One Year Older and One Year Wiser: My Wish For a More Inclusive America

Today is my birthday and I want to thank those of you who have sent me well wishes from near and afar. With each passing birthday, I ask myself what I can personally do to shed light on and combat inequality and discrimination in my community, both of which I believe are the biggest barriers Americans face today. 

I think about this not just because my professional career is dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, but because I know from personal experience that small but significant acts go a long way towards creating compassion, understanding others, and making a real difference. 

Exactly three years ago today, on August 9, 2014, my 48th birthday, a white police officer, Darren Wilson, murdered Michael Brown, an African-American young man, in Ferguson, MO. Brown was inhumanely left in the streets for hours before his body was taken away. A Grand Jury ultimately failed to indict Wilson sparking protests in Ferguson and around the country. 

Personally, I will never forget that Brown was murdered on MY birthday in MY home state! His death really WOKE ME UP. And now, fast forward three years later and a travel advisory has been issued by MY law school classmate Rod Chapel, the President of Missouri's NAACP chapter, warning visitors of the risk they take in having their civil rights violated just by visiting the state of Missouri. (See MSNBC's coverage here: https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/missouri-naacp-president-explains-travel-advisory-1018207299932 and see coverage by nationally syndicated television show, The View, here: https://lnkd.in/eKTTTsD).

People, things MUST CHANGE! Today, for me, please just ask yourself what small thing can YOU do to stem the violence, brutality and pain? What small thing can you do to connect with someone who is different than you?

I also ask you to join me in reflecting on and praying for the families of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, ReNisha McBride, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Laquan Mcdonald, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Jamar Clark, Anton Sterling, Philando Castille, Charles Kinsey and Sandra Bland. 

And if you do not recognize any of these names, please take a few moments and read the timeline below (thanks Google) to see why you should care and know who they are. Be blessed my friends and until next year! 

Timeline: The Black Lives Matter movement

UPDATED FRI 22 JUL 2016, 2:12 PM AEST

PHOTO A protest at Grand Central Station in New York on July 8, 2016. AFP: KENA BETANCUR

As the United States continues to grapple with rising tensions over alleged police brutality against black Americans, we look at how a young man's walk to buy sweets in 2012 sparked a nationwide movement.

Here are the some of the key moments of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Trayvon Martin is shot by neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman February 26, 2012

Trayvon Martin, 17, is fatally shot by neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on a visit to the convenience store to buy a drink and sweets. The teenager had been visiting his father's fiance in Sanford, Florida, when he had an altercation with Zimmerman. Initially Zimmerman is not charged by Sanford Police. After a public outcry, Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. The Black Lives Matter movement officially starts when Zimmerman is later acquitted of murdering Martin. Zimmerman goes on to the sell the gun he used to shoot the teen for $US250,000.

PHOTO Protesters march in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles after the George Zimmerman verdict on July 13, 2013.

REUTERS: JASON REDMOND

Jordan Davis is shot at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida

November 23, 2012

African-American teenager Jordan Davis, 17, and his three friends are stopped in a gas station parking lot to buy gum and cigarettes. They are approached by white man Michael Dunn and after an verbal argument about the volume of the teenagers' music, Dunn shoots 10 rounds into their car, killing Davis. Dunn is sentenced to life in prison without parole. Davis' death is the focus of documentary film 3? Minutes and becomes part of the national conversation about the dangers facing young black men in America.

Renisha McBride is shot dead in Detroit after a car accident

November 2, 2013

Renisha McBride, 19, knocks on the door of Theodore Wafer's home in the early hours of the morning after she is involved in a car crash in Detroit, Michigan. Wafer fatally shoots her through his door. The case initially stirs racial tensions because Wafer is white and McBride was black. Her supporters rally in Detroit after her death and online activists launch a campaign for justice. Wafer receives a 17-year sentence for a raft of charges which includes second-degree murder and manslaughter.

'I can't breathe' - Eric Garner is choked to death on Staten Island, New York

July 17, 2014

Eric Garner, 43, is killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo after being put in a chokehold on the side of the road. A bystander films the footage of the 43-year-old father gasping for air and saying "I can't breathe" before turning limp.The phrase becomes a key part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protests erupt in New York after a grand jury fails to indict the officer.

PHOTO Protesters gather at the spot where Eric Garner died.

AFP/STAN HONDA (FILE)

John Crawford is killed by police at a Walmart in Ohio

August 5, 2014

John Crawford, 22, is shot dead by police after being seen with a toy gun, which he picked up in the store. He and his girlfriend were at the Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio, to pick up crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars for a family gathering.

Unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed in Ferguson, Missouri

August 9, 2014

Unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by officer Darren Wilson outside of an apartment complex in Ferguson, Missouri. Just two days later on August 11, Ezell Ford, who according to his family has a mental disability, is killed by Los Angeles police officers while walking in the street. An autopsy shows Ford had been shot in the back at close range. A state of emergency is declared in Missouri after protests turn violent.

Laquan McDonald is killed by officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago

October 20, 2014

Laquan McDonald, 17, is shot 16 times in 13 seconds by police officer Jason Van Dyke after he refuses to drop a three-inch knife in Chicago, Illinois. Dash-cam footage of the incident is released by officials on November 24, 2015, prompting hundreds to protest. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fires the city's police superintendent Garry McCarthy over his handling of the shooting. Van Dyke is charged with murder.

Tamir Rice is shot by a police officer after carrying a toy gun in Ohio November 23, 2014

PHOTO 12 year old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by police in the US city of Cleveland.

AFP: FAMILY PHOTO VIA RICHARDSON & KUCHARSKI CO.

Tamir Rice, 12, is seen pointing a gun at random people Cleveland, Ohio. A call is made to police. The caller says the gun is "probably fake", but the information is not relayed to the attending officers. Within seconds of arriving on the scene, police officer Timothy Loehmann fires two shots, hitting Rice in the torso. Rice dies the next day. A Cleveland grand jury declines to bring charges against Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback. A month later, two New York Police officers are shot dead in an ambush on December 20 in Brooklyn following protests.

Freddie Gray is arrested in Baltimore, dies after sustaining injuries in police custody

April 12, 2015

Freddie Gray runs after seeing police in Baltimore, Maryland. The 25-year-old is arrested for possessing what they describe as an illegal switchblade. Requests for his inhaler are ignored. He is put into the police vehicle without a restraint, against police policy. While being transported in a police van, he falls into a coma. He dies on April 19 from injuries to his spinal cord. Demonstrators take to the streets and the National Guard is dispatched in an attempt to restore order.

PHOTO A Baltimore Metropolitan Police transport vehicle burns during clashes in Baltimore, Maryland April 27, 2015.

REUTERS: SHANNON STAPLETON

Just months later, Sandra Bland, 28, is found hanged while in police custody in Texas, on July 13. She had been pulled over for a minor traffic violation on July 10.

Jamar Clark is shot by police in Minneapolis

November 16, 2015

Jamar Clark, 24, is shot in the head by police, with some witnesses claiming he was handcuffed at the time. The Black Lives Matter movement protests outside the Fourth Precinct police station for 18 days. No charges are filed against police officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. Days later Akai Gurley is in the stairwell of a Brooklyn apartment building on November 20 when he is shot dead. New York police officer Peter Liang is subsequently charged with murder.

Anton Sterling is shot five times in the chest at close range by police

July 5, 2016

Two videos capture the moment Alton Sterling, 37, is pinned down to the ground and shot five times in the chest at close range by police outside a convenience store at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police call for calm after major protests kick off in Baton Rouge after the video is released. Federal authorities say they will handle the investigation, led by the Department of Justice's civil rights division.

PHOTO People protest after Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed during an altercation with two police officers.

REUTERS: JIM TANNER

Diamond Reynolds live streams aftermath of boyfriend's shooting

July 6, 2016

Diamond Reynolds uses Facebook Live to stream the fallout of her boyfriend Philando Castile being shot by police in Minnesota. He is allegedly shot by a police officer while reaching for his wallet after being pulled over. Castile later dies in hospital. The video has been viewed more than 5.6 million times.

Five police officers are killed by a sniper at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas

July 7, 2016

A peaceful Black Lives Matter turns to mayhem as a gunman shoots and kills five police officers. US President Barack Obama describes the attack at "vicious, calculated and despicable". Here's ABC Washington DC bureau chief Zoe Daniel:

The deliberate attack on police in Dallas has shocked a nation used to shootings and connected race relations and gun violence, arguably America's two most intractable problems. Before he was killed, the Dallas shooter told police that he was killing white officers as payback for the deaths of Alton Sterling who was shot point blank by police in Louisiana last week and Philando Castile who bled out live on Facebook after being shot by police in Minnesota. It has once again opened a divide, and a heated conversation, about racial profiling. Consider this from the Washington Post: "...black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers". Statistics show that plenty of white people get shot by police too, but as a percentage of the population African Americans are dramatically over represented.

Charles Kinsey is shot while trying to help patient with autism

July 22, 2016

Unarmed black man Charles Kinsey is shot and injured in Miami while lying on the ground with his arms raised in the air and pleading with officers to hold their fire. Mr Kinsey's leg was injured in the incident, which came as he tried to help a disoriented autistic man who had wandered away from a group home where Mr Kinsey works as a behavioural therapist. Mobile phone footage showed Mr Kinsey on the ground with his arms in the air, with the young autistic man sitting on the ground nearby playing with a small white toy.