Earlier this week I had a conversation with my friend on the phone and I finally admitted something to her that I really didn’t want to. I told her that I was scared. So scared that because my skin is beautifully black, I could lose my life for doing nothing at all: I could be walking on the road, simply taking a jog, looking at a cute blouse in the store, and for just about any other pleasures that should be afforded to people generally. I also admitted to myself that I feel like I don’t have the same rights as a white person. If I truly did, then why do I feel fear for simply going on about my daily life? If I did, why am I so scared to start driving? If I did, why is my fear of police officers growing exceptionally day by day? These feelings that I have, I know they are valid and aren’t misplaced. Still, I don’t want to feel them.
I really wish that people of color didn’t have to feel this way. I don’t want us to have to fight to belong in America because we do belong, and the injustices that we face day in and day out are simply inhumane. A world where a mother fears for the lives of her children every time they are out of her sight isn’t a compassionate world to live in.
People who aren’t of color won’t understand our plight, and I don’t want them to pretend to. Still, I wish they would at least try to, but they don’t want to have the conversation. They would rather pretend that white supremacy doesn’t exist, and deny that the world they live in is different from the world that people of color do. There are too many books, so many movies, so many podcasts, so many websites and resources… Why won’t they… Why won’t you educate yourselves white people? Yes, I’m calling you out because your silence is deafening and we need more of you to stand with us. This is your issue as much as it is ours. This is a people problem; it isn’t a black problem, and until the conversation is had and until you try to educate yourselves, white people, this ignorance and hate will never end. I need you to try to eliminate your biases, and teach your children and other people differently. I need you to stop letting your family members make casually racist statements at the dinner table without correcting them. I need you to stop thinking that it’s okay for non-black people to say [or, sing] the N word. I need you to stop saying or reposting “all lives matter” when someone says that “black lives matter” because that is denying the struggle and the existence of black people.
I just need you to try to see that we are the same, that we all bleed red, and that black people deserve to feel respected and safe in America.
When I watched the video of George Floyd’s death [“I can’t breathe,” he said], I cried. Before I felt outraged, I felt sad and heartbroken. I began to think about how many George Floyds there may have been; it made me wonder how many black people have said I can’t breathe. What happened to George Floyd was a tragedy and my heart goes out to his family for the way that he has died, but the truth is that this has always been happening. The only difference is that it is getting recorded. What about those innocent, upstanding, black individuals whose deaths weren’t and won’t be caught on video? I’ve realized that black people can protest every week and it’ll get us results. Yes it will, but those results will be short-term and you can see that in the fact that we’re on the streets protesting for another black life lost a week later.
To really conquer racism in America, we need more white people to realize that it isn’t okay. We need more white people to stand up and say, “Not in my country!” We need more white people to refuse to continue to drown in ignorance, to refuse to perpetuate hate, to refuse to devalue someone’s life because of their skin color. I just need more white people to realize that racism against black people will end when they unite with us. Rather than seeing us as two divided races, how about seeing us as one human race? When that happens, you’ll begin to understand just how important black lives are; you will see that black lives aren’t inferior to yours.
It is time to take a stand with us non-black people. I believe that together we can end black people, like me, living in fear. Together, we can let people of color breathe again. I strongly urge you to become more aware of the injustices against black people. In the words of Andy McIntyre, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Please don’t allow black people to keep hurting at the expense of your ignorance. We need a change, and that change can only come when more non-black people refuse to stay silent and raise their voices with us. Together, I know, we can make America a better and safer place.