One
thing that I am keenly aware of … I am Black.
I am reminded of it daily in my interactions with people in the
workplace. I am reminded of it
constantly when I watch the news and see the differences in how police treat and
/ or kill unarmed Black people versus how they are able to de-escalate
situations with white people who commit some of the most heinous crimes but
still live to tell their stories.
I
am Black. That’s who I am, and it’s who
I will always be.
Because
of all the craziness going on in this country and in the world, I post a lot
about the things that happen to Black folks on my social media pages. I have lost “friends” over it, too. No biggie, though. Most of those folks are people I only
connected with on social media after not having any contact with them for 20 years
or more or since my childhood. So when
they unfriend me for being “too Black” and I lived just fine prior to
connecting with them, I have to chuckle over them thinking my feelings are hurt
over a lost virtual friendship. But I
digress …
One
thing that frustrates me to no end is that some folks are so quick to discount
and discredit the Black experience and what it is and means to be Black in
America. It’s maddening!
“I
don’t see color.” That’s a bold-faced lie.
“Why
do you always play the race card?”
Perhaps the card is played all the time because it’s the one card that’s
always being dealt to us.
“Why
can’t y’all just get over it? Why do you
always have to bring things up that are in the past?” Last I checked, racism, racial profiling,
police brutality on black and brown bodies, and hate crimes are still very much
present-day occurrences. But this sentiment
of let the past stay in the past is especially ironic coming from folks who
still love and fly their confederate flags and don’t understand why there is a
need to dismantle confederate monuments.
In
a blog I wrote a few months ago (http://40somethingsistah.blogspot.com/2018/01/five-things-we-need-to-stop-doing-in.html), I wrote that
Black folks “need to stop talking about racism,
trying to explain our struggles about living as Black folks in America, and
trying to explain why Black lives matter to folks who either can't
understand or are so comfortable in their privilege that they ain't trying to understand.
For real. If this country's history of slavery, Jim Crow, police
brutality on black and brown bodies, mass incarceration, and an unfair criminal
justice system ain't enough to make people understand how there's been a
generational effect on Black folks, nothing you can say will change their
minds, either. Don't waste your time, breath, or energy. Don't even
engage.”
I am so sick of folks getting all in their feelings when
black and brown folks call them on their bullshit. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR FRAGILITY
OR FEELINGS, and I shouldn’t have to. I don’t have time to care about your feelings
and the fact that you can’t stand to be called out on your privilege because
I’m too busy thinking of and dealing with the following things every single
day.
I want police to stop killing unarmed
Black folks. Clearly, they can and are
capable of being able to de-escalate a situation and bring a person in alive,
as it’s done all the time with white criminals who have killed folks in
churches, movie theaters, concerts, schools, and or killed other police
officers. Why do cops only fear for
their lives when Black folks are involved?
I am tired of having to have
conversations with my son on how to act and handle himself WHEN he has an
encounter with the police. Not if he has an encounter, but WHEN. We have to have multiple conversations about
what to do and how to act because the rules are always changing.
I am tired of having to meet, screen,
and get to know the parents of my son’s non-Black friends before I feel
comfortable leaving him in their care. As a parent, I worry about my Black son’s safety
when he is not with me, and I am not about to leave him in the care of folks
who would not look out for his safety or best interests. I make no apologies for that.
I am tired of apologies for racism and
racial profiling that come AFTER an incident has been blown up on social media. When the apology comes after the fact, you
know it's not genuine. It’s an apology to save face and protect a company’s
bottom line profit. The list of places I will no longer give my
money to grows daily over this foolishness.
I am tired of people trying to disguise
their racism as patriotism. Neo-Nazis can carry tiki torches under the
cover of darkness and it’s free speech.
Let an NFL player kneel during the national anthem, and he’s
disrespecting the flag, this country, the military, your mama, and all that’s
white in the world.
I just want Black folks to live in peace
without fear of someone calling the police on them or fear of dying for doing
the most mundane things. Can we wait for a friend at a Starbucks? Can we play golf? Can we ask for directions? Can we breathe? Can we legally carry a gun? Can we carry a toy gun around Wal-Mart that
we intend to purchase while we continue to shop? Can we play in the park? Can we listen to loud music in the car? Can we leave a house party with our friends
and go home? Can we walk in our own
backyards? Can we walk home? Can we walk to the neighborhood swimming
pool? Can we drive? Can we go to church? Can we eat at Waffle House? Can we open a package that’s been delivered
to our doorsteps? Can we study or fall
asleep in our dormitories? Can we have a
cookout in the park? Can we check out of
an Airbnb? Can we shop at Nordstrom? Can an 8 year-old girl sell cold bottled water on a hot summer day?
Can we just live in peace?
