I am white. I am educated. I am Christian. I am straight. I am American. I am able bodied. When I go for a walk, jog, break up a fight, wear a hoodie, play in the park, hold a cellphone, go to the grocery store, reach for my registration, and so much more, I do not become an ‘accident’. I am privileged.
No one likes being called privileged, no likes acknowledging inequalities, no one likes being part of the problem. But we must acknowledge our privileges, acknowledge the inequalities and be part of the solution or we are the problem. Being privileged makes me angry, not because I do not think it is true, but because I know that it is. There is no reason for the color of my skin to allow me opportunities others are denied.
Black Lives Matter. This does not mean that white lives do not. It does not mean that if you are white your life cannot be hard. It does not mean whites against blacks. It does not mean blacks against cops. It means everyone together acknowledging the injustice that is tearing our country apart and joining together to create a just and equal future. It means that the oppression of African Americans must stop. The senseless killing of black men, women and children must stop.
Before all lives can matter, black lives need to matter.
The past week has been a rude awakening for me. I am not an ignorant person, but as I learn more and more about the Black Lives Matter movement, I am shocked, and I am angry. I have been living a lie. I was taught that what makes America so special is that it is a melting pot and the land of the free. This past week has made it obvious that neither of those statements are true.
Powerful messages and informational links:
“White privilege doesn’t mean your life hasn’t been hard; it means that your skin color isn’t one of the things making it harder.”
What white privilege sounds like, “It is terrible that innocent black men are being killed, but the damaging of property needs to stop.”
What you should be saying, “It is terrible that property is being damaged, but the killing of innocent black men needs to stop.”
We are putting emphasize on the wrong thing.
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/865261916/a-decade-of-watching-black-people-die
https://time.com/5846727/george-floyd-protests-history/