Say Their Names
White House, Washington, D.C.
Black people have been oppressed for hundreds if not thousands of years. What we are seeing in cities across the country are people that are exhausted. Not tired… EXHAUSTED! They do not have the energy to explain to those that are now just beginning to see their pain; Their fear for the children walking to school; Their fear for their husband’s leaving for work or going to grab a gallon of milk. Black people are standing up for their lives. For future generations to live a better existence. Not worrying about having to say the right thing because they are going to be labeled “angry”. And now the world is surprised when their anger is in our face and we can’t turn a blind eye to their pain?
I have grown up being taught to have respect for all living beings. To give respect to every person regardless of the color of their skin, the clothes on their back, how many teeth they may or may not have. I have learned you can have all the money and material possessions in the world, but if you can not respect someone who is different than you, then you are one of the poorest humans. We are a species that is interconnected. There is a thin layer of skin that separates us. But for some reason Black people have been selected as the group of humans to take on the brunt of building a nation and then being discriminated against because of the color of their skin.
The protests and riots that we are all seeing is the awakening of consciousness towards the Black struggle. There is no reason why Black people should continue to live within the confines of systemic racism. From the side eye, to the security guard following a black family around the department store, Black people are exhausted. The riots are not about any other lives that have been effected. This is a collective focus from Black people letting us all know they are done allowing their families to be stomped on, shot at, or anything else our police or government officials want to say about them or unjustly do to them.
This uprising has been coming. Those of us that have been awake for awhile now, have felt this coming. We are all tired of systemic racism. But this is about Black rights and the ancient power that flows through beautiful Black People.
#BlackLivesMatter
