As I survey the aftermath of the protest that took place in my city Friday evening, May 29th, I found myself conversing with a security guard whose only argument was, “this is stupid”. I asked, “what’s stupid” and he replied, “all this destruction”. I couldn’t help but to respond, “but what about the black bodies in the street”. He replied, “well yeah, that’s stupid too” and that’s when a homeless man interjected, “he’s just following protocol”. I laughed and walked away. The question I find at the center of all this is, why? Why destroy? Why the violence? I immediately become incensed. These questions are frequently posed by white people and I can’t help but to ask in a retaliatory manner, why do white males come to work and destroy black life with violence? Why are these men so angry?
Pondering this for most of my life, a quote from author Robin Diangelo resonates with me, “when you have 100 percent, 98 feels like oppression”. Case in point, the recent protest at the Michigan State Capital where men and women (mostly white) stormed the Capital with assault rifles only to have their demands heard. Never mind the state representatives who were so in fear that some purchased bullet proof vests for protection to go to work. Imagine a world where you must wear a bullet proof vest to go about your daily life. Well in my mind, it’s not that hard to imagine when I think of Ahmaud Arbery. What if he wore a bullet proof vest for his jog, might he still be with us? What if Breanna Taylor would’ve slept in a bullet proof vest? Maybe she’d still be alive now. Do you see the mental gymnastics that have to take place when you discuss black life? It’s the same mental gymnastics that lead to cases like Nick Hillary, a black man who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s son only because Nick and the child had disagreements over doing his homework first before going outside to play. The audacity of this man, who was a collegiate soccer champion and father of five by the way, to expect a child to finish their homework before engaging in recreation but this is the issue time and time again. White people’s fragility, it’s why we can’t have a substantive conversation about race in this country. It’s also why some probably just stopped reading this, oh well!
You see my blackness is anti-armor in America. It doesn’t protect as much as it makes me vulnerable. Vulnerable to poor living conditions, poor healthcare, various forms of housing and job discrimination, and a criminal justice system that refuses to reform and rehabilitate itself. Some might think this was the plan all along. You’ll hear some say the system is broken, I on other hand, feel the system needs to be broken. So, as I jog down 16th Street Mall, fully cognizant of white bystanders taking pictures of walls spray-painted with ACAB and Fuck 12 as if it was a museum exhibit, I saw multiple businesses boarded up. My sympathy quickly eroded when I noticed the blood soaked concrete, the blood of the oppressed, and the blood of the voiceless only to come home to turn on the news and see Atlanta’s mayor and Crime Stoppers favorite rapper T.I., admonishing protestors for violating the sanctity of CNN. Welp, to Ted Turner from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize. Now let’s see if Glynn county officials provide an apology to Ahmad’s family or if the police in Minneapolis apologize to George Floyd’s family.
You see Minneapolis’ racial issues started long ago. Minneapolis and St Paul are referred to as the twin cities but it’s a little more sinister than that because to black people, Minneapolis is known as the white city and St. Paul is the black city. It’s structural segregation, like this, that leads to the aforementioned disparities in housing, education and jobs between white people and black people. There’s this silly notion that economic status or higher education can save your life. Tell that to Skip Gates or the Harvard educated bird watcher in Central Park or any number of black people being harassed while living their life. Even Breanna Taylor, an EMT putting her life on the line during a pandemic, was shot to death because of a reckless no knock warrant. Now if being a police officer is such a dangerous job, and no one is arguing that it isn’t, then why would you perform a no knock warrant putting your life in danger? Some of this calculus just doesn’t add up and while narratives switch to protecting property, the real conversation that needs to be had gets swept under the rug. Meaning, we’ll basically be here again, it’s just a matter of time. So with that, I say white friends reach out to your black friend’s because they’re going through it, for real.
No Justice No Peace!
RIP #GeorgeFloyd RIP #AhmaudArbery RIP #BreannaTaylor #protests2020 #blacklivesmatters #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory #justiceforgeorgefloyd #voteforchange