Racism still exists and “Black Lives Matter” does not mean Black Lives Matter Only

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This past week has been absolutely depressing for the black community. Personally, my entire energy has been nothing but negative. I am filled with fear, pain, confusion, disbelief, sadness, and disgust. It’s hard for us to watch another brother of ours go down and be executed the way Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were. Some people may say racism is making a comeback, but honestly, it never left.

I don’t think people understand why this is a serious problem. Most people don’t understand and have no reason to understand because this systematic problem has no effect on them. Some people don’t have to go home and have a conversation with your kids about being a target by the police. They don’t have to worry about police brutality, either. Some of you people will never understand what it’s like being black in America because you are not black. You will never experience what black people experience and have been experiencing for the last 400 years plus.

Jesse Williams once said, “The more we learn about who we are and how we got here, the more we will mobilize.”

Here’s a quick history lesson, you can thank me later:

The first slave came to America’s “land of the free” in 1619. The Emancipation Proclamation took place in 1863. The 13th Amendment ratified in 1865 and then the Reconstruction Era happened until 1877. Shortly after the Great Compromise, Jim Crow laws began. Black people continued to face racial instability throughout the 20th century. According to Roland Martin, an American journalist, syndicated columnist, and author, black people were “technically and fully free” in 1970, which was only 46 years ago. Here’s a link to him giving talk show host, Wendy Williams, a black history lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_nPDV30U4

What’s the point of black people celebrating Independence Day? We weren’t free during that time. Our Independence Day is June 19th also known as “Juneteenth” or “Freedom Day.” June 19th is black people’s “Independence Day.”

These cops kill our fathers and then mock us for being fatherless. What happened to Alton Sterling and Philando Castile can happen to any of us black people. WE are Alton and Philando.

That is why “Black Lives Matter” was born. Activists of “Black Lives Matter” understand that all lives matter but right now black lives clearly don’t matter. It’s not fair.

If all lives matter then everyone should be out on the streets peacefully protesting. It is time to wake up and speak up and to use our voice. “Black Lives Matter” DOES NOT mean “Black Lives Matter Only.” If all lives matter, no one should have a problem with “BlackLivesMatter.” We are speaking up to end this modern day lynching. If anyone thinks proper action can be taken without speaking up, they are part of the problem. If anyone has an issue with “Black Lives Matter” and not what we saw on the news and social media, then they are part of the problem. If you hear a black man has been shot and you find yourself looking for reasons why he deserved it, that is racism and you are part of the problem.

It is clearly safer to be a white rapist than it is to be a Black man selling CD’s. There are people out there that were so outraged about a zoo failing to see the humanity of a gorilla, but don’t have the ability to see black people’s worth. These cops are murdering us and the law is protecting them. The police won’t admit their faults. Here is one that wouldn’t.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R07RyFN1cdY