I have been staring at a blank blog post for about 10 minutes trying to formulate words. After watching Tim Wise's speech and doing some research of my own I really just don't know what to say. I have said this before, and I'll say it again. Most people today would love to believe that because our President is of color, racism isn't an issue in this country anymore. Clearly that is so far from the truth. Exhibit A) a series of
tweets posted shortly after Barack Obama was reelected into office for a second term. Scrolling through these tweets I had a knot in my stomach. I am disgusted, and to completely honest I am ashamed to be "melanin challenged" (as Wise calls it). I thought of what it would be like for President Obama or his family members to log onto Twitter after a well earned victory and see all of that hate, and it breaks my heart. But unfortunately, I myself am apart of the problem. Never in my wildest dreams would I say things as derogatory as these people did, my mama taught me better than that, but I haven't done anything to try and stop it. I have never been a fan of confrontation. If somebody says something to me or in my presence that offends me or makes me feel uncomfortable I usually keep my comments to myself instead of speaking out. And this is why it is 2014 and racism still prevalent. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to admit that they're apart of the problem. And nobody wants to take a stand.
"We can never be satisfied as long as a negro is a victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality." Martin Luther King Jr. delivered that message in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963. We have come a long way since then, but not long enough. August 2014, 51 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered that speech, Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager was shot to death by a Caucasian police officer. There has been much speculation and controversy surrounding this subject. Whether or not there was a struggle for the officer's gun does not justify this boy's death. Brown was shot
six times. Excessive force? This
video was made by a group of children and the FCKH8 organization in response to the shooting, and the issue of racism in our country.
"Racism isn't over, but I'm over racism"
I can totally relate to what you said, "If somebody says something to me or in my presence that offends me or makes me feel uncomfortable I usually keep my comments to myself instead of speaking out. And this is why it is 2014 and racism still prevalent. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to admit that they're apart of the problem. And nobody wants to take a stand". Racism is still such a big issue that needs serious attention brought to it. I too really enjoyed Tim Wise's talk and think that more people need to see it. I also really like the quotes you posted at the end :)
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