When I first heard the news of the death of 29-year-old activist Darren Seals, I was mortified for two main reasons. First, the manner in which he was killed--suffering a gunshot wound before his vehicle was set on fire--sent chills through my spirit. Second, those chills recalled the cold-blooded murders of Mississippi civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner and how I'm sure Black people and sympathizers in 2016 feel the same way about another Black man meeting a horrible fate amidst racial injustice and social unrest as folks in the 1960s did about those particular deaths. However, in lieu of using safe, politically-correct terms like "killing" or "murder", very few people will admit this was a treacherously heinous act committed against someone who was adamant about not only improving and fighting for his community, but also challenging a historically-racist police force. Hence, I am calling the demise of Darren Seals exactly what I believe it is in my heart of hearts: a premeditated assassination...
