Racism comes in many forms and does not have to be an overt expression to exist or even hurt. Some people may be confused as to the current uproar in the world and why black people are sick and fuckin tired of the blatant disrespect and damage that is constantly endured by our communities simply because we have some melanin poppin. If I may offer a little insight, time's up. It is time out being coy and tip toe-ing around what's REALLY been going on. This is nothing new. This revolution is televised. However, it is televised in real time by those actually living and viewing the injustices that are all too common in the black community right from the palm of a hand.
As an African American woman, I know all too well about the complexities of racism. No, I have not grown up using separate bathrooms or going in the back door, but I have felt the hurt, confusion, and anguish of simply being black around someone who is not.
I can’t say I’ve been followed around stores or the last time a white cop pulled me over I was scared for my life (he was actually very sweet), but I can say I have experienced my own more subtle forms of racism.
I have had full blown conversations with some white people that I thought I was cool with just to have them completely ignore me or look right through me the very next time they saw me, on numerous occasions.
My doctor in Lansing, MI barely acknowledged me on my first appointment, just to change his whole tune the next time I came to the office because I had on a Cooley Law School sweatshirt.
I experienced getting demoted from my Limited Law License post- law school internship at the Shelby County District Attorneys Office by Steven Jones because I didn’t pass the bar exam the first time. According to the rules of the license, I had 2 opportunities to take the bar before my position was eliminated. My superior bold faced lied and told me that that wasn’t why I got demoted when I addressed the issue after being moved from an office in General Sessions to a cubicle upstairs with the investigators the day after the bar results were released. He referred to me as "an employee of the office" and he suddenly needed me working on a research project that the LAW STUDENTS would complete when they get out of school for the semester. THE FUCK?! I got a whole JD and enough student loans to buy a house, I wish I would drive downtown everyday, pay to park, go through security and leave a big chunk of my blackNess and dignity at the door after walking 3 blocks in heels to be the Help! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT! Needless to say, that was my last day.
Working at Jason's Deli after college and prior to law school ruined my "I've never been fired" streak. My white manager who was the same age as me, fired me because I refused to take off my cardigan while I was working in the back making strawberry shortcakes because "I was out of uniform." This is after her and Sarah constantly bullied and disrespected me, subtly, for weeks prior after they found out about me becoming a substitute teacher.
She got cussed out. I got fired.
I know exactly why I was treated the way I was in those situations. I was looked down upon because I was BLACK. Period. And the ones I subsequently got a little bit of respect from was because I demanded it. I could go on and on, but this isn’t about me. This is about the fact this latest Civil Rights Movement is long overdue. Black people have been tired. We are tired of being treated like 2nd class citizens of a country that we were dragged to and enslaved in. Our elders were tired of it then, and we are tired of it now.Period.
Yes, there are many uncomfortable things going on right now, but you wanna know what else is uncomfortable? Having a knee on your neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Being chased and gunned down by a random bystander because you have on a hoodie in a white neighborhood. Being mugged and disrespected because you did what your mama taught you to do and spoke to everyone when you walked in a room. Being shot down while going for a jog or sleeping in your apartment. Only being afforded a seat at the table if you are educated or white-friendly enough. That’s what’s uncomfortable.
So while some people may be hollering “all lives matter” as a deflector or a way to feel less guilty, the truth is, all lives have always mattered, the black ones are just sick of being treated like ours don't.
No matter how many loving non- black people we encounter, and we do encounter many, there are hundreds of others who look down on us simply because we are different than them. To all of those who are not black and seek to understand our struggle, we see you and we thank you. We cannot win this war without you. However, to everyone else who is the problem, God have mercy on your pitiful souls.
With all of that being said, get ready, because "the Revolution will not be televised, the Revolution will be LIVE."- Gil Scott Heron
https://youtu.be/kZvWt29OG0s