Dear Quinn,

I noticed that you came across a very tough decision, and that you weren’t able
to decide what to do. You were being compelled on one side by your friends, and also being
compelled to follow your values, so you couldn’t decide between helping and supporting your
best friend, or to help the right cause, and support Rashad, who was a victim of police brutality.
I understand how hard it would be to take such a decision, even though it seems easy for what to
do. I see how this decision is such a tough one, but I think that the decision you took was correct,
and that you should have done what was right and fair, by helping fight for Rashad, and other
black people who fear the police day by day.
One reason why I feel your decision was right, by supporting Rashad, even over your best
friend, is because you value racial equality, and you noticed the injustice Rashad went through
very quickly. You were motivated to help Rashad, even though you were influenced not to. You
said, “I felt like I’d been doing the same damn thing the last couple of days—trying to stare so
hard at my own two feet so I wouldn’t have to look up and see what was really going on. And
while I’d been doing that, I’d been walking in the wrong direction. I didn’t want to walk away
anymore” (Reynolds and Kiely 185). This shows that you value racial equality, because you said
that you have been trying to ignore everything, and now you can’t walk away anymore, meaning
that you wanted to make a change. You also realized how you should help and fight for justice
for Rashad and go in the right direction. You didn’t want to keep going away, and so you became
motivated to help, since you value racial equality and finally wanted to make a change. This also
proves my claim that you should help Rashad, because you wanted to finally help, and not be
silent anymore. Most of all, because you value the rights of minorities.
Another reason why you should have helped Rashad, which you did, is because other
minorities have to face the fear of police brutality every day, and constantly feel discriminated by
the majority. For example, “Black people accounted for 31% of police killing victims in 2012,
even though they made up just 13% of the U.S population” (Lopez). This is why your decision to
help Rashad is right. Since so many black people are victims of police brutality, Rashad is more
likely to be a scapegoat. Incidents like the one that happened with Rashad take place all over the
country, with numerous people. Unfortunately, these events are quite common. That’s why
helping Rashad was the correct decision, as it really helps people who are discriminated against,
and blamed for crimes they haven’t committed.
Another example of why you should help Rashad, and your decision to do so is a right one,
is because of the experience of a girl named Destini. Her brother was a victim of police injustice.
In a short film she created, she talked about the monstrosities of the justice system and she
compared humans to animals. She talked about how “not all blacks are lions, and they can be
peaceful, but the animal keepers can be unjust and kill them” (Riley). This supports the claim
that you should help Rashad, because the idea that black people are guilty, due to their dressing
style, is wrong. They shouldn’t automatically become the main suspect in any crime.
In conclusion, you took the right decision to help fight for Rashad in the end, and this is
because you value racial equality and are motivated to stop discrimination. Also, many black
people are victims of police brutality, many of which are unarmed and are innocent. Therefore,
fighting for Rashad is one step closer to raising awareness on how many innocent people are
victims of police brutality.

Sincerely, Amitej
Works Cited
Herring, An-Li. “Trial To Begin For White Police Officer Who Shot Unarmed Black Teen.”
NPR, NPR, 18 Mar. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/03/18/704394949/trial-to-begin-for-white-police-
officer-who-shot-unarmed-black-teen.

Lopez, German. “There Are Huge Racial Disparities in How US Police Use Force.” Vox, Vox,
14 Nov. 2018, www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-
racial-disparities.

Pilarski, Nicholas, and Destini Riley. “Destini's Brother.” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 2 Aug. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/opinion/i-destini-race-policing-prisons.html.

Reynolds, Jason, and Brendan Kiely. All American Boys. Atheneum, 2017.

Smith, Jamil. “How Marvel's Black Panther Marks a Major Milestone.” Time, Time,
time.com/black-panther/.