My greatest hope

My greatest hope is that as a result of this current movement, other races and cultures understand the experience of African Americans.  There seems to be a huge awakening that has been a long time coming and I am glad to be here during this time and this space.  However, I am frustrated with people focusing on the looting and black on black crime.  First, this never would have happened if there were laws and practices put in place to keep people from killing and taking advantage of  African Americans. While I do not condone the community stores being burned or the “ma and pa” stores from being looted, all the others have insurance and will be slightly inconvenienced (big name stores with the $450 Wallets, $300 jeans, those stores).  A lot of these stores were supported by the black community through our dollars but what were they given back?  Truth be told the looting was effective, it got peoples attention and let it be known how strong a community can be.  Then there were the people trying to ignite or incite racial tension between black and brown people of color or the African American community and the Latino community.  I’m glad people caught on, organized and the end result was these communities coming together in peaceful protests.

Then there is the “what about black on black crime”?  When you are raised to feel inferior, unloved by the country that brought your ancestors here against their will, had your family torn apart first by slavery then by a system that made modern day slavery out of the justice department, in addition to the things we do to ourselves (glamorizing a lifestyle that causes death, breakdown of families, communities and let’s just say it makes us look like materialistic, sex crazed fools).  What do you have to loose? Where there was a plan to redline us together in underserved communities; where health disparities, food deserts, schools that are not properly equipped with the technology/resources for our children to have the same opportunity to "pull themselves up by their boot straps" (except our boots, have one thin string and holes in the bottom of the soles and they don’t match). A system that  has been allowed to exist.  Where everywhere you turn since you been here there is hatred.  History said our ancestors were savages, then 3/5^th of a man, uneducable, aggressive, niggers (stupid person) and never saw our fathers and grandfathers as men, often referring to them as “boy”. To go from standing tall and jumping high in rich land with your own language, religion and traditions to a place that doesn’t love you after a while you start to wonder if you are worthy of love.  When it get’s to that point you stop loving and seeing value in your life, you see even less value in the lives of others. Some of us thrive but in comparison to our counterparts, we as a whole barely scratch the surface of  equality of resources to reach our full potential in this world.

My greatest hope is that with the out pour of love and compassion; people of all ethnic groups feeling our pain, embracing the African American Community, shows our people who don't know we are worthy of love, WE ARE.  The hope is we begin to develop self love, black pride, pride in our communities, love for one another, love for life and the politicians stick by their kneeling (Kaepernick reference) and agreeing, prove through changes in laws and policies that BLACK LIVES DO MATTER.