Twitter users share heartbreaking, terrifying examples of being #AliveWhileBlack

Protests over a recent spate of police killings of unarmed black men and teens has clued white people into something black people have known all along – U.S. law has essentially criminalized “living while black.”

Twitter users responded to a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner – coming just over a week after a similar outcome in the shooting death of Michael Brown – by sharing their experiences with everyday prejudice with the hashtag #AliveWhileBlack.

Many social media users described incidents when they were stopped, questioned, and humiliated by suspicious police over the car they were driving or the neighborhood they were visiting.

Many described their experiences with "shopping while black."

Twitter users previously pointed out instances where white people received the benefit of the doubt while breaking the law or otherwise interacting with police under the hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite. Black posters then shared their experiences with receiving unfair treatment based on their race.

Then there were black Twitter users who say they were stopped by police because they "fit the description."