Back in 2012, the world got its first taste of racist cops since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Over 50 years had passed, and the Black community was feeling at ease. This all changed with one man's actions, a gun and one black body falling to the ground. This sparked an outrage not just within the Black community, but for the whole nation. As a family was in mourning, protesters lined the streets, demanding justice for the wrongful death of Trayvon Martin, who was shot by George Zimmerman after visiting a convenience store. Trayvon had been going in to get some snacks when Zimmerman called the non-emergency police department line, and told them that he was following a "suspicious black male." Fifteen minutes later, and Trayvon was dead in the street. As a family was beginning to mourn, the feelings that the Black community had been suppressing for so long, because "racism was finally over," suddenly boiled over like a hot pot on a burning stove. This man was on trial for three days, and in three days, he was found not guilty. If we were to flip the colors in this situation, if Trayvon were white and George Zimmerman were Black, Zimmerman would've been given a lengthy prison term. Thus, the #blacklivesmatter movement was created and put into affect to not only protect black bodies from law enforcement, but to educate white people about the issues that this community has faced since day one.
White people have told the Black community time and time again, "No, it's not your turn to speak. Your problems aren't relevant right now. Wait in line, and we'll eventually get to it." And then when someone like Eric Garner is put into an illegal choke-hold by a white cop for cigarettes and says, "I can't breathe!" before he's dead, and that cop isn't charged, the Black community is told the same old story from the privileged white folks that have been running this country into the ground since day one.
We have silenced Black voices for too long. We have stereotyped Black people for centuries, and then white people wonder why they get so mad when they see black bodies dropping like flies over the course of not even five years. Trayvon has been dead for four years, and we have seen a steady increase in white police officers targeting black people and killing them.
Yet we, and I say "we" as in white people, have the audacity to tell them to "calm down" and "not to protest" and "it'll only make things worse." Let me pose a question to you: Have you ever had your mother or father sit you down at the dinner table and tell you how to react when the police come up to you? Have you ever thought about when you get pulled over, if the police officer is going to be friendly or have his hand on his holster? My mother has never had to sit me down and talk me through what to do if the police stop me. I understand that just by being white, I have certain privileges over Black people and people of color. Do I think that this is just? No. I'm no better than any other person on this planet, regardless of skin tone. But, because of the societal hierarchy, that automatically makes me better than a Black person that has a PhD in quantum physics.
I understand my privilege. I'm not going to step over the black community. I'm letting them speak. I'm keeping quiet. And I'm listening. I will stand strong with my black brothers and sisters and people of color because they have potential and my God, they should be able to live to use it.
#blacklivesmatter
