More than Mattering

Black Lives Matter; we hear this sentiment daily and absorb the message to the fullest extent (well, those who care and believe so). I am so damn sick of hearing my life matters. I know my life matters, and everyone else's too. The problem is that Black lives do not just matter; they are vital. Not only did most of the United States get its infrastructure from the Black lives stolen from Africa, but we built this country for free, might I add. So please spare me the niceties. Black lives are of utmost importance. We equally enrich the environments we inhabit.

From the various contributions we brought and continue to provide with food, clothing, arts, and lifestyle in general, we have contributed so much to a country that only wants to proclaim that we matter? It all just sounds very bare-minimum and performative to me. Be sure not to confuse my disdain with the sentiment as discreditation for the efforts of various foundations and non-profit organizations such as the ACLU. They continue to fight the wrongdoings of administrations and policies that do not benefit all citizens and fight to make sure Black lives are valued and protected.

August 28th of 2020 was the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. In 57 years, we have seen a minimal change in the Black and Brown experience. It is sickening. It is past feeling sad; it's feeling rage, exhaustion, despair, and anxiety, then again in a continuous cycle. Every day we are expected to show up at our fullest as if we are not facing a pandemic amidst a civil war preceding 400+ years. It is tiring, and it is exhausting.

The world responds to Black and Brown Americans who have extenuating circumstances as if we need to be above-average citizens to exist. It is utterly frustrating. We want to live. We want to do everyday activities while being Black and Brown, not held with preconceived notions that quite literally apply to any racial group on the face of this earth. Anyone who cannot or chooses not to empathize with these facts has a privilege that allows them to disregard the following. Not to mention, if you do not support Black and Brown lives, you need to keep your mouth shut. You have no ground to stand on, nor should you be giving your overtly racist opinions on matters that do not concern you.

I urge, no, I implore you to look beyond the surface of what Black Lives Mattering means, and how does that look? Is it performative allyship that lasts for a few years and disappears once the protesting deaths of Black and Brown children, women, men, and trans folk ends? Or is it a society that continuously works to reform overtly and subtly oppressive systems to minorities and makes efforts to keep learning and repairing the tumultuous relationships we have with race, religion, gender, and sexuality? Because if it is not the latter, we will continue to stay stuck in these cyclical and divisive societies where nothing changes.

We have to be willing to dive into the center of all these issues. There is so much that currently divides us when there are very minimal differences that separate us, in actuality. When we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. If that has not been blatantly apparent from the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Atatiana Jefferson, Tamir Rice, Nia Wilson, and so many more, you are living in ignorance. That same ignorance and silence are what get Black and Brown citizens killed. We all have to be better, and now is the time.