayvon Martin. Jordan Davis. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Rumain Brisbon. VonDerrit Myers Jr. Dillon McGee.Roshad McIntosh. Kimani Gray. Kendrec McDade. Timothy Russell. Amadou Diallo. Sean Bell. Orlando Barlow. Aaron Campbell. Ronald Madison. James Brissette. Travares McGill. Oscar Grant. Emmett Till. Denzil Dowell. You'll be in the news for years, even if you are a statistic. But in order for you nor your family to be demonized, you've got a lot of work to do. You've only got seven days. Don't make the same mistakes as those before you. You've got a whole week to become perfect. Now go on. Clock's ticking.
TK
