Friends first breath; then reflect on how you contribute to or are oppressed by systems of racism, white privilege, and white supremacy; then take action; however, that might be as we demand change for a broken nation.
I have done a lot of reflecting these past few days, and I had come to no higher-conclusion then when I started. I know that as for myself, a queer, multiracial person that I for the post pass as white and that I benefit in some ways by white privilege and that in other ways that because of my queer, multiracial identity that systems of racism and homophobia also oppress me. But this realization does not stop advocating for change. It does not stop me from putting my life on the line every time I speak out against the injustices I experience or the ones that I see others experience. And it does not make my living my life any less scary, for I do not know if I might be next. We are living in a time where many of us are scared where we are worried about what the future might hold if their will even be a future left after all that has and is happening right now.
Far too long, POC has felt ignored, undervalued, and have had their worth and dignity stripped away over a long and brutal history of a nation built because of shelter colonialism; because of slavery and because of the greed of the “white man.” We all live in a country that has benefited from ignorance and the ignoring of these painful yet real parts of our nation's founding. We, now speaking to those of us who benefit in some way as a result of white privilege and white supremacy, must do better. We must listen to the voices of those who are hurting, who have been ignored for far too long, and who are being murdered in the streets at the hands of the police. We must act in solidarity with all those who are oppressed, and we must demand a racial change to the systems that have been in place for centuries.
Racism did not end with the first civil rights movement; it did not need when segregation ended, and it did not end in 2009 when our nation elected our first black president. No friends racism has never failed to exist in our nation; we have just failed to take note of it for significant gaps of times, and we must stop not taking note of racism. We must call it out, and we must but and end to racism once and for all if we are all to be truly free. The America I love, and the one I believe in, is one of love, one of justice, one of great diversity. One of freedom and equality for all people who seek it and I will not stop, and I hope you won't stop until this America is the America that all lives know; black lives, queer lives, trans lives, immigrant lives, all lives who have been oppressed, abused, imprisoned, and died or been murdered by nothing ignorance and hatred.
Friends join me in demanding change. Join me and listen to the voices who are crying out for help. Join me and all those who are hurting. Friends, this is no time to stay silent, it is no time to feel sorry for yourselves, and it is no time to ignore the reality of the times. My faith calls me to action, and I will take action for as long as it takes, or as long as I can as a person who, as I said, might be next. Friends take care, love yourselves, love one another and support one another, hold out hope that the day will come where we can say YES, YES We Are Truly ONE, We Are Truly Great Beloved and Community.
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If you do not understand why this statement is important, do not see racism or white supremacy as a problem, please do me two favors. One, unfriend/unfollow me, for I do not need you in my life. And two, read this statement, and others like it again and again until you do get its importance.