I'm sure by now most of us are familiar with the Black Lives Matter movement and have acquainted ourselves with Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter. With the recent events and tragedies happening throughout the United States, Americans are dividing themselves further and further every day as we continue to affiliate with the predisposition that is if you are pro-cop, then you are anti-black and if you're pro-black, then you're anti-cop. You can be both. You can mourn both, as you should. That's what the Black Lives Matter movement is trying to elicit. It's trying to elicit equality and justice for those who rightfully deserve it.
Now, don't get me wrong, all lives do matter, but right now, black lives are mattering less than white lives. Black LIves Matter is more than just a hashtag, it's more than just a movement; it's a cry for help and justice within the communities who seem to have very little of both. Think of it this way, say you're at the dinner table and everyone around you has food on their plate except you. You go to someone at the table and say, "I need food," in which they then respond, "Well, we all need food." That doesn't help the fact that you still don't have any food, does it? By saying All Lives Matter, we are silencing the experiences and barriers these people of color face on a daily basis. So yes, all lives do matter, anything with a heartbeat can be considered a sacred life on earth, but it's time to open our eyes and realize that the black population of the United States is being targeted at far more alarming rates than any single white person. It's ignorance to ignore that. As white citizens, we need to realize the privilege we have in America.
Privilege is a hard thing to talk about, especially in today's society where everything you say is held against you. I am privileged, you are privileged, we are all privileged in some way or another. There is nothing wrong with being privileged. You can not choose the things you were born into. I think, that as a society, if we all started stating the things we are privileged with and accepting that they are uncontrollable, we will be better off helping those who aren't as lucky. For example, I am privileged in the sense that I am a white, upper middle class citizen who was raised in a good home by married parents who put food on my plate every night. I am privileged because I am straight and identify with the sex I was born with. I am privileged because I have never been declined a job due to the color of my skin nor have I ever felt threatened in a situation due to my sexual orientation. All of these small things we may not think about are privileges.
People are willing to talk about anything other than inequality in the United States. That's how it's always been. The entire foundation for this nation was based and raised on institutionalized racism. You would think "liberty and justice for all" would really mean liberty and justice for all. But it is of course for all, right? All except, blacks, Hispanics, women, LGBTQ+ and Muslims. I'm incredibly disappointed that members of this generation would rather talk about the new "Pokemon" Go game than inequalities and murders happening in the country they love. It's sickening the amount of senseless murders that have happened this year in the United States alone, the murders including all innocent lives taken. This is including black lives, police lives, Muslim lives, LGBTQ+ lives and yes, white lives. Murder is murder. The only difference is that when a white man is murdered, actions are held to the highest accountable degree. When a black man is murdered, there is little to no justice or respect for their death.
In 1963, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his letter from the Birmingham Jail. In his letter he said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." There is a threatening parallel between the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. The similarities and injustices Dr. King talks about in his lengthy letter can still be seen today in American society, over half a century later. If you think privilege, racism or inequality of justice is not real in America, then you're simply choosing to ignore it, and that's on you. It's on you and the hundreds of innocent lives lost this year. Silence can only go so far until all hell breaks loose and it looks like we're reaching that point.
It's time for amends in this country. We, as millennials, are standing in the pages of our future children's textbooks. What do you want the next generation to read about in 20 years in their high school U.S. history class?
