To me it's parallel to the 60s when people held signs that said "I Am A Man." It's very telling of where we are as a country that I have to remind others that my life matters. In the past, these movements brought about change that we didn't ask for, like police body cams. We've been asking for accountability for decades - what we got are body cams. We don't need more video of it. We can see it. We saw it with Rodney King. "BLM" being painted on a Trump tower or having a street renamed isn't what we asked for: we want accountability.
For me it means that my life as a black person should matter as much as a white person's or anyone else. My life should be equal. I don't think about the organization itself. I see it as a rallying cry. I know a lot of white people find the organization itself divisive - and I don't care about that either way. The movement is what matters. Hear my words: MY LIFE MATTERS. To me, "All Lives Matter" is a racist statement - to me all lives can't matter until black lives matter. Yes, police lives matter, white lives matter, but they aren't being unfairly killed at the same rate that unarmed African Americans are. So we say BLM to remind you that I'm a human and an equal.
For me, for so long, it hasn't felt like we've ever mattered, from the time that black people arrived in this country until now. I don't believe all white people are racist; I actually think most white people are not. It just means we've had enough; we're tired of being treated and oppressed in a way that shows how freely the racism flows in this country. These words are not meant to disrespect someone else's cause. We're not saying all lives don't matter - that's not what this is about.
There's a misconception that the phrase, sentiment, and ideology of the statement itself means nothing else matters or that nothing else matters as much. It's on the contrary. The full implied statement is, "Black lives matter just as much as your life matters." Historically, people in power in our country have either forgotten or ignored the fact that we're equal. "Black lives matter" is a reminder - my life matters as much as anyone else's. The expression is meant to be a peaceful summarization of this struggle.
The result needs to be reform within police departments. Some of their tactics are being reformed right now, which is good, but I'd like to see citizen review boards. Who polices the police? I want to see outside investigatory organizations come in when there is a police incident, and we need to do away with retaliation when a good cop does speak out against racism in their department. Systematic racism will still be here if we're just writing "BLM" on the streets in yellow and black paint. We need reform.
I want to be able to live in a country where I don't have to fear for my life as a result of being black. I want to live in a country where I don't feel that my hardships that I endure are because I'm black. I want to feel that I am able to have the same opportunities as a white man. I want my kids to grow up not having to deal with as much racism as I've dealt with since I was four years old.
I want to have equal treatment. It's that simple.
I want people to stop feeling like they have to have a rebuttal to "Black Lives Matter." This truthfully is the definition of a systemic issue. The narrative that gets told is that the system wasn't built for us, but it's more than that: the system was built against us. That's the product of hundreds of years of negligence and oppression, being viewed as a "less than." I want to see that change. We need to be viewed as equal, whether it's how we're treated by the police or by a bank when we apply for a loan.
Yeah you can, and you should start it with your white friends too. Honestly, that's more important. Ask your white friends, "What are we going to do to stop racism?" Black people are on the receiving end of it, so it's not news to us. Yes, you can bring it up.
Absolutely. And it should look like you being honest, acknowledging that you don't know the answers, that you may not say it in the right way, but that you want to talk about racism or your friend's experience as a black person in America. Just be honest that you care. Because of the society in which we live, I don't see how a white person can not have racist tendencies. Frankly, as a black man, it's hard for me to not look at my own race in a negative way. Society has taught me if I see a group of black guys standing on the street corner, that's probably dangerous...and I'm black. Yes, you can and should talk about this.
Absolutely, yes. I can see the struggle of a white person trying to understand, and I think it's important for black people to allow white people the chance to try to understand. Ask your questions, seek to understand; you have just as much of a right to start this conversation as anyone else. And I hope that your questions will be received with the same openness that I'm asking of you. This is not a battle between friends - this is a battle against a system that's been set up against us from the beginning.
Yes, I think so. Take the color away and it's still your friend, and you want the best for your friends. If your intentions are coming from a place of wanting to understand as opposed to a place of challenging if I'm in the wrong for wanting to be equal, then go for it. As a white man, you're not going to know this unless someone teaches it to you, and if I'm your friend, I should want to help you understand.
Just a quick story: During the pandemic, we got a phone call from the school principal to let us know our thirteen-year-old son was nominated for student of the semester because he did such a great job keeping up on his virtual schoolwork. They were going to do a little drive by teacher caravan in front of the house. It was a big surprise. We didn't know what time they were coming, and the first thing we heard was a police siren because they got a police escort, and then all of the teachers' horns honking. We got our son outside and took pictures, neighbors were yelling congratulations. That evening I looked through all the pics and my son wasn't smiling in any of them. I asked him why and he said "I thought the police were gonna kill me." I said "Did you do something wrong that I need to know about?" He said, "No, mom, but you know how police just come kill black people." This is 2020. My son lives in a suburban neighborhood with both of his parents. Black kids still have fear of police...even though we were standing outside, cheering, my husband and I were smiling ear-to-ear, and my son was scared shitless.
I have a very blessed life. I have more privilege than a lot of black people in this country. I'm educated; I have a great career, had both of my parents, I'm happily married, and I'm respected. But somehow, I still suffer from the effects of racism every day of my life. The harsh reality of my black skin is thrown in my face everyday. All I have to do is turn on the news, watch any cable TV show, any advertisement, walk down the street, and I experience racism. But it's not just externally. It's also within me because it's been so ingrained into me that I constantly have to think about my blackness. I dress a certain way to compensate for how the world views a black man. I've been laughed at for refusing to "dress down" at the workplace, but how I dress is part of my armor. I'm treated differently by wearing nice clothes as a black man. Oh, and here's a fact for your readers: I've been driving for 22 years, and I've been pulled-over over 70 times. How many times have you been pulled-over?
Dialogue breeds the opportunity to respect each other's point of view. We have to keep talking about this.
There is not going to be a race war. That's not a thing, that's not a narrative or a fear that holds truth. If there's going to be a war (and really I mean a war of ideology) it's going to be people who are racist against people who aren't, and you can choose which side you want to be on. Choose right. Please be on the right side of history when this is said and done. Are you for equality, or are you against it? It's that simple because at the end of the day, this isn't a black issue; it's a human rights issue.
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