Dear America,
I’m tired. Once again I have to be confronted with the fact that you don’t love me. You don’t love my people. The murder of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis on 5/25/20 combined with the recent murders of Breonna Taylor(an unarmed EMT nurse who was shot 8 times by police in her home) & Ahmaud Arbery(an unarmed jogger who was shot by two “vigilantes”) is just the latest example of a system that continues to show a lack of empathy & compassion toward my people. The weight of this latest example of our lack of worth was too much for me to bear and I spent most of Friday afternoon heartbroken and in tears.
I’m tired of seeing images of my brothers & sisters being violently killed for just being black. The four police officers in Minneapolis thought it was ‘appropriate’ to handcuff, assault and choke the life out of George Floyd’s body by having a knee to his neck. I’m tired of not having our pleas heard. Floyd literally begged for his life to be spared by telling Officer Derek Chauvin that he couldn’t breath. How did this police officer respond to the person he was supposed to be peacefully serving? Chauvin continued to apply pressure to Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness and eventually died. In 2014, Eric Garner, a man who allegedly was selling loose cigarettes in a New York City neighborhood, was arrested by police and choked to death. Like Floyd, Garner pleaded for his life by saying “I can’t breathe.” The police officers’ response? They continued to choke him until he had a seizure. No medical attention was given and Garner died.
I’m tired of being presumed guilty until proven innocent. When I was 27 I was in Tinley Park, IL helping my dad with our commercial cleaning business one night. As I was leaving an office building my crew was cleaning, we were pulled over by police. No laws were broken but we “fit the description of some African-Americans who had just robbed a pizza delivery man of pizza & money.” The call was placed by a white homeowner. Instead of asking us if we had seen any suspicious activity, we were immediately told to get out of the vehicle while the officers performed an illegal search of the vehicle. One of the officers told me to “just tell the truth & tell us who did it.” Eventually the officers were told it was a mistake and there was no robbery. No apology was given to us. We were just told to leave. That experience has happened to a large percentage of black men.
I’m tired of black women & men being killed by police with no justice. I’m tired of my people not being protected by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us. This is not to say all police are bad but what we are saying is give us the same chance of living when we have confrontations with the police.
I’m tired of being told of how, when and if we should protest injustice. Anytime the issue of racism & injustice comes into the forefront the response from America is always the same. We’re told not be ‘race baiters’. We’re told to shut up & dribble and stick to sports. We’re told we can’t kneel as a form of protest. We’re told that we don’t love this country if we point out its flaws. We’re told not to march. We’re told not to riot. Throughout the history of this country we are told to find the right tone when it comes to protesting. News flash America: black people have been trying to find the right tone forever and at every turn we are ignored. At some point when we are told over & over that our voice doesn’t matter, don’t be surprised when peaceful protests turn violent.
I’m tired of being viewed of as less than human. I’m tired of my brothers being viewed as thugs, animals and savages. I’m tired of my sisters being looked at as over-sexualized, angry black women or ghetto. I’m tired of being looked at as threatening. I’m tired of people weaponizing their privilege to keep their foot on our necks. I’m tired of the Amy Coopers of the world who use their privilege to willingly try to bring harm to black men.
I’m tired of living in a system designed to foster & support inequality. I’m tired of us having to be the bigger person when we are the ones who are the oppressed. I’m tired of having to explain racism to those who refuse to listen. I’m of working 10 times as hard for less pay than others. I’m tired of having to show up to work everyday pretending everything is ok when it is not. No one carries the burden & painful history of their race more than black people. I’m tired of being told to forget about slavery & not focus on race when this country repeatedly reminds us that nothing has changed.
Finally, I’m tired of the silence. This is about institutional racism. This is about a system that treats people of color as property, not people. We have voiced our concerns. We have marched. We have had protests. We have tried to using our votes. We have prayed. We have tried to assimilate. We have tried to engage. America is not listening. To my non-POC friends, now is the time to stand up. Now is the time to confront your family members, friends & co-workers about this. Now is not the time for silence. Now has to be the time to say “enough is enough”. If we are truly to believe that all men are created equal then now is the time for you to stand up. We are tired, America.
I will leave you with words from Martin Luther King, Jr.:
About Author
The epidemic of racism that simmered for decades has boiled back over first in response against President Obama and now in solidarity with Trump. The protests sweeping the country are a genie that won’t return to it’s bottle, I hope, but will force change. In my lily-white town of Gettysburg PA, there was a protest yesterday decrying police brutality and institutional racism. People are with you, people care. This is the end of the beginning. #BlackLivesMatter will gain white mainstream traction – this is my prediction.