I Believe That Black Lives Matter
The other day my Facebook timeline was filled with people who were screaming that “ALL LIVES MATTER” and that “WHITE LIVES MATTER” and that “BLUE LIVES MATTER” … all of them making noise and trying their best to drown out the cries of pain and grief and loss coming from people who are trying to convince White America that black lives matter too.
You see, that’s the thing.
Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean that other lives don’t matter. And it doesn’t mean that only black lives matter, either. Nor does it mean that black lives are more important than other lives.
RATHER.
Taking a stance that black lives matter means …
That we recognize the agonizing history of the black community.
That we see the way that those in power have abused them.
That we see the unfair treatment they receive because of the color of their skin.
That we stand with them in yet another season of pain and grief and loss.
That we are horrified by the fear they live in day in and day out.
That we recognize our common humanity.
That we celebrate the differences between us.
That we believe their voices should be heard.
It’s like the Pro-Life movement, for example. Pro-Lifers stand in front of abortion clinics and they protest. They hold signs and scream terrible things about anybody who dares to think differently than they do on the topic of abortion. Pro-Life Centers put on annual walks where people walk for miles and miles and miles to raise money to fight abortion. On occasion Pro-Lifers have even shot at abortion doctors and tried to bomb abortion clinics.
Why?
Not because All Lives Matter.
Not because All Lives Are Important.
Not because All Lives Deserve Fair Treatment.
BUT.
Because, for them, The Lives of the Unborn Matter.
The Pro-Live movement hasn’t built its agenda on the idea that all lives matter, but on the idea that the lives of the unborn matter and are worth fighting for, on the idea that the lives of the unborn are under attack, are being oppressed, are being smothered … and they need our help.
Friends - this is what the black community is asking for, this is what the black community deserves. They aren’t asking to be made more important than anyone else, but are asking for White America to realize that …
Their lives are under attack.
They are being oppressed.
They are being smothered.
… And they need our help.
If you don’t believe that to be true it’s because your head is in the sand and now would be a good time to stop reading and X out of this screen. The rioting and protesting isn’t about George Floyd, but about the systematic abuse and violence that black people have had to endure for decades - abuse that they have been begging us to help them fight against, that they have been begging us to acknowledge, remedy, and extinguish.
George Floyd.
Ahmaud Arbery.
Trayvon Martin.
… The list could go on.
I have friends who have stood before me and wept because they fear for the lives of their children and for their own lives.
Friends who have cameras hidden in their cars in case they get pulled over by the police and harassed for something they didn’t do.
Friends who have anxiety attacks every time they see a police car.
Friends who no longer feel safe walking down the street of their own neighborhoods because they fear being labeled a thug simply because of the color of their skin.
We have a problem, America - a big, big problem.
Colin Kaepernick tried to get our attention and magnify the problem by taking a knee, and we mocked him. Other groups have tried to get our attention with peaceful protests, and we told them to stop whining. We’ve downplayed the atrocious history of slavery and have propped up the Confederate Flag all throughout the South in an effort mock, belittle, and shame people of a different skin color who come from a long history that no white person can or will ever understand.
“It’s part of history, get over it.”
“I’m proud of where we’ve come from.”
We’ve put the Confederate Flag up as a badge of honor when in reality it should be burned in the streets because of the pain and agony it represents for the black community, our fellow human beings.
The black community is tired of not being heard, and who can blame them?
Martin Luther King once said that “riots are the language of the unheard” and that is where we have arrived at in 2020 - many have resorted to riots and violence not because they are violent thugs, but because their voices have gone unheard for generations and they’re tired of it.
The solution?
Listen.
White people are constantly telling black people how they should feel and how they should respond, what they should do and shouldn't do, what they should feel and shouldn’t feel. Like a frustrated parent who tells their toddler to stop crying, White America is constantly telling the black community to stop crying because they have nothing to cry about, because they’re blowing the situation out of proportion.
Dare I say, it’s almost as if White America sees itself as the parent and sees the black community as the toddler that needs to be reigned in, controlled, and taught some manners.
I don’t think the riots will stop, to be honest … and I think they will only get worse until a leader within White America stands up and says, “enough! It’s time for change. It’s time for reform. It’s time for a revolution.”
Enough of telling black people what to do.
Enough of telling black people how to feel.
Enough of the violence.
Enough of the abuse.
Enough of the brutality.
It’s time to hold police accountable.
It’s time to reform systems of power.
It’s time for our leaders to stop using toxic racial rhetoric.
It’s time to repent of our sins against our black friends.
It’s time to recognize we have a problem.
It’s time to recognize the pain we have cause.
It’s time for a revolution.
And here’s the last thing I’ll say. I’m sure some of my white friends are good and ticked off at this post, but I don't really care.
Why?
Here’s a quote I came across today …
“Speaking out against white supremacy and race-based violence does not make you anti-white, anti-police, right or left. It makes you pro-justice. Pro black life. Pro accountability. Pro racial equality. Caring about the life of another isn't political, it’s human.”
I loudly declare that black lives matter because I recognize the fear my black friends live in everyday, I recognize how they have been silenced and mocked in the past and present, I fear that their futures are in danger … and I realize that they have been fighting a losing battle for generations and are in need of our help.
I’m here to help. And if you’re not going to jump in the arena and get your a** kicked with the rest of us then kindly exit the stadium and go away.
Peace.