BLACK LIVES MATTER

I’ve been sitting here for hours now, reflecting on what's going on in the world today. First, I would like to pay my respect. Rest in peace George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others who have been taken from us recently. 

Many people are asking “What led to these riots and protests across the nation?” “When did things go wrong?” When did things go wrong…? Black lives being taken from us by the police is not something new. Black lives being taken from us by white supremacists is not something new. Black lives being racially profiled, falsely accused and incarcerated for acts of crime they did not commit is not something new. Black lives facing prejudice, discrimination, racism and injustice in their everyday lives is not something new. 

The system. As much as you don’t want to believe it, we live in the same system that was around during the enslavement of African Americans, decolonization of Native Americans, the Holocaust, the scramble for Africa, Nanking Massacre, Rhwandan genocide, two World Wars… Decades later and society has created this false sense of security and equality based on an unjust system of decolonization, exploitation and genocide. 

The system we are living in, is rooted on the social institution of slavery and the social construction of racism. The system has existed for centuries. Racism is deeply woven into every institution that exists today: the police force, military, criminal justice system, labor market, universities, organized sports, health care, religions, families. Therefore, dividing the world into racists and non-racists at this point of time would be unrealistic. Rather than divide further into human categories, we need to educate one another on the social and historical context of systemic racism. 

Throughout the years of my higher education, I have learned to not only acknowledge but be grateful for my privilege. Looking back, I graduated high school not even knowing what white privilege was. I cannot recall a single class discussion on racism, unless it was a prompt from the textbook. Talking about racism was stigmatized. Talking about racism was uncomfortable. Racism was literally swept under the rug.

My younger and less educated self used to believe we were all equal. I began to understand the unequal and unjust system we live in following conversations I had with my friend about life experiences. She explained to me that while we all face adversity in life, she, as a black woman, is faced with discrimination every single day of her life. She honored my innocence, but explained to me the faulty nature of equality that white people continue to believe every day. She explained that perceiving our life experiences as equal would disregard the history, hardships and resilience of all African Americans. Identifying our society with equality today would be a lie. 

There is a famous saying which states a fish lives its whole life not even knowing what water is. I can equate this saying to privilege. The privileged are indeed blind to privilege. Never will a white person have to walk outside their door and worry about the mistreatment they will face by the rest of society because they are white. Never. 

If you are white, your job right now is to not preach that you are not racist. If you are white, your job right now is to not ignore what is going on. If you are white, your job right now is to not stay silent. If you are white, your job right now is to educate yourself. If you are white, your job right now is to get involved, whether its donations, petitions, protests. If you are white, your job right now is to speak up when you hear racially unjust comments in your own household. If you are white, your job right now is to make sure your social media posts align with your attitudes, behavior and actions in the real world. And most importantly, if you are white, your job right now is to respect, listen and project what black people have to say in times like this because it is their voices that deserve our undivided attention right now. 

Some of you are asking “When is this going to end?” The fight for black people is never going to end. What is currently going on in the world is not just some phase. Black lives matter is not just some trend. Wake up. This is the world we are living in. This is our reality. No peace? No justice? No peace, no justice.