My America

This is my America.

Where the color of my skin determines my ability. It determines my value.

A society where my blackness makes me less capable of greatness.

My America tells me and shows me that I am worthless.

This is your America.

A society that was designed to guarantee your success. It is infused with privilege only people like you can access.

A society where your whiteness opens doors and windows to wealth and opportunity.

Your America tells you and shows you that you are deserving of only the best.

This is your America.

Where you never have to question if being white is the reason you were pulled over,

Or denied that loan,

Or passed over for a job you were more than qualified for.

Where you are always surrounded by people who look like you, never made to feel ostracized,

Or othered,

Or in the minority.

This is our America.

Two separate realities coexisting only in the shadows.

Not because our suffering has gone unnoticed,

But because those in power, those who benefit from its silence, have earnestly denied it.

You have tried to look away. To ignore it.

But can you see it now?

America. White supremacy.

We are labeled thugs for walking through the streets. Protesting. Calling for change.

You are labeled patriots for an attempted coup on the Capitol. Inciting violence. Breeding hate.

America. White privilege.

We are killed while walking home at night.

We are shot in the back when turning to leave.

We are met with hordes of officers in riot gear when gathered at a vigil.

We are restrained to the point of “I can’t breathe” under the weight of police brutality.

You storm the Capitol armed with weapons.

You destroy and steal government property all while snapping photos of yourself.

You laugh. You smile.

You never, not even for a second, fear for your lives or the repercussions of your actions.

America. Racial injustice.

Where being black is criminal, staining our backs with blood-red targets.

Where being white is your shield, from police brutality and accountability.

America.

A society that cannot deny the threads of racism woven into its very core.

A society that cannot deny using racism to protect the status quo.

A society fractured so deeply that the only way to move forward is for one America to give way to other.

This is my America.

Are you still going to ignore it?