A Call to Action: from 16 yr. old to the next…
Hi, No matter who you are, whether you're angry right now or not, disagree with riots or not, a Trump supporter or not, don't skip please. Life is so fast paced, and we often don't stop for things like this. But what's begun now is a movement. The young generation has decided to finally start talking, after realizing that murder after murder is happening. Realizing that those lives are never going to be brought back, but that those lives were taken for no reason? Whether you support black lives matter or not, how does seeing the murder of innocent men and women not break your heart? How emotionless could you possibly be for that sentence not to make you think? What if that was one of your parents, or one of your siblings, or you? Just, really, genuinely, think about it.
Now, no one will ever understand what it's like living as a black person in America, and by pretending to understand, I consider that disrespect. I do not understand and I never will. But I do stand with them. I understand if you feel angry. I understand if you feel that violence is unnecessary and is adding to the "angry black" stereotype, which don't twist my words, I absolutely hate and disagree with. Let down your defenses for just a second. Now, try to understand the black community and how they feel. Since the very beginning of the country, and even before, they've been considered slaves. A white man looked into a black man's eyes, saw the pain, saw the scars all over his body, and then, called him property. How heartbreaking is that? To have someone degrade you that way? To have your abilities and capabilities assumed to be 0, in a heartbeat. No, not a heartbeat because an act like that is heartless and there are no heartbeats to be found. In a second, he was deemed to be worthless. It was passed on to their families; it became normal. America's economy grew based on the existence of slavery. The south's largest argument for not wanting to abolish slavery was saying that life without slavery is unimaginable. 400 years of injustice. Slavery was abolished in 1865. But everyone knows that didn't change much. Slaves simply became sharecroppers. They called it "slavery without the title."
It wasn't until the 1960s, a full century later, that the Civil Rights movement occurred. When the Voting Rights act, the Civil Rights act was passed, the black community yet again saw a glimmer of hope. The march in Selma was called Bloody Sunday. White officers fired at a peaceful protest. There was no provoking, no politics from the black protestors. The officers murdered so many innocent protestors, and hurt ten times more. Men, women, and children. What did they do wrong? Nothing. It was simply engrained into the brains of the common American that the black community was not equal to every other human being. Turned into building a country on the foundations of racism.
Today, racism has become normalized to the point where non-black individuals aren't even aware of it until it is pointed out to them. How do you expect them not to be angry? As privileged, I understand your perspective in saying: "if they want to get rid of the angry black man stereotype, why burn down buildings?" But I do not agree. Just really stop and think. How would you feel if that was the story of your ancestors, and people told you to get over it, to not be angry? And they tried. They tried peaceful protests. That was MLK's whole platform. It found success, but it was so slow. It took that long to get rid of just a little bit of racism? Try to empathize. Murder after murder, beating after beating. They decided that enough is enough and rightly so. I agree. Enraged that people are struggling to gain rights because of a history based off what seems to make no logical sense to any member of this generation. Because right now, there are people who were young in the 50s. The 50s was before the Civil Rights movement even began. Children of people who were raised with racist ideals are the adults and politicians of today's world. That’s why wanting equal rights for a black man, woman, or child is considered a controversial opinion to have.
Why is police brutality so common. And that's in no way to say that all white people are racist, or all adults are racist, or all cops are bad. Every community has good and bad people but that's been established. I mean in no way to discredit anyone due to their age or race alone. I understand if you don't agree with the violence involved with the movement. But just stop getting stuck on that thought and imagine yourself in their position. All they want is respect. Such a basic human right, which so many of us take for granted, but is so hard for them to receive. Can you understand their anger more now? Whether you agree or disagree with their anger, respect it. Like I said earlier, you can disagree and respect at the same time. If you want to criticize their response yet not address the movement behind these actions, that's a mistake. That's exactly why they're angry. They just want people to realize why and finally receive respect and be treated as equal to every other race - again don't twist my words, I'm well aware there's lots of discrimination in the world.
My own community, the Sikh community, underwent unspeakable violence and torture, not even that long ago - June 1984 and still experiences hate crimes. Trust me, I know what having your ancestors and community murdered for absolutely no reason feels like. But did I change Black Lives Matter into Sikh Lives Matter or All Lives Matter? Not right now, I didn't. Learn to respect people if this makes you uncomfortable. I don't like violence either, trust. But this isn't about me or you, is it? Disagree with the looting, fine, but 1)don't judge, you don't know what it feels like to be black 2)not all looters are black/not all protests are violent/not all looters are protestors 3)at the end of the day, black lives matter is about equality. You don't have to agree with the violence to agree with the movement and want to fight for what's right - even if you fight with your words.
The adults of this generation are the children of the young adults of the 50s. The 50s was a racist time. Don't believe me? The Civil Rights movement was in the 60s, and both large leaders MLK and Malcom X were assassinated. The 60s were after the 50s, if that wasn't clear. Our generation, in history classes, always frowns at slavery. Every student asks, but why? How does it make any logical sense to discriminate someone literally because they look different? Our generation are the adults of tomorrow. The people in charge are those who grew up in racist times. We're next. Change has never been and will never be easy. But if we don’t change, our future won’t either. Are you okay with normalizing someone's pain, no matter what race? I've never hesitated in telling a friend that my life will not be complete until I become involved in social activism. Until I play my role to make the world a better place than I left it, no matter what it takes, because my purpose is so much bigger than myself. Call me a dreamer but I'm convinced that my purpose is larger than my own two feet. I've never phrased it that bluntly around my family, and it shames me to say that. But I'm done hiding my strength. I'm learning to embrace it more and more every day. Everyone has strength, and there's no more time to stay quiet. We will be the adults soon, and if this movement doesn't continue, if we don't continue teaching empathy and respect, then it's just gonna be a repeat. Are you okay with that? Waiting another century for another movement? Change begins small. It's intimidating, but it's already happening.
Unlearn racism and help those around you unlearn it. It’s quite difficult but doable. Understand, then teach; without anger. Let’s not forget that the reason Asian immigrant groups were able to fight for their freedom in America was due to the Civil Rights movement and many black activists supported all these minority groups. As a part of the non-black minority community, it's our duty to stand up. Because they stood up for us every single time. Change begins within you. Then you spread it to those around you, and they spread it more. Yes, the world will never ever be a perfect place. But is that a reason to not stand up for those around us? Because I know that if it was your race instead of the African American race under all this attention right now, you would not be silent. Change and progress comes from empathy. Learning to put our differences aside and coming together as a generation. You don't agree with the violence or the riots? There are people out there who are peacefully protesting but feel the same way. Racism is a word that's thrown around so easily, but it holds so much value. Racism kills people. Just stop and read that again.
Racism KILLS people. Hasn't enough been enough? As the young generation, we understand why racism is wrong. I'm sure you've encountered a racist in your life, somewhere. It's our job to teach empathy and teach respect rather than turning our backs. Don't complain about the violence if you're not doing anything to fix the root of where the violence is coming from. Ending racism. That sounds intimidating, but if anyone can do it, it's this generation. Take action, because actions do speak louder than words. Do not forget the power of words, they are the only thing that will solve racism as a culture once and for all. We need to change minds, we need to unlearn and overturn a whole culture. It won’t be easy. But really, once we're adults, it's in our hands. That's coming sooner than we think, so why wait? Racism can't be overcome until its foundation is completely broken to pieces. If all this has proved anything it's that we DO have a voice. I don't know if my words regarding black lives will ever be as powerful as one of a black individual. I'm not black, I don't know what it feels like. However, an African American friend said to me: "we all need to use our voices because when it was just black people nobody was listening". She also said "we need more allies like you in the Asian community; that's the only way to end internalized anti blackness." That makes me not want to stop using my voice, no matter what the color of my skin is. In order to overcome this once and for all, we need to unlearn and acknowledge internalized anti blackness. The reason it got to be this bad in the first place is because we turned a blind eye to it. Justice must be found, ignorance must be changed, and empathy must be learned. Together we all can do better.
by Rawnie Singh
Junior
@Whitney High School, California