I'm watching my grown children react to these continuing atrocities against our skin color in 2020. And I'm proud of the way their activism and advocacy for human rights for black people is manifesting in their lives. This is for all the marbles - and I'm so glad to see the curtain pulled back, the wool removed from eyes that haven't seen or wanted to see - and the solidarity from every nation, kindred, tongue and people all over the world!
These are unprecedented times we are living in. I've been hoping and praying this day would come. And against the backdrop of an incompetent president, an ailing economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic - these heinous crimes against black bodies, perpetrated by racist whites (police and others), provide the perfect storm for the protests, riots - and finally, the justice that is long overdue.
I'm happy to see this in my lifetime. The joining of forces between peoples of all ethnic groups, backgrounds and walks of life, brings me the sense of peace that there will be a better world for my grandchildren. That, at the very least, racial profiling and police brutality - and even microaggressions against blacks/people of color - will NOT be tolerated or shrugged off, as before.
As a parent of black children, I had to educate them about the hatred they'd have to endure simply because their skin is brown - and how to navigate through systemic racism. It pained me when I thought of how just having to teach my kids what I call "racial self defense" - in order to "get along" at school - was not what I imagined we'd have to do when we started our family. It was not only not OK, but it was not something white parents had to think about. To know that it was my duty as a black parent to protect my children as best I could by telling them things that children should not have to be concerned about - because other children were being taught to hate by their parents - sickened me. Their father and I could not, as responsible, loving parents, let them go out into the world without the knowledge that there would be some people who would actually mean them, and do them harm...
And harmed, they were. Emotionally, mentally. It was like it was a part of their birthright - because their father and I, too, were discriminated against as children, and their grandparents and great grandparents before us. So, they were also harmed -because they are black in a majority white society (that is getting browner by the day, by the way, and subject for another discussion). And today, they each have stories they are sharing - that their former classmates (white) are reading about on social media - seeing the way life was/is for them for the first time.
I am proud of my children because, though they internalized these incidents of discrimination and hatred because of strong faith and familial support - they have had an acute awareness and have spoken out against injustice since they were teenagers. I'm saying I am proud that they utilized their coping skills through all of the madness, because what they did not do - what black people are generally "expected" to do and goaded into doing - is react - hate for hate; retaliate - destroy. My son's experiences were disturbingly different from his sisters'. He was tested and tried far more viciously as a black male and could have been another statistic. But God! All in all, the three of them never became that overused label "angry black..." as if black people don't have a reason or a right to be angry. [Make no mistake - we be angry, though.]
I am proud of my children because, though they internalized these incidents of discrimination and hatred because of strong faith and familial support - they have had an acute awareness and have spoken out against injustice since they were teenagers. I'm saying I am proud that they utilized their coping skills through all of the madness, because what they did not do - what black people are generally "expected" to do and goaded into doing - is react - hate for hate; retaliate - destroy. My son's experiences were disturbingly different from his sisters'. He was tested and tried far more viciously as a black male and could have been another statistic. But God! All in all, the three of them never became that overused label "angry black..." as if black people don't have a reason or a right to be angry. [Make no mistake - we be angry, though.]
What they have become are educated, law-abiding, responsible, and responsive adults. They reject the status quo, and are making their voices heard. They are showing up and raising the awareness where there is ignorance. They are boldly calling out racists and using their platforms to edify those who want to know. And they are providing solutions.
I'm proud of them. Their father would be proud, too. He would be happy to see this day. And although I have hope that this wave of change will do major damage to the antiquated racist systems, evil policies and inequitable practices in the criminal justice system - I do know that dark days are still ahead. Ah... but this light I'm seeing at the end of this particular tunnel, at this particular time in history is the breaking of a new day. There is a shift in the atmosphere, an alignment of millions of conscious minds who stand together in agreement. The power surge is palpable.
Change is here. And not a moment too soon.
#BlackLivesMatter
