Black Lives Matter

I was hesitant to post something like this. I’m a nonconfrontational person by nature, and I did not want to invite conflict onto this writing space of mine that has been largely positive for me.

But these issues need to be confronted.

I live in the United States of America, and while “freedom” and “equality” are terms that are bandied about quite frequently in our country, not everyone is free and not everyone is equal here.

Systemic injustices have permeated our society, injustices which have been demonstrated to endanger the lives of our citizens. A long-standing history of racism has been built into our country’s government. Our very Constitution was created with the notion that certain people only counted as three-fifths as a person.

And that’s not fair.

This has always been a problem within our society, but added pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic and a spotlight on racial inequity has set our “melting pot” to boiling.

Riots and protests are sweeping the nation, with support and condemnation rising up like a tide on all sides.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have had a life made easier due to possessing a skin color that borders on a light khaki versus a darker shade of brown. And not everyone has had this privilege.

And make no mistake, it is a privilege. I am not a victim of racial profiling as a result. I don’t fear for my life when police are nearby, and I have the freedom to wear a black hoodie and stand on a street corner with relative impunity.

And even though I have not discriminated against a person based on the color of their skin, I am wracked with guilt over having had benefits that other people are not allowed.

There are some who might say that I should not feel guilty. That I have done nothing wrong. That “all lives matter” at the end of the day.

I don’t think those people understand the gravity of the situation, of what it is like to be a person of color in America today.

As such, I refuse to be someone who stands by while fellow human beings around me suffer simply from being born with more melanin pigments in their skin.

I choose to acknowledge that these injustices exist.

I vow to support those who are fighting for their right to live without these injustices.

I pledge to abolish these inequities at every opportunity.

And I promise to have my actions speak as loudly as my words.