These past few days, protests have been going on across the country after the horrific death of George Floyd. From Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, NYC to a town nearby, young adults are risking their lives while COVID-19 is still rampant, to fight for the lives of black Americans. Just today a town next to me, Brentwood, held a peaceful protest on and around the Suffolk Community College campus.
As I watched this protest through the screen of my phone, I felt fear, fear that the police might harm someone, fear that someone might contract COVID, fear that something might go wrong.
It was then I realized a harsh realization, that racism will never end.
No matter what the state of our country is. America was built on racism, it's very foundation lies in the history of stolen land and racism. It's obvious that it's never been safe to be a black person in America.
I've seen quite a bit of people complaining about how "toxic" the internet has been lately because of the social activism that has been taking place, and how silly it is to protest during a pandemic and how we should focus on COVID-19 precautions more.
And, it was clear to me that these people bathe in ignorance and privilege.
For black Americans, this is their everyday life, in danger of getting killed for going on a jog or going to a convenience store, they must live in fear during a pandemic. Even during peaceful protests, I've seen so many videos of black people getting kicked around violently by police officers for protesting to live their lives.
Centuries later, we are still fighting against racists in a country where everyone *supposedly* has equal rights. Something needs to change.
