Violence begets violence.  It is escalating across this land.  As I watch with horror, however, I am heartened by the impact this beloved man — Philando Castile – is making in death.  His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, in her shock, schooled this nation into shame.

Like Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till, Diamond is standing up for all black men murdered by vigilantes deputized in effect by the police.  In Philando’s case being murdered by the police is one step closer than vigilantes, and one large step worse than it was in 1955.  Sixty-one years of not enough progress, for sure.

Barack Obama should come home to attend all the funerals, in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas, so that this will trigger the right type of mobilization – real citizen participation for real reform.

Obama needs to use his last days in office to lead the nation, with the heavy hand of executive action superseding municipal, local, and state actors like the police, whom the United States of America funds on a national level.