Black History. Always.

When asked to describe a black person that I find inspiring, not one comes to mind. Not, of course, to say that I am not inspired and moved by the incredible accomplishments of black people. I just cannot put one of these magnificent human beings above the others. The strength and resilience of this group of people will never fail to amaze me. There is so much darkness and pain in their bloodlines. Terrible injustice. Abuse, oppression, prejudice. A myriad of horrible stories that their ancestors actually lived through. It makes me sick. It makes me sad. It almost makes me want to stop writing. As a white person, I am appalled and disgusted at the suffering some of my ancestors must have caused these innocent people. They stole their lives. They took away their heritage, their humanity, their sovereignty. No amount of words can properly convey the horror. It weighs so heavy on my heart and in my mind.

The worst part is, even though we have come very far from those days where this storm was at its most devastating, there is still so much inequality and systematic oppression. Black people are being murdered. I cannot sugarcoat it. That is the fact of this reality right now. I hear a new story every day. There are innocent people being treated like they do not matter. I cannot sit here and write a lovely little piece on the amazing achievements of black people when so many of them are still being treated like they do not matter!

I just took a short break from writing to scroll on the popular app “tiktok” and I watched a video of a black woman explaining how “the “strong black woman" trope is used to brush off the amount of trauma that black women face”. This puts into words how I’m feeling and approaching this prompt. Yes, we need to uplift black people and prove to them that they are worthy of fair treatment, love, and happy, joyful, meaningful lives, but we cannot ignore the ways that this society we live in today is rooted with injustice against them. This injustice is still so prominent and not enough is being done about it. Until black people are treated with complete love and respect, and they are no longer having their lives taken from them just because people in this world have deemed them as inferior, I cannot write a piece about how wonderful they are and how much of the world as we know it is thanks to their brilliant minds and ingenuity. All I want to do right now is help them. I want them to know that all of their voices are important. Even those that are not out here inventing things and starting movements and things like that. Black people should be loved and respected for doing even just the bare minimum. The way white people are praised for doing the bare minimum (for example, white people who are famous for just doing dances on tiktok). Black people need to know that they are worthy of life, even if they aren’t actively contributing to society. When black people are murdered, I DO NOT WANNA HEAR EXCUSES. I don’t want to hear, “He was a drug addict.” “She didn’t pay her parking tickets.” “They stole something.” I really do not wanna hear it. WE stole something from them first. We stole their lives. We forced them to be subservient and then treated them like crap. And when a white person makes petty mistakes like that, they are not murdered! They are not taken from their loved ones! They are diagnosed with mental health issues and painted in the media as good people who simply found themselves on a bad path. They are treated with respect. Where is that energy when the victim is a black person? WHY DO WE TREAT THEM DIFFERENTLY? Why are less black people diagnosed with mental illnesses? Why do medical professionals think that black people feel less pain than white people? Why are cops so quick to brutally murder black men for NO GOOD REASON?

We have come very far from where this situation used to be. But, that’s not enough. This fight is not finished.

If you’re still reading this, please… Do some research. Educate yourself. Seek out information about this injustice. It's so important that we, as white allies, recognize our privilege and use it to hear their stories and boost their voices as much as possible. We need to stand with them, and to protest with them. We need to fight until things are truly better.

Listen to black people; all black people. Make sure that they are heard. Learn how to help make a real difference. You know we cannot keep letting this stuff slide. You know things need to change.

If I win the prize money for this contest, I will be donating 80% of it to black people. Whether it be individuals, families, charities, I will be giving back to their community, and I encourage anyone else to do the same.

Thank you.