Signs of the Times
“If you are a citizen, why do you have to fight for your civil rights. If you’re fighting for your civil rights, that means you’re not a citizen.”
-Malcolm X
I want to start this by saying that it is officially Day 7 of protests in support of #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd , protests against police brutality & protests against a country that has continued to support this behavior for decades. This is Day 7 of Protests agaisnt the systematic racism that is interwoven into the fibers of the flag that waves about our heads, that we were taught since childhood to vow our allegiance to. This is Day 7 of protests against the continued implication that Black Lives Matter LESS than the lives of our counterparts in this country. This is Day of protest to change the way that American has dysfunctionally and disproportionately operate since its break from The Queen and the inception of its “democratic” rule.
For the first time in American history, the majority of the country is in opposition, not only our leaders but the systems that we have long grown complacent with. And rightfully so. To the Black community, the issues ta hand have been integral parts of our lives since birth. Along with the ‘Birds & the Bees’, our parents drill the basics of dealing with officers into our adolescent minds. I had to learn how, for us, not carrying a valid ID was a crime in itself and the nuances of own personal crime against humanity, DWB (Driving While Black).
But to our counterparts, the world is shifting beneath their feet. Everything that the White community knew or thought that they knew to be a reality, has revealed itself to be a smokescreen for the real issues that have long plagued this country, the systematic racism that has never left.
The beautiful thing about the present time is that we are heard and our plight is being plastered as our ‘Away Message’ to the world while the country is shut down due to Covid; for the first time, there is real hope of change. It appears that, as a country, we stand at a crossroads between the normal we once knew and an opportunity to finally start the process of righting the wrongs done to the oppressed. Whether it will happen or not, is where my cynical brains steps in to remind me that we’ve seen false flashes of CHANGE and HOPE before but as most major corporations suggest, the show must go on as planned.
For our sake, the oppressed of this country, the Black & Brown people of the world, I sure hope that the cynical portion of my brain is proven wrong. It will be a breath of fresh air to begin the steps of healing through the traumas caused by being Black in America, for once.
