#Black Lives Matter #I Can’t Breathe I have been reading the posts online. I have been out of town so have not had the means to respond or participate in the community protests. The first thing I want to say, and say OUTLOUD, is BLACK LIVES MATTER. At this time in history I think we all need to get over ourselves and quit the tag on of #All Lives Matter. Of course they do, we have always known they do. But Black men and boys are being gunned down in the streets of america faster than cowboys in Dodge. Our prisons are filled with Black grandfathers, fathers and the sons of future generations. Black women are incarcerated at a far higher rate than other women. The poorest states in the country are where Black folks live. The poorest sections of our cities are where Black folks live. Environmental dumps of toxins are where Black folks live. Black Lives Matter. And I Can’t Breathe. I think about the game Jenga. A tower built piece by piece of square wooden pegs. Then the folks playing the game pull one square peg out at a time until one peg pulled sends the whole thing crashing down. That one peg, in my mind, is the racism against Black folks in this country. It is racism against Black folks that has held this country together. Both economically and psychically. It was built on their backs and with their spirits (and yes, it was built on the blood of my native ancestors but that is not the conversation I am having here – Black Lives Matter. And I can’t breathe.). It was built with Black sweat and blood and unpaid labor and Black individual and collective decision after decision to Live no matter what. It is important to set a goal of ending racism in this country, particularly as it is directed against African heritage people, because it is that racism, the racism against Black folks, that hatred, that keeps the tower in place, and it needs to be pulled out to bring the tower of hatred crashing down. Racism against Black folks is used to keep us other folks of color in line, terrified, acquiescent and all too often we go silent, stuck in our own little corner of perceived safety. We are fed the same indoctrination of scary Black men, scary Black women – so we hesitate to get close, become involved, take a stand. We launch our ‘us too’ diatribes. So uncool. Black Lives Matter. And I Can’t Breathe. The police rage against Black folks is the tool of terrorism to keep the rest of us silent and afraid or only looking out for ourselves. or looking our for ourselves too. Not okay. At a recent reading at the Loft I said, “I’m going to say straight out, I do think genocide is worse than racism.” I didn’t say more that night but now I want to say, at this point in history, genocide is the police policy, the court sanctioned policy, against Black men and boys in this country. And we should all be outraged. And how do we individually and collectively work to end the racism against Black folks? End the genocide of Black folks here in america? We get to ask ourselves that and take action because Black Lives Matter. And I Can’t Breathe.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 18:39:39 +0000
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