At what point is it okay to just be finished with the status quo and organize a massive protest to make a united stand against this society for consistently discounting the lives of black people. I’m talking not going to work, not buying from huge corporations, not putting into this economy what it has so carefully kept from us. Everything is so unknown right now, maybe we make known what we won’t accept when we get back to this new normal.
Black people have been suffering at the hands of this society for far too long. If I hear one more person say that we need to pull ourselves up as if we were ever on even playing ground. I don’t know. I’m at serious breaking point. A fucking meltdown is imminent. As I’ve said numerous times before in various posts, the fact there has never been a public apology, a serious discussion, a real examination of slavery in this country we will never properly heal.
The ramifications of slavery continues to be the core issue directly affecting discrepancies in our judicial system, wages, and lack of funding for our communities. I am so tired of having to explain or keep bringing up its effects. PEOPLE WERE CHATTEL. BLACK FAMILIES WERE TORN APART. WOMEN WERE RAPED. CUSTOMS DESTROYED. PSYCHES DESTROYED. THE END OF SLAVERY DID NOT END THE IDEA THAT BLACK PEOPLE WERE NOT PEOPLE. We had Reconstruction which birthed the KKK, the Jim Crow era which overtly built discrimination into law, and now we’re in a new Jim Crow era where the racism isn’t super conspicuous, but meticulously written into law using slick language to get away with disenfranchising millions of black people. Obama winning the presidency for two terms did not, as we’ve seen, rid this country of racism. In fact, it riled up those factions of dummies and they elected the stupidest president in the history of the office.
The consistent unwillingness to examine the atrocities of the past is what keeps it alive. Yes, it’s painful to dredge up one of the most darkest moments in American history, but it is absolutely necessary to educate people as to why these current divides exist. Slavery isn’t remotely the only thing we’d need to talk about. Lest we not forget this entire country was STOLEN from Native Americans. I cannot even get into the abysmal way the government has destroyed those communities. That’s a whole other post.
Every month/week/day there is a new hashtag commemorating a black life that was senselessly taken from this earth by law enforcement.
“Say her name.”
"Say his name.”
"Say their name.”
#blacklivesmatter
#[victim’s-name-here]
Those phrases and hashtags represent a plea to this country to stop the unwarranted murder of these young people and for justice that is rarely given. I am personally exhausted, fed-up, and outright angry by glaringly insufficient investigations, accountability, and lack of any kind of change to current process that would lessen these outrageous killings. It’s heartbreaking to think of the countless families and communities affected by the abrupt loss of their spouse, child, friend by the hands of this innately flawed system that they should be depending on for safety but has over time become the enemy. Seeing the cycle day in and day out of another cop killing a person and the cop getting a slap on the wrist, reverence pay, and an acquittal of any wrongdoing is a profound disappointment that inflicts pain, trauma, and despondence to a degree that makes it hard to function.
The worst part is, the threat to our lives extends to civilians masquerading as protectors as well. Imagine seeing someone that could’ve been your brother, sister, mother, father, best friend getting bullied, beat up, shot in clip after clip and being completely unable to predict the justifiable outcome for the perpetrator. It’s not hard to imagining because it’s real. You see these videos and know nothing is going to happen. It took MONTHS for the police to charge those two psychos for killing Ahmad Arbery and it’s only because they were getting heat after the footage of his death started circulating and that NY Times article. It should be an open and shut case. Civilians aren’t allowed to take the law into their own hands and be judge, jury, and executioner. Of course, who knows what will happen, because we have been painfully disappointed so many times before.
At this point, I don’t know what needs to happen to actually enact change. The ceaseless deaths are not being formally acknowledged on a local level let along a federal one. There are so many deep-rooted, historical prejudices ingrained in policy and law affording these vigilantes and police acquittals of their evils so frequently. I know there are social justice organizations (also a list here on a surprising site) leading the way in their communities to try and move the needle, and they’re doing some amazing work.
What if we organized a nation-wide protest, like a boycott, and it was really intricately planned and funded where anyone can join and basically shut down the economy in a real way. Not the “shut down” Trump totes is happening right now which isn’t real. An actual, no money exchanged, no services provided, no negotiating until needs are met protest. I dream of something like that often…
The thing that saddens me the most, though, is knowing the problem isn’t solely with policies or protocol, but with people. People who are prejudice and misinformed, ignorant and aggressively opposed to change are who make up those parts of law enforcement that have plagued the black community. It won’t matter what procedure is laid out for these people, their sheer unwillingness to examine their own faults is why these deaths continue to happen. It’s also the people who “police” their neighborhoods with an ego that dwarfs reason and relies on these antediluvian laws to justify them taking up arms against “the other” with considerable recourse.
I just want to make it clear that these situations are traumatic to the entire community that’s being targeted for abuse and death. It is traumatic for black people to continuously see young lives- all lives- be torn apart from this world and replaced with hashtags so it doesn’t happen again. But it does happen again. It happens over and over again. It happens ad nauseam and we’re feeling hopeless and upset and miserable by the utter dismissal of our lives and our feelings. To be expected to continue on with our days as if nothing happened. To be lighthearted and carefree when this constant threat looms over us all. We deserve some time to mourn and not have to pretend everything is okay. Everything is not okay.
In this horrible time of Corona, if you’re feeling like you want to dedicate any time or money to some of those organizations that are fighting for the betterment of humanity and to uplift the black community, I highly encourage you to do so. I’m doing some research of my own to see which local organizations I can get involved with or even just donate to, because I am sick and tired of this bullshit and I think contributing will resuscitate that hope that has all but disappeared for me. It’s especially tough now due to the lockdown to feel involved, but I have to figure something out.
This is not an easy time and my heart goes out to all those families that not only have to deal with the flagrant ineptitude of the (mis)handling of the Covid-19 but to lose a loved one on top of it all. It’s not easy. I hope they’re finding the space and time to mourn and be with the people they love.
This was a little all over the place but I had to get it out of me before I imploded.
To end on a lighter note, the Erykah Badu & Jill Scott Verzuz battle in its entirety below. It never ceases to amaze me the type of warmth and beauty that comes out of our community even after/during deep hardship ❤️