There is a certain righteousness that surrounds the #BlackLivesMatter cause. Those who deny that there’s a problem are missing the point. However, the problem is bigger than even the protesters know and they’re not doing much about it. Outrage over another death in Ferguson was noticeably missing this week.
The death in question is Jamyla Bolden, a 9-year-old girl who was doing her homework when gunfire was poured into her home. Protests have been happening in or around her hometown of Ferguson, MO, for a year when Michael Brown was killed by a police officer after robbing a store and attacking the officer. Another shooting in nearby St Louis prompted more outrage this week. According to Fox News:
A crowd gathered Wednesday evening to protest the shooting of an armed suspect by Missouri cops, but no mention was made of the 9-year-old girl who had been shot dead by an unknown assailant just seven miles away the night before.
The local community did not allow her death to go unnoticed, holding a vigil and planning a march (UPDATE: March video below). However, the rising political strength of the #BlackLivesMatter group has been conspicuously silent on the tragedy. The movement, which deserves a voice and support, lost credibility by protecting those being sought for criminal activity but ignoring other black lives such as Jamyla Bolden’s.