"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." - Desmond Tutu.
To be able to stay quiet in this movement is your privilege speaking volumes. It is your privilege that allows you to stay on the sidelines because you believe this isn't directly affecting you. If you are a minority in the US, you are sorely mistaken. How fortunate are you that you don't fear the loss of a cousin, sibling, or dear friend that went for a jog or was sleeping soundly in her house?
Answer me this question honestly: would your position in this movement change if Breonna Taylor, Aubrey Ahmed, or George Floyd was someone you deeply cared about? If so, why can't you recognize a human life for what it is rather than who that person is to you?
You need to understand that your privilege is what allows you to be silent in this movement because, in your eyes, it doesn't directly affect you. You are fine with people of color staying in an existence that is systematically racist. If you are not for a change in the Black Lives Matter movement, you have no care of changing the system that we live in.
I need you to know that whether you are a minority or white, you have the opportunity to educate yourself on the history of this country, how the US is still systematically racist. You will see that black people are disproportionately represented in health care, poverty, public education, incarceration, and jobs.
You are blessed to be able to have privilege in choosing to stay quiet or be vocal in this movement, but why not use your voice for the voices that aren't heard enough? I am not asking you to stand in front of your city hall and demand change. I am asking that you first educate yourself on the hundreds of years of oppression that black people have faced and what little change there has been in a system that's backbone was built upon racism.
It's not enough to be "not racist" anymore, we need to be anti-racist. The difference between both is "not racist" is when you do not feel or show discrimination to someone based on their race and anti-racist isn't tolerating racist behaviors or actions in anyone or anything.
Be anti-racist. Strive for change in this country. Have a voice and an opinion! Vote for the change this country needs so desperately.
When your kids are learning about the Black Lives Matter Movement in history class and they ask what did you during this movement, what will you say?
Below I have provided a list of resources to help educate yourself and become an ally in this movement:
Some shows and movies to help educate yourself on BLM:
- The 13th (Netflix)
- Seven Seconds (Netflix)
- Moonlight (Netflix)
- Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
- Just Mercy (Amazon Prime)
- When They See Us (Netflix)
Some petitions and resources to help in this movement:
- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
- https://dotherightthing.carrd.co/
- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#petitions
- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#vote
- https://twitter.com/hopewrlds/status/1266856971610632192?s=21
Books that can be used as educational tools on BLM:
- WHITE FRAGILITY: Why It's So Hard for White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- How To Be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Ensure you are registered to vote in your state: