In the midst of recent protests and shootings, a nation-wide issue has become increasingly defined: racial disparities in the policing of African Americans compared to whites.

Recently, numerous high-profile shootings of unarmed African American men have made their way into the news: Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Philando Castile and Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Alfred Olango in El Cajon, California; and countless others. Two recent shootings have been those of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, both having occurred just this past September.

According to The Washington Post, recent statistics show that a disproportionate amount of African Americans are shot and killed by police. Whites comprise 62% of America’s population, and make up 49% of people killed by police, whereas African Americans make up only 13% of America’s population, but account for 24% of people killed by police — which makes an African American 2.5 times more likely to die by the hands of an officer than a white person.

This divide has sparked an explosive surge of protests and riots. One prominent movement is Black Lives Matter. In 2013, the organization was founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African-American with no criminal record. With each shooting — such as the recent ones of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa and Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte — the Black Lives Matter movement gains more magnitude and recognition through rallies and riots.

In addition to more supporters, Black Lives Matter has also garnered critics, who claim that the movement is in itself racist. It is also commonly argued that its protests and riots often grow violent as the movement continues in its quest to erase a divide that is believed to stem from America’s history of slavery. Because of the extrajudicial shootings that allegedly target African Americans, there is deep-seated animosity in African American communities.

Black Lives Matter exposes citizens everywhere to the reality of the divide that permeates daily lives in the classroom, the workplace, and the household. Sri Guttikonda ‘20, discusses the shootings, stating, “I believe it is completely unfair…Although these events cannot be controlled, it is important to stand up and show support for those who have been hurt.”

In addition, Arya Lakshmanan ‘19 states, “I think that the movement had good intentions…but then grew out of hand due to misinterpretation by individuals belonging to the group. Regarding the police shootings based on race, I think that was due to the individuals and not the police as a whole, and so the main focus in resolving the matter should be in making sure officers don’t have any sort of bias.”

Sri’s and Arya’s words help to show a perspective shared by many students in the classroom today — that these events are hard to foresee and to prevent, but that racially-motivated shootings must stop.

People across the nation have vastly different opinions concerning these shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement. As many find themselves in the midst of this ongoing and polarizing race debate, it is doubtful that any one perspective will ever prevail, especially as the media begins to play an increasingly large part in the lives of Americans, exposing them to the reality that police shootings create.