“On the day I was born, the trait which received the most attention was not my height or weight or how loud or long I cried or my inability to stop squirming.

The trait that, unknown to me at the time, was to define my life was not my simple personhood. This was stolen at birth. My skin was black.

 When I enrolled in school, I trusted that I would receive an education sufficient to at least attempt to accomplish whatever goals I eventually set for myself. This expectation was stolen from me.

As a young man, my girlfriend and I signed an application to rent an apartment and it was accepted subject to an in-person interview. When we arrived and showed our faces, the empty apartment was instantly rented … to someone else. Our hope of a chosen residence was stolen.

When, despite my superior credentials, I did not get the job that was openly advertised, my chance for economic improvement was stolen.

In total, my chances of being evaluated as a person by the same metrics used if my skin was not black, of being accepted simply as a human being like you, have been stolen.

I cannot be compensated for this series of thefts. There is no check that can be written.

Do I want to kill somebody out of my frustration, my trap of being black? For sure, but who? It would be like Whack-a-Mole. That person would simply be replaced by his clone.

Do I really want to be in police custody!!! and then in jail for decades? No.

F… it, suicide is preferable. 

I will join the looters and help myself to whatever stupid stuff I can get my hands on. 

Yeah, it’s stealing.

I know all about that. So do you!”