The future we want

If you can't seem to understand just how big this is, then I pray you will see how people of color in this country are hurting. But news outlets continue to twist the narrative of the suffering. People are using their First Amendment rights peacefully, and being arrested for it. We live in a corrupt world and people are tired of it.

We're lucky enough to live in Cape Girardeau, where local law enforcement seems to support the movement more than others. That doesn't mean we can stop fighting for others' rights though. It doesn't mean people aren't still hurting in our own city.

Please don't forget that this isn't about good police officers versus bad ones. This is about fixing the broken system so that bad ones can't continue holding positions of power. This is about ensuring that as a country, if we see something our government is doing wrong, we step up and say no more. Change doesn't come easy. Look back at women's rights to vote, and decades later black women's rights to vote. Do you think we got where we are today without a fight?

No.

If you think the charges of the other three officers is the end, you're mistaken. I feel like this is a good time to remind you all that in order to see long term change, we have to make sure that elected officials reflect the world and future we want.

We must continue attending protests and projecting the voices of the unheard. Educate yourself and your family. Keep people aware of the truth of what's happening on the ground. This will continue until everyone living in this country gets the same rights.

ABBEY KELSO, Cape Girardeau