Black by Popular Demand

By EJ Jarvis

Breaking news: An eighteen-year-old, African-American male has just been shot and killed by a police officer. It is believed that the suspect was unarmed at the time. Officials say that the police officer who fired the shots has been placed on administrative leave.

Many of you have heard this story. Many of you have cried over this story. But what if I told you this story isn’t real? What if I told you that the eighteen-year-old, unarmed, African-American male was me? What if I told you that my death sparked riots across America; my face printed on thousands of t-shirts saying one phrase: Black Lives Matter. What if you saw images of my body, lying still in the street, three bullet wounds: two in my back, one fatal shot in my head. You see me bleed out, handcu s pressing against my wrist. I take my last breath and close my eyes.

That isn’t who I am. I am not dead. I am right here. I am alive. I am not just another hashtag. I am EJ Jarvis. I am a son, an older brother. I am loved by both my mother and my father, equally. I have dozens of positive role models who are not just present but involved. I am an exceptional student and graphic designer; and I love to play basketball. I am not just another eighteen-year-old, unarmed, African-American male. I am a unique individual. I am me.

As I grow older, I begin to understand that my skin color comes with a price. Many want to observe it, some desire to kill it, and few are bold enough to replicate it, market it, and pro t from it.

People who don’t look like me or you will dance like us, talk like us, and even try and look like us. They want to be Black but keep their white privilege. They simply want to be us, that is until things get serious.

When innocent people are killed, when drugs destroy neighborhoods and families, when fathers go to jail, when siblings are split apart. When an eighteen-year-old, AfricanAmerican male is pulled over for no good reason, except for the fact that he looks suspicious. Except for the fact he is Black.

Outsiders will adore our culture but ignore our struggle. ey will love our features but dehumanize the people who own them. ey want to be just like us, but make fun of us when we “act Black.” We are no longer looked at as people. But as statistics and data. My skin color is what is in style. Our culture is the new trend. We are Black by popular demand. ■

EJ JARVIS is an undergraduate student om Washington, DC, USA, currently studying at Yale University.