This summer while riding to the store to get ice cream with my son, I had to share with him that if ‘daddy gets pulled over by the police, this is how you should record the encounter without the cops knowing they’re being recorded.”
Just in case I became a hashtag.
We live with this fear. Every. Single. Day.
So yes, I have a lot of rage and anger at what happened Wednesday because of how much ‘white privilege’ was on display for everybody to see. My emotions were all over the place.
America can’t hide anymore.
The emotional ambush that happened in Washington was there for everybody to see, even if it made you uncomfortable. The state of our country is scary.
We’ve been saying for years that there are two Americas: One for white America and another for Black America. Instead of drinking from separate water fountains, there’s a disparate system of justice, unfortunately.
That’s the sad reality that unfolded across our television screens Wednesday afternoon.
Like everybody else in the country, I watched in horror as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Typing those words seem surreal. They were essentially welcomed onto sacred space to desecrate it.
Just when you think this presidency has reached rock bottom, it manages to go even lower. They carried a confederate flag into the Capitol. Somebody sat inside of Nancy Pelosi’s office with their feet propped up on the desk. Those chaotic images are seared into memory.
Eventually, rioters were escorted out of the building like they were leaving a mall at closing time.
Meanwhile, this summer peaceful Black protesters were tear-gassed, pelted with rubber bullets, and met with violence in Portland, Philadelphia, Washington, and other places across the nation. During the Civil Rights Movement, Black people were beaten, attacked by dogs, hosed, and killed.
Black Lives Matter supporters were called “thugs” by the “president of the United States”, who actually tweeted “when the looting begins, the shooting starts” during a tumultuous summer.
Black people have been killed for selling cigarettes, compact discs, jogging, wearing a black hoodie, and being pulled over. There’ve been kids in the car. Doesn’t matter. We’ve uttered the words “I Can’t Breathe.” Who cared? We cried for our mothers while taking our final breath. Oh well.
Colin Kaepernick took a knee for these very reasons to bring attention to police brutality and systemic injustices. Officers in Minneapolis took a knee too — for 8 minutes, 46 seconds.
Enough is enough. Can’t protest peacefully. Can’t kneel in silence. It’s beyond sickening and frustrating.
Earlier this week, when prosecutors shared they weren’t going to charge the officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back, paralyzing him, as his three kids in the car watched in horror, Black people weren’t surprised at the decision.
Sadly, we expected it.
The officers were acquitted in the 1992 Rodney King beating despite video evidence. Officers were let off the hook in the 2016 killing of Alton Sterling, again despite the video.
That could have been me.
So, I am always on edge because these events are unfortunately normal. It’s what I am used to. I am triggered when these things occur because it’s a result of the combined trauma that Black people have experienced consistently.
I am disappointed, but not discouraged.
However, I keep praying and remaining positive that things will one day change for the better. I have a 10-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. I want them to have a better future. That’s why the work that’s being done now by our awesome young people matters. They are igniting a flame of hope.
One thing I know is Black people are determined, resilient, and persistent. Change is happening. It takes time and this is long-haul work. We have each other. We have our voices. We have the power of love and purpose.
That’s going to allow us to triumph.
