Tired is not even the word to describe what I and so many of my Black brothers and sisters are feeling right now. We are exhausted, infuriated, disheartened, grieving, anguished, but most of all, disappointed. This country continuously tells us our lives are not valued. We are unwanted. You can have freedom, but you won’t have it here. You can have equality, if you go back to where you came from. These words might not always be vocally said, but they’re visible through the actions — the unfair job wages, the two-sided justice, healthcare, education and housing systems, representation, and this is just the shortlist.
To stare privilege in it’s face every single day and be told that it does not exist is maddening; it’s gaslighting at it’s finest. To be told by your white boss that your white colleague is being paid more and receiving a promotion because their contribution to the business is more valuable than yours. To know that you’re the only person on the team who is qualified to manage your role but somehow you’re the least valued. To see those same employers attempt to cover up their racism by placing university and GPA requirements via their hiring posts, in a poor effort to weave out Black minorities. This is just a piece of the hardship America tries to place on us for being Black.
The audacity and the nerve of this country that was built by the hands of my Black ancestors. And that has since continued to receive most of it’s greatest inventions and ideas from Black people. But yet, instead of being appreciated and treated like human beings, we’re slain on filthy, concrete streets as if our lives don’t mean a thing. To experience and witness trauma but be told to go on with your everyday regular activities should not be normal and should not be praised. It should be shamed. It should be rejected.
I want to see public officials demand accountability for the officers who continuously murder Black people. But because this country lacks leadership, the man currently taking up space at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will not condemn the police departments across the country for their failure to de-escalate violent situations orchestrated by their counterparts. That same man will not try to comfort the hurting nation and enact policies for change. The celebrities will continue to be silent or pretend to be outraged on social media but not open up their pockets. News and cable networks won’t encourage people to attend their local Town Hall meetings. The America that Black people know will not grieve the loss of Black lives as they feel it doesn’t relate to or concern them.
We’re in the middle of a pandemic but have to stand up and protest for what’s been said time and time again. Stop killing Black people for sport. Stop focusing on the effect and not the cause. Stop complaining about the fruit but not acknowledge the tree that bears it. Stop being more comfortable to call out property damage than you are to call out racism, police brutality, MURDER. While you’re denying our humanity, remember this: This country wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Black people.
I will continue to use A Rich Lifestyle’s platform to uplift and represent the women who look, talk, walk & act like me because we belong, we matter, and we deserve, too. The time is always right to do what is right. Thank you to all those who are doing the work. Black. Lives. Matter – today, tomorrow, and every other day.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” – Matthew 7:19