This is something I have been pondering for a while. Growing up in the 80s in Brooklyn, NY was not a cakewalk. As a black child, I was forced to grow up faster than your average non-person of color.
We knew more about drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence at such young ages because it was around us. We also knew more about racial profiling and brutality against us because it occurred way too much for us to keep track of.
If you live in the inner city you could easily feel stuck, there are barely any resources for you to help the black and brown community thrive like the others.
Fast forward to 2020, and not much has changed. So far, I have lived through the riots of Rodney King, The injustice of Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Phill Castillo, Eric Gardner and Sandra Bland. Now we have lost Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, George Floyd, and countless others since January 2020. It is mind blown.
We have been protesting for decades and it feels like today we only moved forward by a few inches where at this stage we should be miles ahead of all this hatred and blatant racism. At this stage, it should be a thing of the past, but unfortunately, it is still very present.
Our justice system needs a lot of reform.
I say that to say this, we have to move smarter and harder. We have to find a way to truly unite for our kids and future generations. We have to break this cycle. We have to hold violent offenders accountable. We have to use the power of our dollars and voices.
We are talented, we live in a unique time. This is not the 60s anymore and we have technology that we can use to educate our communities more.
We can no longer support any business that does not value our lives or skin tones.
We can no longer watch or support movies or television shows that portray us in a negative light
We can no longer support politicians that do not have compassion for humanity or the environment
Now here is what we can do
We connect with those who want to create a change that will benefit us all as humans
We use our voting power
We use our spending power
We Protest
We Sign Petitions
We Boycott
We keep sharing our stories
We lead by example
We fight for what is right and just
We don't give up
We continue to educate ourselves and our kids
We continue to spread the message
We continue to love
We continue to live our best lives
We become the change that we want to see
We unite
To learn more about how you can help contribute or educate yourself more visit Blacklivesmatter.org