I wanted to avoid posting on Troy Davis with all my heart but I just can’t. The 24 hours leading up to the execution was both puzzling and heart wrenching. His fate is one I do not want for any of my loved ones, especially the men in my life who carry similar burdens and fears. Watching it unfold felt like holding my breath for an entire day, praying the system would somehow choose mercy and humanity over bloodlust.

I mentioned in an online forum last night that from the minute I learned of his story a few years back, I felt that his fate had already been determined. On one hand I am sick that his story became trending topic news at the last hour, but on the other hand a glimpse of hope appeared. It reminded me how quickly people can jump on a hashtag without ever asking why cases like his take years to reach our collective conscience.

I saw that some had photos of Martin Luther King Jr. up, and I think that our community really needs to shake the “save us messiah” mentality if we are to ever move to the next level of healing. Injustice will continue to happen as long as we remain ignorant and content in victim mode. At some point we have to stop waiting for a hero and start becoming the people who change policies, challenge laws, and protect our own sons and daughters.

This means that while giggling and carrying on with the daily flippant shit we all indulge in we must strive to make room for service to the community. The black community does not need any more leaders; service is dynamic and has a bigger effect because everyone contributes. Real power lives in the small, consistent acts we offer our neighbors, the kind that rarely make headlines but quietly rewrite the future.