In South Carolina, Walter Scott was shot eight times in the back.

In Ferguson, Missouri, Michael Brown was also killed.

In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Chris Lollie was tased and arrested while waiting for his kids at school.

Eric Garner died after being choked while he was standing on the sidewalk.

All of these men has two things in common: they were black and they were attacked by white police officers.

Racism and prejudice have existed ever since two different races met and coexisted. It can turn ugly and nasty, and in many occasions, violent. Upon their arrival as slaves in the 1700s, blacks were put below whites. Could this police action be a reminder of that?

The victims did have issues that were legally questionable. Scott’s car had a light malfunction. Lollie refused to move his car out of the pickup zone. Garner was selling cigarettes illegally. Some of the victims resisted arrest, but did they have to die for these small crimes? The question many are asking is are these attacks “racist.”

When they are questioned, the cops say that life was in danger, or that the victim was going for their pistol. However, videos from smartphones prove otherwise. Protesters around the country have sparked both violent and nonviolent protests. No matter what, their goals is to tell the world that black lives matter.

“The police  just don’t have good judgement of the situation, and just shoot if they suspect a threat,” freshman Chance Naauao-Ota said. “This will continue for as long as cops are trigger-happy, and/or keep feeling the surge of power.

She said police superiors should be more strict.

“They should teach the officers what type of a situation to shoot or to taze the person. If they are superiors, they should know what to do in most situations,” she said.