On Saturday, February 16, 2014 a Jacksonville, Florida jury declared it impossible to come to a unanimous decision. Michael Dunn, a forty-seven year old white man who admits to shooting Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old African American, was ultimately convicted but not on the charge of first-degree murder. Three counts of attempted murder for shooting into a car full of teenagers in 2012 was all the jury could, metaphorically, see. It is defenseless to riddle a vehicle with bullets. But to stand face-to-face with an unarmed teen and scream, “You’re not going to kill me, you son of a bitch.” Then “point,” not aim, and not use the sight…that is defendable, or is if you exclaim that you were in “fear for

[your] life”? After all, it is understood; jails [are] “full of blacks and they all act like thugs,” or do they?

That is the question Black Twitter asks us. In response to the verdict, a hash tag was born. #DangerousBlackKids emerged on Sunday, February 17th, Jordon Davis’ birth date. Black Twitter challenged the ruling and also long-held stereotypes. This is the latest campaign and perhaps the most effective. A picture is worth a thousand words. Tens of thousands of images are priceless.

Twitter users posted photographs of children. Adorable, sweet, and a few were captioned with words that might be thought a little sassy. Look at that face and tell me, is this child dangerous? A #dangerousblackkid? Peruse through the tweets, and then, only after much reflection, ask yourself where do I stand. Do any of us have a right to kill solely because we are in fear? If so, when, on what grounds, under what circumstances? Where are our “castles”?

The stream continues, as does the outrage and out cries…