Given the recent vicious and unjust murders at the hands of white men, which tragically claimed the lives of Ahmaud Arbery 2/23/20, Breonna Taylor 3/13/20, and then George Floyd 5/25/20; Americans (and the world) have been in a state of civil unrest. Many white people, oblivious to the trials and tribulations of the colored community, particularly the Black community, are in a state of confusion wondering how Americans “are dealing with this in 2020.” You see to those who do not live these experiences, those who can choose to be oblivious, and those who are indifferent to police brutality and white supremacy – the current state of unrest may be surprising. But to those with extra melanin in their skin; the trauma, rage, anxiety, and pain of these events coupled with the everyday continuum of the struggle is arguably, the straw that broke the camel’s back. In educating and understanding the past and present plight of Black people in this country and the inherently racist institutions that uphold this struggle, we must all work to dismantle these systems and help create a more equitable, just, and fair society.

Unfortunately the current situation of unrest isn’t due to these three particular instances, so one must consider all forms of oppression against Black people including institutionalized racism in every sector of our nation, including the police. Black people have been disenfranchised dating back to their forced slavery and upon its conclusion, whites were inherently wealthier than Blacks. Consider all the wealth created off the backs of black bodies and their free labor for well over 200 years that whites were able to accumulate whereas Blacks had to start from scratch, leading to economic oppression. Consider generational wealth whites were able to build by this “startup” money and increased money through the value of their property(ies) when Black people could rarely afford property and when they did were red-lined into “unsafe” districts, meaning their property value was lower than that of whites , leading to segregation and structural oppression. Consider then, that since school districts are funded based off of property taxes, white neighborhoods are wealthier and therefore receive more funding to educate their youth whereas their Black counterparts have schools in shambles that are not adequately equipped to house let alone teach their children, leading to educational oppression. This educational oppression of Blacks directly correlates to the inability to go to college, receive a college degree, and a higher paying job such as their white counterparts, which leads back again to the wealth gap among Blacks and their white counterparts.  Add to the list the oppression of Black voters to ensure their inability to create systemic change.

Now add a high mortality rate for Black women giving birth (2 to 6 times higher than their white counterparts) due to racism within the health sector, the racial pay gap (to every white mans $1.00 Black men make approx .69 cents and Black women make .60 cents) and the racist police and justice system that disproportionately affects Black men and women (Blacks receive harsher charges, more charges, and longer sentences) leading to mass incarceration. Now compile all of this knowledge and the experiences of Blacks with the unjustifiable harassment, rape, assault, and murders of black bodies all across the country by police and white supremacists and it’s no wonder people are protesting, rioting, and looting – people are fighting back, and Black people are in a literal fight for their lives.

George Floyd’s recorded last pleas for help before he died sparked fury into the hearts of Black and Brown people, and ultimately woke up some white people from their neutrality. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets screaming at the top of their lungs, burning down buildings, blocking traffic, and marching on government buildings demanding a change. Even more have signed and email petitions, checking their racist family members and friends, calling on their elected officials, donated to companies and non-profits promoting equality; they are all demanding justice and accountability for not only these senseless hate crimes, but raging for systemic change so all can feel protected by our laws and the police who swear an oath to uphold them. The time to stand by, to stay neutral, to be indifferent, to “mind one’s business,” is done – there is no fence to straddle anymore. 

And for Black people in particular, this movement, this resistance, this fury has been 400+ years in the making; BUILT on the backs of our ancestors – tortured and lashed with the whip, FORGED from our previous generations – mutilated and hung from ropes in trees, CEMENTED by our parents and their parents – sprayed with water hoses, attacked by dogs, and hunted by the Klan, CALLED to action by the tormented screams of our incarcerated brothers and sisters – locked in cages like animals given no empathy, no humanity, and no way out, PAVED on top of the Black bodies – laid murdered viciously, mercilessly out in the streets across America by the police. We are the strange fruit of these inhabitable circumstances; cultivated in concrete jungles, watered by the blood, sweat, and tears of our people and we are here channeling our anger to break the system and demand – forcing the changes necessary for our people to prosper.

No longer will we accept the morsels of hope fed to us by our government of injustice and our corrupt officials, strategically picking and choosing when it is convenient to fulfill the oath for “liberty and justice for all.” The only accountability that matters now is swift, just, and so public and noticeable it can’t be disregarded, and since our inalienable rights have long been ignored, we are taking this radical revolution into the streets. We are embodying the fight that left Ahmaud’s body as he collapsed on the ground, we are taking up arms to protect our people like we should have protected Breonna, we are screaming and howling with the breath that was forced from George’s lungs – acknowledging that we are them; they are us. We are demanding accountability for the band of thugs known as the police, the immediate replacement of tyrants such “president” Trump, the eradication of the laws and systems designed to disenfranchise Black and Brown communities. Long have the Black people of this country endured the violation of our human rights but we will endure this violation no longer. We are standing ablaze, embodying raw power and the hunger for change along with our allies – we are our ancestors wildest dreams.

American Civil Liberties Union https://www.aclu.org

Equal Justice Initiatives https://www.eji.org

Color of Change https://www.colorofchange.org

Black Lives Matter https://blacklivesmatter.com