• I Was Assaulted and Two Policemen Helped Me

  by Geraldy Mercedes

  One spring day in 9th grade, I was walking home after school, mostly looking down at the sidewalk, longing to throw myself into bed after a long day. I had only gotten about a block away from school when seemingly out of nowhere, I was confronted by two girls, their faces full of anger.

• Not Allowed to Be a Kid

  by Amaru Howard

  My first frightening interaction with cops happened when I was 6 years old. I was headed with my cousin to the park around the corner from his house to play basketball. As soon as we started walking, two cops began slowly following us in their car.

• Reporting a Crime and Being Wary of the Police

  by Ethan Park

  The only good Samaritan acts I’d ever done was hold the door for someone or give compliments to a person feeling down. That changed last October 29. I was walking to a gym class in Inwood. It was cloudy and windy with a chance of rain, so I wore a sweatshirt, shorts, and of course my mask.

• My Mixed Feelings About the Derek Chauvin Verdict

  by Enoch Naklen

  On May 25 of last year, the world mourned the death of George Floyd at the hands of now ex-Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin. People around the world watched Chauvin brutally kneel on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds in a video recorded by a courageous teenage bystander named Darnella Frazier.

• Defunding the Police in Schools Can Help Support Essential Workers Like My Parents

  by Konner Stephen

  My mother is a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) sanitation worker. She works from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, plus overtime late at night at least once a week. My father works even longer hours as a correctional officer at Rikers Island.

• Standing Up in Public

  by Gabrielle Rodriguez

  I recently went to a Black Lives Matter vigil at the Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York, a church on the Upper West Side. The vigil honored those who lost their lives to police brutality and white supremacy.