This past weekend, my friend Sheri Razaq and I led a march called "Youth 4 Black Lives March." This march began at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and ended at the White House sidewalk in front of Lafayette Park. The March was unique because it had a specific purpose. We were marching to support the Black Lives Matter Movement and protesting against police brutality, but we were also marching to present a 10 Point Plan Y4BL (Youth 4 Black Lives) Edition to the protestors, as well as elected officials in law enforcement.
The 10 Point Plan or 10 Point Platform was a document originally drafted by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale for the Black Panther Party. The Plan was created to establish the goals and the direction of the Black Panther Party. Ours served a similar purpose; it was created to establish the change we wanted to see within the black community and the change we wanted to see to prevent police brutality. However, our platform came from the perspective of the youth within our area. Sheri and I asked youth in our area (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) what changes or new things they would like to see implemented in order to progress the black community. This may all seem so great and interesting, however something that I noticed troubled me and I began to think how that issue can be solved.
The march had an excellent turnout considering it was organized by youth and happened with a short notice. There were about fifty people total, however I noticed that every single person who marched with us was a minority and only two people were white. I did not directly ask each white person why they chose to come and support our cause, however I did try to study how and why they showed up. One of the white people was a young girl, who came with a group of her friends who were African American wearing t-shirts that read, “End the Melanin Purge” in an effort to gain support for their cause. The other white person was a young man. In the beginning of our march, a poem was read by the Bishop McNamara High School Slam Team and I noticed the white young man walk towards us as the poem was being read. Once the poem ended, Sheri and I politely introduced ourselves to him and asked him if he wanted to March. He replied, “Yeah sure, I didn’t really plan on it, but yeah I guess so.” He replied with much hesitancy and discomfort.
As we were marching I observed him from time to time and noticed how anxious he was and nervous, however I sensed a very small, prideful and courageous feeling from him as well. On the other hand, the young white girl was extremely confident and had no feelings of anxiety or hesitance as she marched and chanted, “Black Lives Matter!” in support of her African American friends. Before the march concluded, we stood in a circle and I looked at every single person's face and noticed that including those who began the march with us and those who chose to join along along the way, there were still only two white people. Is there something about the Black Lives Matter statement and movement that makes white people feel uneasy and uncomfortable about standing up for the cause?
Even though it was great to see so many young black people showing their support for Black Lives Matter and protesting against police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement is supposed to get the attention of white people. The black community is very aware that Black Lives Matter. They are also aware that black lives need to be shown more attention. The black community needs the white community to be aware that black lives matter and are in need of more attention. The black community needs the white community as an ally. In order to break down privilege based on race, the black community must seek out the support of white people, in addition to other races and ethnicities, but specifically white people because they experience unearned privilege and supremacy on the highest level. With that being said, what would make the Black Lives Matter movement more opening to white people? In what ways can the black community seek their relationship and become allies? Is this a sign to begin a movement called Blite (Black and White) Lives Matter?
