Almost each day brings a new report of the death of another African-American at the hands of police.

Sept. 16 — Terence Crutcher, 40, in Tulsa, Okla., unarmed, as he waited for help with his broken-down SUV.

Sept. 20 — Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, N.C., as he waited outside an apartment complex for his child’s school bus.

Sept. 27 — Alfred Olango, 30, of El Cajon, Calif., holding an electronic cigarette while walking in traffic.

When is the state-sponsored killing going to end?

According to the U.K. Guardian newspaper’s web project, “The Counted,” 741 people have been killed by police in the United States in 2016. A disproportionate number are African-American and people of color.

“A society that protects some people through a system of schools, government-backed home loans and ancestral wealth, but can only protect you with the club of criminal justice has either failed at enforcing its intentions or has succeeded at something much darker,” wrote journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates.

For those who didn’t get it at first, this is why black lives matter. But it’s clear from the crowds joining the recent rallies and protests in Charlotte, Tulsa, Atlanta and across the country that a coalition of people of all colors and ethnicities are rising up against this injustice.

Last week, federal authorities announced there would be no charges in the death of Linwood R. Lambert Jr. of Richmond, the 46-year-old construction worker who was Tasered repeatedly by police in South Boston while his feet were shackled and his hands were cuffed behind him.

Although this took place outside the door of a South Boston hospital emergency room, police didn’t take him inside for treatment. Instead, they put him in the police squad car, where video shows they shot him again with the stun gun, and then took him to the jail.

Less than an hour later, he was brought back to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Where do we turn when justice fails?

To the streets?

To the courts?

To the ballot box?

Or all of the above?

Mr. Lambert’s sister, Richmonder Gwendolyn Smalls, has filed a $25 million civil lawsuit against the three South Boston police officers.

And while the families of several victims of the police have collected million-dollar settlements in recent months, a big payout doesn’t begin to replace a loved one.

Nor does it acknowledge or change the systemic issues that cause police to pull out their guns and Tasers and go trigger-happy when they see black people — even in instances when African-Americans are unarmed, non-threatening and may have called the police for help.

Last weekend, the nation’s first black president dedicated the new Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, lauding the contributions of people who literally built this country over the last 400 years.

“We’re not a burden on America, or a stain on America,” President Obama said.

But the relentless shootings — and the lack of justification — makes it seem as though there’s a plan for African-American extinction.

We renew our call for equal justice and protection under law for African-Americans in this nation. And we call on all local, state and federal authorities, including the U.S. Justice Department, to ensure that justice is served.

We have outlined repeatedly a plan for change, including:

• Psychological screening of candidates for law enforcement jobs, including screening for implicit bias.

• A national registry of police officers who have fatally shot and killed someone while on the job. We believe they should be barred from serving in law enforcement elsewhere, even as a security guard.

• Universal use of body cameras and dash cams, with officers held accountable for failing to turn them on, lifting the hood of their police cars to block their view or claiming they suddenly have malfunctioned when an incident occurs.

• Federal laws mandating the timely release of police videos to the public.

• Federal legislation allowing the Centers for Disease Control to collect national data on police-involved shootings and deaths.

• Tougher gun laws, including more stringent background checks and closure of gun purchase loopholes.

• Denying gun purchases by people who are mentally ill or on terrorist watch lists or “no fly” lists.

• Expanding mental health treatment for police and citizens.

Change will happen only when we’ve had enough of the injustice.

We call on voters in Greater Richmond to hold elected officials accountable to the people, particularly when election time rolls around.

For anyone seeking your vote, ask whether he or she believes black lives matter and what they intend to do to ensure justice for and accountability to the people of this community who put them in office.

Hold their feet to the fire.