Disclaimer: The opinions stated in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Dear Mister President,
I know that writing about politics can be controversial, but being that I have the chance to speak up by using an amazing platform such as Her Campus has made me realize that I can use my privilege to take advantage of the current situation as well as my First Amendment right to freedom of speech and the press.
I stand here, writing this open letter and putting my personal opinions aside to truly highlight the issues that the African American population are facing in our beautifully diverse country. I am a white woman with privilege that I was always aware of, but not to the extent to which I understand today. I acknowledge my weaknesses and ignorance to all that is offered to me with the physical attributes that I was born with, but I now pledge to never forget all that I have learned within the past few weeks.
That being said, I want to express to you the power that words hold. One word can paint a thousand pictures. When it comes to your words, everyone is listening. Any race, any color, any background, any political affiliation; we all await your next word, next press release, next tweet. Over the past couple of days, you have come to the people publicly, speaking on the way that we are coming together to express our right to protest, calling for the national guard to take down “thugs”. To that, I have to say when you have countless people murdered after being racially profiled due to clear existing and fueled systemic racism, can you blame anyone? Can you blame your citizens for taking action because you hesitate to? Please, Mister President, explain to the people how you can support the Black Lives Matter movement with statements other than explaining how you grieve alongside the Floyd family or that you have “done more for the Black Community than any President since Abraham Lincoln,” as you said on your Twitter page. What the Black community needs is not your attempt to justify all that you have done in the past, but to understand that no matter how low crime rates have been lately does NOT, in any way, bring back the lives of the people we have lost to police brutality and racism.
This single letter will not stop you in your tracks and change the way that you run your country or change your beliefs, and I am aware of that. But I hope that you remind yourself every day that you are a Christian white male coming from a wealthy background. What injustice have you had to fight for in your Christian, white or male communities?
Follow these links for ways to donate and educate yourselves on what is happening in our country:
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
National Police Accountability Project
Directory of over 100 Black-owned Miami businesses
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