People Are Sharing Photos of Happy Black Kids to Bring Hope After This Week's Killings

In the past two days, the country has learned the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men who were gunned down by police officers. As a result of those killings and more like them, a disheartening number of children in the black community are forced to grow up too fast — they are taught early lessons about compliance due to fear of the police and learn heartbreaking protocols in preparation for shootings in school.

That's why popular podcast host and comedic television writer Heben Nigatu decided to change the conversation, bringing the many carefree, happy black children to the forefront of Twitter's consciousness with the hashtag #CarefreeBlackKids2k16.

#CarefreeBlackKids2k16 https://t.co/AzG0YztGdR

— Heben Nigatu (@heavenrants) July 7, 2016

Soon after Nigatu tweeted this innocent Vine of happy teenagers singing to their mail carrier, other encouraging posts from across the Twitter community began pouring in. Many turned to the #CarefreeBlackKids2k16 tag as a place of cheerful solace amid the many heated tweets about the fatal shootings and the hypocrisy surrounding the murder of black people in America.

I am following @heavenrants and #CarefreeBlackKids2K16 because boy do I need this today. You might too.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 7, 2016

So if you're feeling let down by the current state of affairs, let these happy, innocent kids put a smile on your face.