Love Nakia

I decided to embark on this writing journey while on a 2-week quarantine. I thought carefully about it, I planned generic topics, and I shared my vision with a few people. However, I didn’t follow through, almost 3 months later and this is my first piece. This isn’t one of my planned generic topics, this isn’t a topic discussed with friends or family because I felt it was easier to keep my thoughts to myself. I was wrong, there is nothing easy about it.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that BLACK LIVES MATTER? Oh, wait it’s not hard people don’t want to understand it. They would much rather pretend they don’t see color; pretend they don’t have white privilege, pretend that black people must have committed some deadly sin. Because at the rate that black people are continuously dying at the hands of white officers and being posthumously judged by white civilians, clearly God must be here on earth already. Did I miss the second coming??? While I’m positive I didn’t miss it, as it has not happened, why is that people think they can be judge and juror for the black race? Why is that the color of our skin such a threat?

Slavery ended in 1865 despite what the colonized history books taught you (1863). Here we are just 155 years later still being treated less than. After all types of laws and amendments there are still people who get away with being racist. They still call the police with false accusations, follow us around stores, less pay with more work, and let’s not forget killing us. We have had enough! Every time we lose someone, we are given empty promises. George Floyd was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It took for this man to lose his life on camera filmed by a 17-year-old teenager for the WORLD to see that no matter what laws are present black people are not free and we certainly aren’t equal. It took for the world to be upset for people to acknowledge Junteenth (June 19th 1865) and recognize it as a holiday. There are some white people who are acknowledging their white privilege and using it to better the world. More white people are joining the protests. States are cutting back the funding to the police departments in order to fund additional resources. Businesses and organizations are donating to add resources for mental health and kids’ education and recreation in urban areas. I won’t be naïve to believe they will do right with all these changes in funding but for the first time in a long time there are some small things evolving. They might just have to follow through with more of these promises this time around.

We must come together better than we have before. We scream “I am not my ancestors” but maybe we should be. They stood together and they fought. Do we have what it takes to do the same? Can we avoid the MTA in Baltimore and cripple the pockets of the city? Can we avoid non-black owned businesses for 14 days, 30 days? Can we put our black dollars where our mouths are? Check on your brothers and sisters, we are not okay!