#AliveWhileBlack emerges in response to #CrimingWhileWhite, Garner case

Following a grand jury’s decision on Wednesday not to indict a white New York City police officer in the death of Eric Garner, a debate sprang up on Twitter about disparities in the way police treat white and black citizens.

#CrimingWhileWhite encouraged white people to share stories of breaking the law but escaping any real punishment. Garner, 43, had allegedly been selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island when he encountered the police.

But the hashtag has come under fire as another way of bragging about white privilege in America.

And now a new, starker hashtag has sprung up, #AliveWhileBlack, that paints a jarring picture of black Americans’ daily lives.

According to social media search engine Topsy, nearly 19,000 tweets have been sent with the #AliveWhileBlack hashtag in the past day

Abby Rogers is a feminist who is completely content being a crazy cat lady. She reads everything, but only in real book form — no e-readers thank you very much.