Let me start by saying, as a white twenty-four-year-old woman, I have never and will never know what it is like to grow up and live in a country as a minority or know what true fear feels like. What I can understand is that the recent events surrounding the deaths of people like Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were wrong, and the outcry from the public to make a change will not back down until it is a permanent fixture, rather than a revolving door in this country’s history. When the Black Lives Matter movement is met with the rebuttal of “all lives matter,” it minimizes the justice we should be seeking for a group of people who must prove a constant bias wrong. That is white privilege responding. Hiding behind the false unity in posing this stance only builds a wall in saying it is not worth standing up for humanity because a personal effect does not quite hit home enough to invest in the lives of others. I have been slow to react because, honestly, I could not adequately put to words all the thoughts whirling in my head. I watched the protests. The sign that broke my heart was one a child held, and it read: “When I grow up, I want to be … a scientist, a basketball player, a cheetah, ALIVE.” At such an age, dreams should be so outlandish and whimsical, yet this boy, while standing beside his mother, made such an impactful statement without ever moving his lips. No child should wonder if they will get to celebrate double-digit birthdays, or wonder if they will get their driver’s license on their 16th birthday, or wonder if they will graduate high school at 18, or achieve their wildest dreams at any age. These are the very reasons why we should rally behind them in their movement. We do not get to sit back and ridicule the events that are a result of the unjust killings of Black people. We do not get to pretend it is not happening because it somehow does not affect us the same way it does others. We do not get to sit behind a screen and troll those who have taken a stand. We do not get to tell our colored brothers and sisters how they should be feeling or reacting. What we do get to be is an ally. Be an ally for the oppressed. Be an ally for change. Be an ally for justice. Ahmaud Arbery was exercising while someone else wrongly exercised their right to aim a gun at a person. Breonna Taylor was a frontline worker shot in the very place she should have been safest. George Floyd exhausted his last breath pleading for life and air. The list could go on and on over the decades. History will continue to repeat, the corrupt will continue to be corrupt (this goes both ways), and the unjust will never meet just returns. Change is necessary. Human lives are at stake. Neglecting to recognize color and adopting the blanket statement “I see no color” only contributes to the neglect of embracing race, celebrating differences, and coming together in humanity. If we see no color, it puts a bleak filter over the heritage and sacrifices each race brings to this melting pot of human life. Generations of good and ugly cannot go without acknowledgment, and the only way to do so is to, in fact, see our world in color. In color, we see blood. In color, we see good and evil. In color, we see each other.
Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2020
1 Comment
Brenda Koch
6/1/2020 01:10:45 pm
You are an excellent writer! You have spoken the words I could not find. I think you inherited some of your talent, compassion and kindness from your parents. I love reading your mom's post also. I am so proud of you !❤❤❤
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